A blood Moon rising, mesmerising aurora displays, distant galaxies and the tangled threads of deep-sky cosmic clouds.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich have announced the shortlisted images from the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 competition.
Winner – Our Sun and Overall Winner. Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse, by Ryan Imperio, Odessa, Texas, USA
Now in its 17th year, the astrophotography competition is the biggest in the world, and in 2025 received over 5,500 entries from photographers in 69 countries across the globe.
The shortlisted images from Astronomy Photographer of the Year 17 include a moonrise over the Dolomites, red-hued Northern Lights at Mono Lake, California, and Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) .
Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites © Fabian Dalpiaz. Taken with a Sony Alpha 7R V camera, 400 mm f/9, ISO 320, 1/200-second exposure. Location: Santuario di Pietralba, Deutschnofen, South Tyrol, Italy, 15 November 2024 Young Astronomer prize Naturally, the total solar eclipse of April 2024 featured heavily in the entries submitted to the competition throughout 2024/25.
One of the shortlisted images in the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category is a 22-megapixel panorama capturing the event.
Total Solar Eclipse by Louis Egan shows different stages of the solar eclipse, captured from Canada.
Total Solar Eclipse © Louis Egan. Taken with a Canon EOS 60D camera, SWSA 2I mount, Sigma 70-300 DG lens, Baader solar filter, 300 mm f/6.3, ISO 100, approximately 1,200 x 1/200-second exposures and 200 x 1/25-second exposures. Location: Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, 8 April 2024 Annie Mauner Open Category Formerly known as the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation, the newly-titled Annie Maunder Open Category gives entrants the chance to experiment with different approaches to astrophotography by using astronomical data in a creative, conceptual way.
Neon Sun by Peter Ward, uses images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, remapped with a vibrant palette.
Data on the Sun's corona – its outer atmosphere – is turned inside out to surround the Sun, creating the illusion of it being enclosed in a neon tube.
Neon Sun © Peter Ward. The data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observer (SDO) probe was used here to show the Sun’s inner corona in a way that hints at a process that is similar to that which energises colourful neon lights on Earth. Remapped in Photoshop, the data was then polar inversed to mirror the inner coronal image. Colour saturation was increased by around 30 per cent and given one pass of a noise reduction filter. Original data from NASA SDO 171, 193, 304 nanometre from 1 June 2024. Data credit: NASA Astronomy Photographer 17 winners The winners of the 2025 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition will be announced during an online ceremony in September 2025.
Thereafter, the winning images will be showcased alongside a selection of some of the best entries this year, in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London, UK.
The exhibition opens 12 September 2025.
For more information, follow Royal Museums Greenwich on X , Instagram and Facebook , or by using the hashtag #APY17.
In the meantime, let's take a look at all of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist images for 2025.
Aurorae Kongen © Filip Hrebenda. Taken with a Sony Alpha 7R V camera, 12 mm f/2.8 (with focus stacking for foreground), ISO 4,000, 2-second exposure. Location: Stavelitippen, Fjordgård, Norway, 12 September 2024 Aurora Over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light © Daniel Zafra. Taken with a Sony ILCE-7III camera, 14 mm f/1.8, ISO 8,000, 5-second exposure. Location: US 395, Mono Lake, Mono County, USA, 10 October 2024 The Arctic Flower © Vincent Beudez. Taken with a Sony Alpha 7S III camera, 14 mm f/1.8, ISO 4,000, 1.3-second exposure. Location: Sjursnes, Tromsø, Troms, Norway, 4 April 2024 Galaxies Fireworks © Bence Tóth, Péter Feltóti, Bertalan Kecskés. Taken with a custom-built 250/1000 Newtonian astrograph and Lacerta 300/1200 Photo Newtonian telescope, Antlia V-Pro LRGB and 3 nm H-alpha, OIII and SII filters, Astronomik LRGB and 6 nm H-alpha, OIII and SII