[Photo credit: Luc Jamet]
Jamet beat more than 2,700 entries – a record for the contest – to land the £2,500 top prize.
The winning image (above) shows a total solar eclipse captured from Sassendalen in the Svalbard region of Norway on 20 March 2015.
Royal Observatory Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula, who is one of the judges, said: ‘The total solar eclipse was one of the astronomical highlights of the year and Luc Jamet has captured it perfectly.
‘I love the way that the icy landscape of Svalbard reflects and intensifies the evocative colours of the sky – colours that only occur during the few minutes of totality, and which make any eclipse an unforgettable experience.’
Runner-up in the Skyscapes category [Photo credit: Matt Robinson]
[Photo credit: George Martin]
Meanwhile, 15-year-old George Martin from the UK was crowned Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year for his ‘skilful’ image of Comet Lovejoy (above).
And the UK’s David Tolliday won the Sir Patrick Moore Best Newcomer category for his shots of the Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula (below), captured from Wales.
[Photo credit: David Tolliday]
Chris Bramley, editor of BBC Sky at Night Magazine, and one of the judges said: ‘The quality of this year’s field of over 2,700 images from across the globe meant that there was some lively debate over the judging.
‘Each and every category contained images of a jaw-dropping standard.’
A free exhibition of the best entries takes place at the Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Centre in Greenwich, London from today until 26 June 2016.
To view all the winning images, visit www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto
Full list of 2015 winners
Skyscapes sponsored by Insight Investment
· Luc Jamet (France) with Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen (Winner and Overall Winner)
· Matt Robinson (UK) with Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display (Runner Up)
· Martin Campbell (UK) with River of Light (Highly Commended)
Aurorae
· Jamen Percy (Australia) with Silk Skies (Winner)
· Kolbein Svensson (Norway) with April Aurora (Runner Up)
· Arild Heitmann (Norway) with Sumo Waggle Adventure (Highly Commended)
Galaxies
· Michael van Doorn (Netherlands) with M33 Core (Winner)
· Rolf Olsen (Denmark) with The Antennae Galaxies – Extreme Deep Field – 75 Hours (Runner Up)
· Marcus Davies (Australia) with Cosmic Oasis (Highly Commended)
Our Moon
· András Papp (Hungary) with Full Face of our Moon (Winner)
· Daniel Fernández Caxete (Spain) with ISS Terminator Moon (Runner Up)
· Phil Hart (Australia) with A Tainted Eclipse (Highly Commended)
Our Sun
· Paolo Porcellana (Italy) with Huge Prominence Lift-Off (Winner)
· David Wrangborg (Sweden) with Totality Ends (Runner Up)
· Chris Bakley (USA) with Solargraph – Six Months (Highly Commended)
People and Space
· Chap Him Wong (Hong Kong) with Sunset Peak Star Trail (Winner)
· Yuri Zvezdny (Russia) with Eternity and Astrophotographer (Runner Up)
· Tommy Eliassen (Norway) with Interaction (Highly Commended)
Planets, Comets and Asteroids
· Lefteris Velissaratos (Greece) with The Arrow Missed the Heart (Winner)
· András Papp (Hungary) with Saturn (Runner Up)
· Eric Toops (USA) with Mars Next to the Moon (Highly Commended)
Stars and Nebulae
· Ignacio Diaz Bobillo (Argentina) with The Magnificent Omega Centauri (Winner)
· David Pye (UK) with Sirius 9798 (Joint Runner Up)
· Tom O’Donoghue (Ireland) with Orion Mega Mosaic (Joint Runner Up)
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
· George Martin (UK – aged 15) with A Celestial Visitor (Winner)
· Ethan Chappel (USA – aged 15) with Mega Moon (Runner Up)
· Scott Carnie-Bronca (Australia – aged 13) with Celestial Drift (Highly Commended)
· Ethan Chappel (USA – aged 15) with Jupiter and Moons (Highly Commended)
· Philippe Rowland (UK – aged 7) with Total Solar Eclipse over North Atlantic Ocean (Highly Commended)
Special Prize: The Sir Patrick Moore prize for Best Newcomer
· David Tolliday (UK) with Orion DT (Winner)
Special Prize: Robotic Scope
· Sebastian Voltmer (Germany) with Comet C/2013 A1 alongside Mars (Winner)
