Photos of stars, galaxies, moons and planets are always fascinating, offering a brief glimpse into the universe's secrets. Astrophotography is celebrated every year by the Greenwich Royal Observatory at their Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Here are the incredible captures that made the 2022 shortlist…
This photo shows the awe-inspiring Milky Way above Oregon’s southern coast in the US, which is usually foggy in summer. The photographer got lucky with a dazzlingly clear night on his second attempt.
This single exposure of the rising Harvest Moon was taken at England's historical Glastonbury Tor, often mentioned in Celtic mythology and stories about King Arthur.
The moonlight illuminates Japan's Funakawa River and the Yoshino cherry trees that line its banks in this beautiful shot. These blossoming trees were first planted in 1957, in the town of Asahi in the Toyama Prefecture, when the area around the river was renovated.
This incredible photograph, taken from beneath a quadruple arch, was created through 33 four-minute exposures. It shows other stars circling around Polaris (also known as the North Star), with a backdrop of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. The photo also includes the tallest peak in the continental US, Mount Whitney, on the far left.
Taken just a few hours before daylight, this photograph shows the centre of the Milky Way as it arches above Three Dollar Bridge in Montana, USA. The dedicated photographer drove one hundred miles (161km) to capture it.
To get the shot, the photographer travelled to Shiroka Polyana Dam in Devin, one of Bulgaria's darkest spots, and stacked 15 single exposures to create this breathtaking photograph.
Far away from any light pollution, Chidiya Tapu’s nature reserve, in India's Andaman Islands, is the perfect location for astrophotography. Here, the fascinating flora is backdropped by a bright Milky Way.
The Milky Way seems to be mirrored in the sea below in this stirring shot. It was taken at the pier of the Marine Research Institute in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture.
Love this? Follow our Facebook page for more travel inspiration
A rare capture in astrophotography, this RCW 53c nebula (a cloud of gas and dust) boasts incredible shapes and splashes of pink, purple and blue.
The Vela Supernova Remnant (the stunning remains of a stellar explosion) is often photographed, but this fascinating image is taken right on the edge of the Vela constellation – a mostly uncaptured region.
Top
Mind-blowing images of space as you've never seen it before
To
Following a winter storm in December 2021, Los Angeles, California looked especially stunning. The red-hued sky was crowned with a giant full Moon, rising above the San Gabriel Mountains and the city skyline.
Used in prehistoric times for navigation, the stacking stones here create an intriguing foreground for a stunning night sky featuring the Milky Way. The image was snapped on the Isles of Scilly, just off the UK's Cornish coast. (Remember to leave no trace while visiting the region's beaches.)
Located in Tibet's Shannan Prefecture, this national highway is among the highest in the world. In this shot, the illuminated roadway mirrors the glittering Milky Way above, with Kula Kangri mountain rising between them.
A combination of three photos, this stunning landscape shot showcases not only Vestrahorn, Iceland’s famous mountain, but also the dramatic Northern Lights in all their glory.
To capture this unique shot, the photographer ventured out on a 2,500-mile (4,025km) Icelandic road trip that lasted nine days. Here, the wreck of the Gardu, in the country's Westfjords region, is illuminated by the aurora borealis.
This breathtaking photograph depicts the Northern Lights as they reflect in a serene lake, located in Alberta, Canada.
Captured during an auroral storm in northern Finland, this picture creates an optical illusion, so the wind turbine appears to be pushing out the Northern Lights. Of course, the aurora borealis is simply dancing above the turbine.
These two spiral galaxies are known as the Arp 27 group and are expected to interact as they do now for the next tens of millions of years. Their starry dance is beautifully captured in this image.
Astronaut Steve Smith on the unique perspective space travel brings
Pictured here is the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, which was first noticed by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1752, from the Cape of Good Hope. The ruby-like details have been highlighted in post-editing to make the stellar spiral look extra vibrant.
Located in the southern constellation of Eridanus, the two galaxies in this mesmerising photograph belong to the Fornax Cluster. Over time their proximity means that gravitational forces have distorted the shape of the larger galaxy, which has in turn formed more stars in both.
This photograph showcases multiple craters and mountains at the lunar south pole, such as crater Bailly, Kircher, Bettinus and Wilson, and the lunar Leibnitz Mountains.
Although the Moon appears grey in most photos, when captured in a digital image, the hidden colours of its soils (typically too faint to see with the naked eye) can be made visible. However, this specific picture shows those colours inverted.
Composed of images from two different dates, this photograph showcases distinct views of the Moon and has been described as "one of the most detailed amateur-produced maps" of this lunar region.
Pictures of the Sun will always be unique as its surface is ever-changing. For this specific shot, the astrophotographer chose to focus on an area called the H-alphaline – this red band is one of the Sun's actively changing areas.
Taken from Italy’s Veneto region, this photograph captures a partial eclipse of the Sun that occurred in June 2021.
This stunning photograph shows the edge of the Sun, as clouds of hydrogen gas float alongside it. The gas is moved around by the magnetic field of the star and these fascinating clouds are created.
Not only does this photo showcase Jupiter and its iconic Great Red Spot, it also captures three of the planet's moons: Io, Europa and Ganymede. On the surface of Jupiter, you can also detect various other spots and storms.
Comet Leonard passed as closely to Earth as it ever had on 13 December 2021. After its appearance, the comet left our solar system and will not be seen again. To capture this exceptional event, the photographer used the Remote Skygems Observatories’ robotic telescope in Namibia.
This photograh shows the balance between the planet Saturn and its circling moons, creating a satisfying near-symmetrical image.
Offering a different perspective on our solar system's planets, this style of print is called a cyanotype photograph – the concept was created in 1842 by astronomer John Herschel. For this piece, the photographer created a digital negative, then printed it onto acetate. It was allowed to develop in sunlight.
A combined image of multiple wavelengths, this capture depicts the active surface of the Sun. The different colours represent the star's various activities, such as coronal mass ejection (large-scale expulsions of plasma, in red) and filaments (large plasma fields, in dark teal).
Pictured here is Messier 78, a reflection nebula (where stellar light is reflected off dust clouds) situated near Orion. The blue of the nebula beautifully contrasts with its red surroundings, creating a breathtaking shot.
Located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, the Mingantu Astronomical Observatory is most often used to observe the Sun. In this black and white image, the observatory’s silhouette is captured against the starry sky.
Situated in the Cassiopeia constellation, Soul Nebula captured here shines in shades of yellow, orange and blue. To the east lies the Heart Nebula, giving the region the combined name of ‘Heart and Soul’.
Light pollution in cities typically creates a real challenge for astrophotographers, but the brightest stars in our universe can still be captured in these places. This is successfully demonstrated by Zezhen Zhou, with his photo of the Pickering’s Triangle taken in Shaoxing, China.
This striking photograph shows 'a deep view' of the Crescent Nebula in the Cygnus constellation, created through shockwaves from a nearby star. The photographer used an impressive array of techniques to capture this keen level of detail.