filters, Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro and ASI294MM Pro cameras. Location: Sződliget, Pest and Törökkoppány, Somogy, Hungary, 2–4, 9, 23,30 November, 1, 27 and 28 December 2024 Eight-Panel Mosaic of M31: Stars, Nebulae and Central Bulge © Chuhong Yu, Jingyao Hong, Xi Zhu, Yaguang Wan. Taken with a William Optics 12" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube, GSO 14" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube and Takahashi Epsilon 160 telescopes, iOptron CEM120EC and Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro mounts, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera. Location: Daocheng County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, 30–31 October, 1–6, 20–30 November, 1–10 and 20–31 December 2024 NGC 2997: The Antlia Cabbage Galaxy © Xinran Li. Taken with a ASA 500N telescope, Astrodon LRGB and H-alpha filters, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI ProLine 16803 camera, 1900 mm f/3.8, 600 seconds per frame for LRGB, 1,200 seconds per frame for H-alpha, 10 hours total exposure. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile, 23 January, 4–5 February 2025 Our Moon Moonrise Over Villebois-Lavalette © Flavien Beauvais. Taken with a Canon EOS R7 camera, Sigma 150-600 mm lens at 600 mm f/6.3, ISO 2,500, 1/50-second exposure. Location: La Font Aride, Saint-Amant-de-Montmoreau, France, 16 November 2024 Lunar Occultation of Saturn © Chayaphon Phanitloet. Taken with a Svbony SV503 80ED telescope, Svbony 2x Barlow lens, iOptron CEM70 mount, QHYCCD QHY485C camera, 560 mm f/7, Moon: 0.23-millisecond exposure, Saturn: 4-millisecond exposure. Location: Bua Yai, Bua Yai District, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, 15 October 2024 The Last Mineral Supermoon of 2024 © Karthik Easvur. Taken with a GSO RC 6" telescope, ZWO IR/UV cut filter, Explore Scientific EXOS-2 PMC-Eight mount, ZWO ASI662MC camera, 1,370 mm f/9, 24 x 30-second videos, 50% of frames stacked per video. Location: Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, India, 15 November 2024 Our Sun Encounter Within One Second © Zhang Yanguang. Taken with a Takahashi Teegul 60 telescope, Coronado SolarMax 60 double stacked, Vixen polaris mount, Player One Astronomy Neptune-M camera, 500 mm f/8.3, 0.3-millisecond exposure. Location: Xiamen, Fujian, China, 24 January 2025 500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption © PengFei Chou. Taken with a Lunt LS60T telescope, Lunt B1200 filter, Proxisky UMI17R mount, ToupTek ATR428M camera, 500 mm f/7, ISO 100, 5-millisecond exposure. Location: Eastern New District, Xinxing County, Guangdong province, China, 7 November 2024 Progression of Baily's Beads © Damien Cannane. Taken with a Sky-Watcher Evolux 62 ED telescope, Celestron NexStar Evolution mount, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, 360 mm f/5.8, Gain 100, Diamond Rings: 200 x 1/ 3-second exposures Baily's Beads: 400 x 1/ 6-second exposures, Totality: stack of 7 x 1/400-second exposure. Location: Dexter, Missouri, USA, 8 April 2024 People and Space Blood Moon Rising Behind the City Skyscrapers © Tianyao Yang. Taken with a Sony ILCE-7RM4 camera, 600 mm f/4, ISO 250, 1/10-second exposure. Location: Jiading District, Shanghai, China, 21 July 2024 Gateway to the Galaxy © Yujie Zhang. Taken with a Nikon Z 8 camera, 15 mm f/4, ISO 2,000, multiple 480-second exposures. Location: Songyang County, China, 10 August 2024 Galactic Catch: Salt and Vinegar With Your Cosmos? © Paul Joels. Taken with a CanonR6 Mark II camera, Benro Polaris mount, Foreground: Tamron 24-70 mm lens, 38 mm f/22, ISO 800, 3.2-second exposure, Sky: Samyang 14 mm lens,14 mm f/2.8, ISO 3,200. Location: Lulworth Cove, West Lulworth, Dorset, UK, 16 March 2024 Comet Over Waikiki © Ran Shen. Taken with a Nikon Z 8 camera, 110 mm f/4.5, ISO 2,500, 2.5-second exposure. Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 12 October 2024 Looking Beyond © Chester Hall-Fernandez. Taken with a Nikon Z 6 camera, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount, 35 mm f/1.4, ISO 1,600, 25-panel mosaic. Location: Mount John Observatory, Mount John, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, 21 July 2024 Planets, Comets and Asteroids Close-up of a Comet © Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger. Taken with a ASA 12-inch Astrograph, ASA DDM85 mount, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera, 1,097 mm f/3.6,L 200-second exposure, R 100-second exposure, G 100-second exposure, B 100-second exposure. Location: Tivoli Astrofarm, Windhoek Rural, Namibia, 30 September 2024 Solar System Portrait © Sophie Paulin. Taken with a Spacewalk Telescopes Horizon 20" f/3.2 Dobsonian, Tele Vue 5x 1.25" Powermate, Spacewalk Telescopes EQ-Platform ‘Trackie’, Player One Astronomy Uranus-C camera, thousands of <10-millisecond exposures. Location: Bobingen, Bavaria, Germany, 11 September 2023, 7 September, 29 August and 28 December 2024 Skyscapes Dragon Tree Trails © Benjamin Barakat. Taken with a Sony Alpha 7 IV camera, 24 mm f/2.8, ISO 400, 30-second exposure. Location: Firmihin Forest, Hidaybu District, Yemen, 13 March 2024 Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites © Fabian Dalpiaz. Taken with a Sony Alpha 7R V camera, 400 mm f/9, ISO 320, 1/200-second exposure. Location: Santuario di Pietralba, Deutschnofen, South Tyrol, Italy, 15 November 2024 Cave of Stars © Yoshiki Abe. Taken with a Sony ILCE-7RM5 camera, 20 mm. Foreground: f/16, ISO 200, 30-second exposure, 3-frame panorama; Sky: f/1.4, ISO 800, 60-second exposure (stack of 51 frames); H-alpha: ISO 3,200, 90-second exposure (stack of 64 frames). Location: Nagato, Yamaguchi, Japan, 12 October 2024 Into the Past © Jim Hildreth. Taken with an astro-modified Canon EOS R and EOS R5 cameras, 28mm f/2.8 and f/8, ISO 800 and 100, Sky: 59-second exposure, Land: 3-second exposure. Location: Moonscape Overlook, Wayne County, Utah, USA, 11 April 2024 Stars and Nebulae A Rainbow Mosaic of the Rosette and the Christmas Tree Nebulae © Shaoyu Zhang. Taken with a Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII telescope, Astrodon LRGBHSO filters, 10Micron GM 2000 HPS mount, Moravian Instruments G4-16803 camera, 382 mm f/3.6,150 hours total exposure. Location: Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, Río Hurtado, Chile, 6– 13, 22– 29 November, 1– 9, 12, 13, 18– 24 December 2024 Radiant Canopy: The Lustrous Realms of the Running Chicken Nebula © Rod Prazeres. Taken with a William Optics RedCat 51 II telescope, Antlia 3 nm SHO 36mm and Baader CMOS Optimized RGB 36 mm filters, Sky-Watcher NEQ6–Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 250 mm f/4, 42 hours 15 minutes total exposure. Location: Hillcrest, Queensland, Australia, 29 and 30 March, 2, 3, 8– 15 April 2024 Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula © Shaoyu Zhang. Taken with a Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII telescope, Astrodon LRGBHSO filters and Chroma LRGBHSO filters, 10Micron GM 2000 HPS and Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 mounts, Canon EF 400 mm f/2.8 II IS USM lens, Moravian Instruments G4-16803 and ZWO ASI6200 cameras, 382 mm and 391 mm, f/3.6 and f/2.8, 148.33 hours total exposure. Location: Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, Río Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, 21, 24 and 25 December 2024, 3–5, 15, 16, 19–31 January, 1–6, 10–19 February 2025 Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer Abell 85: Pomegranate in the Universe © Deqian Li. Taken with a Takahashi Epsilon-160ED telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 530 mm f/3.3, ISO 100, 23.4 hours total exposure. Location: Hongyuan County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China and Yingshan County, Nanchong, Sichuan, China, 30, 31 August, 1 and 3–5 September 2024 ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer Total Solar Eclipse © Louis Egan. Taken with a Canon EOS 60D camera, SWSA 2I mount, Sigma 70-300 DG lens, Baader solar filter, 300 mm f/6.3, ISO 100, approximately 1,200 x 1/200-second exposures and 200 x 1/25-second exposures. Location: Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, 8 April 2024 Annie Maunder Open Category Neon Sun © Peter Ward. The data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observer (SDO) probe was used here to show the Sun’s inner corona in a way that hints at a process that is similar to that which energises colourful neon lights on Earth. Remapped in Photoshop, the data was then polar inversed to mirror the inner coronal image. Colour saturation was increased by around 30 per cent and given one pass of a noise reduction filter. Original data from NASA SDO 171, 193, 304 nanometre from 1 June 2024. Data credit: NASA 
