More than 3,000 amateur and professional photographers from 67 countries participated in the 14th edition of the competition organized by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
Some participants explored the impact of pollution on astrophotography.
In a press release, organizers said Skyscapes category nominee Sean Goebel can only photograph the moon’s alignment over the Los Angeles skyline after a winter storm spread pollution haze and made the scene clearer.
Meanwhile, Zezhen Zhou, a young astronomy photographer, took a picture of the Pickering Triangle, part of the Veil Nebula in the constellation Cygnus, despite light pollution in Shaoxing, China.
“It was really satisfying to see the number of participants who challenged themselves to capture unusual, rarely photographed or fleeting events: there are some things you haven’t seen before, and even some we’ll never see again,” said Ed Plumer, an astronomer at the observatory. Royal and contest judge told CNN in a statement.
The winning photographs will be announced on 15 September at an online awards ceremony and will be on display at the National Maritime Museum, London.
36 images have been shortlisted in 11 categories, with a selection of images shown in the gallery above.
“Infuriatingly humble analyst. Bacon maven. Proud food specialist. Certified reader. Avid writer. Zombie advocate. Incurable problem solver.”
