The shortlist is announced for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 competition, organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich. This year’s contest attracted 4000 entries from 64 countries. As with previous years, the shortlisted images are very diverse, and include images of star trails over the First World War trench memorial in Vimy, northern France, the Milky Way over an abandoned diamond processing plant in Namibia, and the Great Pollet Sea Arch, Ireland, silhouetted against a vibrant yellow and red aurora – this last year has been particularly good for aurora activity.

The winners of the competition’s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 14 September. The winning images will be then displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Saturday 16 September, alongside a selection of exceptional shortlisted images. An official book will be available at the museum before going on general sale from Thursday 28 September. See the full Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist.

Sperrgebiet © Vikas Chander. This photograph was taken in Bogenfelsin, Namibia. Formally known as Sperrgebiet, this area was once occupied by German colonialist mining for diamonds. The settlements they built are now ghost towns, seen here is a decayed processing plant. Taken with a Nikon D850 camera, 21 mm f/2.8, ISO 800, 30-second exposure.

Featured image description: Star trails above the preserved First World War trenches in Canadian National Vimy Memorial Park, Northern France. Taken over five hours, the camera captured the rotation of the sky revealing the colourful stars. Taken with a Canon EOS 6D (Astro modified), Samyang XP 14 mm f/2.4 lens, 14 mm f/3.2, ISO 1000, 577 x 30-second exposures.

From The Royal Observatory Greenwich: 

Awe-inspiring scenes of the Milky Way, vibrant star trails racing across the night sky and spiral galaxies are all features of the shortlist for this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year. The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. In 2023, the competition received over 4,000 entries from passionate amateur and dedicated professional photographers, submitted from 64 countries across the globe.

Shortlisted images from this year’s competition include star trails over the First World War trench memorial in Vimy, northern France, the Milky Way over an abandoned diamond processing plant in Namibia, and Jupiter flanked by two of its moons, Io and Europa.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist.

Crescent Moon in a Magical Sunset © Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau. Composite image of three exposures showing the sunset on 1 August 2022 in Rafaela, Argentina. The crescent Moon has 16 per cent of its surface illuminated and the clouds appear an intense red. Taken with a Canon EOS 90D camera, 600 mm f/6.3, ISO 800, three exposures between 1/400 and 1/100-seconds.

One of the astronomical highlights of 2022 was the amazing auroral activity. The Northern Lights were seen throughout the UK and Ireland and one shortlisted image shows the Great Pollet Sea Arch, Ireland, silhouetted against a vibrant yellow and red aurora.

The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now in its fifteenth year and returns with an expert panel of judges from the worlds of art and astronomy. The winners of the competition’s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 14 September. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Saturday 16 September, alongside a selection of exceptional shortlisted images. The competition’s official book, published by Collins in association with Royal Museums Greenwich, will be available exclusively on-site and online at Royal Museums Greenwich from the exhibition opening date. It will then be available more widely from bookstores from Thursday 28 September.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist.

Aurora Over the Great Pollet Sea Arch © Brendan Alexander. The Northern Lights over the Great Pollet Sea Arch, Ireland captured as the Moon set. The photo was taken shortly after a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun on 24 February 2023. This allowed the aurorae to be seen in large parts of the UK. Taken with a Canon EOS 6D camera, fixed tripod, Sigma 20 mm f/1.8 lens, 20 mm f/2.8, ISO 6400, 13-second, total exposure (two frames); Sky: 7.5-second exposure; Foreground: 5.5-second exposure.

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