Out of this world images win major astrophotography competition

Home / Latest / Latest news / Out of this world images win major astrophotography competition

Royal Museums Greenwich have announced the winners of this year’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition! The overall ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 17 winner is The Andromeda Core by photographers Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu.

The winners will be on display in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 17 exhibition, at the National Maritime Museum, London from Friday 12 September 2025.

ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year: The Andromeda Core by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu

This image showcases the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in exceptional detail, captured using a long focal-length telescope. Taking advantage of the excellent seeing conditions at AstroCamp Observatory, Nerpio, Spain. The photographers focused on revealing the intricate structure of the galaxy’s central region and its surrounding stellar population.

Liang, Yang and Yu said, ‘We are excited to be awarded and never expected to be the Overall Winner. Thanks to ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year, we have the opportunity to bring our work and the splendour of the universe to everybody.’

László Francsics, judge and astrophotographer said, ‘Not to show it all − this is one of the greatest virtues of this photo. The Andromeda Galaxy has been photographed in so many different ways and so many times with telescopes that it is hard to imagine a new photo would ever add to what we’ve already seen. But this does just that, an unusual dynamic composition with unprecedented detail that doesn’t obscure the overall scene.’

ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Orion by Daniele Borsari

Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha nebula — Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha © Daniele Borsari, winner ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Taken with a Player One Astronomy Ares-M Pro camera, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount, Samyang 135 mm f/2.0 lens, 135 mm f/2.8, 45 x 60-second exposures and 262 x 300-second exposures, 22 hours and 35 minutes total exposure

The ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award was won by Daniele Borsari for his image Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-Alpha. Greg Brown, judge and Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer, commented that ‘choosing black and white over bright colours and focusing purely on the shapes and contours of the nebulae is a bold decision that has paid off.’

An exciting special feature in this year’s exhibition will be a photograph taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Earth From Orbit was taken during ISS Expedition 72. This is one of a number of star field time exposures captured from the International Space Station (ISS) using a homemade sidereal star tracker. Rotating once every 90 minutes, the tracker counteracts the attitude motion of the orbiting ISS, allowing distant stars to be photographed as fixed pinpoints while the Earth continues to rotate below – previously an impossibility in orbital photography. Pettit returned to Earth in mid-April 2025, following a seven-month mission.

This is one of a number of star ¬field time exposures captured from the International Space Station (ISS) using a homemade sidereal star tracker. — Earth From Orbit © Don Pettit, Special Feature

The other winning images include The Trace of Refraction by Marcella Giulia Pace, which beautifully captures the phenomenon of atmospheric refraction; Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks Taking a Final Bow by Dan Bartlett and Crown of Light by Kavan Chay which shows a spectacular aurora. In the Annie Maunder Open Category, judges awarded the winning prize to Fourth Dimension by Leonardo Di Maggio. This image uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) combined with a photograph that Di Maggio took of the inside of a meteorite.

The photograph captures the twin glacial rivers with the Milky Way core off to the left of the image, as well as the famous Southern Cross and other pointers high in the centre sky. — The Ridge © Tom Rae, winner Skyscapes

This image captures the phenomenon of atmospheric refraction, where moonlight passes through dense layers of Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon, bending in a manner similar to light rays through a prism. Additionally, the redness of the Moon can be explained by a process known as Rayleigh scattering — The Trace of Refraction © Marcella Giulia Pace, winner Our Moon

Comet 12P/Pons−Brooks reacted visibly to the intensified solar winds associated with the current solar maximum, creating a spectacle of tail dynamics and colourful hues expelled by its nuclear coma, the bright cloud of gas around the comet’s centre. — Comet 12P/Pons−Brooks Taking a Final Bow © Dan Bartlett, winner Planets, Comets & Asteroids

gravitational lensing [magnifies distant galaxies by bending light through massive foreground objects] from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — Fourth Dimension © Leonardo Di Maggio, winner Annie Maunder Open Category

aurora landscape taken during G5 storm — Crown of Light © Kavan Chay, winner Aurorae

This image shows the International Space Station making a close pass of our Moon. — ISS Lunar Flyby © Tom Williams, winner People & Space

A fireball from the Perseid meteor shower appears to graze M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. — Encounter Across Light Years © Yurui Gong, Xizhen Ruan, winner The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer

M13, or the Great Hercules Cluster, is one of the most prominent and well-studied globular clusters in the northern sky. — M13: An Ultra-Deep Exposure of the Popular Cluster © Distant Luminosity Julian Zoller, Jan Beckmann, Lukas Eisert, Wolfgang Hummel, winner Stars & Nebulae

chromosphere is the most picturesque part of the Sun. Composed of hydrogen and helium plasma, it is manipulated by the intense and tangled magnetic fields of the Sun — Active Region of the Sun’s Chromosphere © James Sinclair, winner Our Sun

Sam Wen, Founder and CEO of ZWO said, ‘The Overall Winner, The Andromeda Core, reveals an astonishing level of detail that truly took my breath away. Achieving such clarity and depth requires not only top-tier astronomical equipment and exceptional seeing conditions, but also a tremendous amount of patience and perseverance. It’s clear that behind this image lies a dedicated team whose persistent effort and collaboration made this masterpiece possible. A brilliant capture of one of our closest galactic neighbours—congratulations on this outstanding achievement!’

Dr Ed Bloomer, Royal Observatory Greenwich Astronomer and Judge said, ‘Once again, ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year offers up some of the best astrophotography in the world. This year I believe we’re particularly strong on images which ask the observer to really think about what they’re looking at and investigate just how the astrophotographer has achieved those particular results, this proved true for the judges as well!

I think entrants have embraced the notion of being playful and bold and continue to strike out in unexpected directions. Consistently, there is tremendous care and dedication, and such a depth of skill on display. It’s an extremely strong showcase, with treasures for newcomers, enthusiasts, and even fellow experienced astrophotographers.’