Australian astrophotography: Astronomy Photographer of the Year goes down under

The rural nature of much of Australia makes it a fantastic place for astrophotography, while its southern skies offer a whole new experience for those of us who normally do our stargazing north of the equator.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year is the largest astrophotography competition in the world, and many of the incredible images submitted over the years have been captured in Australia.

Below we take a look at some of the competition’s best astrophotos from down under.

For more on Aussie stargazing, read our guide to astronomy in Australiaor our guide to the southern hemisphere sky.