Stunning detail of year’s best astronomy photos

Published on 20/09/2012 16:51

FAR off galaxies and the planets of the solar systems are among the spectacular sights in this year’s Royal Observatory Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

The judging panel, which included The Sky At Night presenter Sir Patrick Moore, acclaimed photographer Dan Holdsworth and the Royal Observatory’s Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula, chose Martin Pugh’s image of the M51 Galaxy as overall competition winner as well as the best entry in the Deep Space category.

Panel judge Will Gater, a science writer and astronomy author, described Mr Pugh’s entry as “arguably one of the finest images of M51 ever taken by an amateur photographer”.

He said: “It’s not just the detail in the spiral arms of the galaxy that’s remarkable, look closely and you’ll see many very distant galaxies in the background too.”

Mr Pugh also won the prize in 2009.

The entrants included experienced amateurs, novices and youngsters, who uploaded their photos to a Flickr group.

An exhibition of the images opens at the Royal Observatory in London today.

WINNERS IN FULL

Earth and Space

Winner: Star Icefall by Masahiro Miyasaka (Japan)

Runner-up: Green World by Arild Heitmann (Norway)

Highly commended: The Milky Way View from the Piton de l’Eau, Réunion Island by Luc Perrot (Réunion Island)

Highly commended: Summer Nights in Michigan by Michael A. Rosinski (USA)

Highly commended: Sky away from the Lights by Tunç Tezel (Turkey)

Our Solar System

Winner: Transit of Venus 2012 in Hydrogen-Alpha by Chris Warren (UK)

Runner-up: Mars in 2012 by Damian Peach (UK)

Highly commended: Venus Transit by Paul Haese (Australia)

Highly commended: Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd by Graham Relf (UK)

Highly commended: Worlds of the Solar System by Damian Peach (UK)

Deep Space

Winner: M51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy by Martin Pugh (UK/Australia)

Runner-up: Simeis 147 Supernova Remnant by Rogelio Bernal Andreo (USA)

Highly commended: The Perseus Cluster – Abell 426 by Robert Franke (USA)

Highly commended: NGC 6960 – The Witch’s Broom by Robert Franke (USA)

Highly commended: Sharpless-136: ‘Ghost’ in Cepheus by Oleg Bryzgalov (Ukraine)

Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Winner: Pleiades Cluster by Jacob von Chorus (Canada), aged 15

Runner-up: Daytime Lunar Mosaic by Laurent V. Joli-Coeur (Canada), aged 15

Highly commended: Heavenly Showers by Jathin Premjith (India), aged 15

Highly commended: Lunar Mountains by Jacob Marchio (USA), aged 13

Highly commended: Origins of Life on Earth by Thomas Sullivan (USA), aged 13

Special prizes

Best Newcomer: Elephant’s Trunk with Ananasby Lóránd Fényes (Hungary)

People and Space: winner - Venus-Jupiter Close Conjunction by Laurent Laveder (France)

People and Space: runner-up - Lost in Yosemite [C 033706] by Steven Christenson (USA)

Robotic Scope: The Sunflower Galaxy by Thomas Read (UK), aged 12

• More information on the exhibition at the Royal Observatory