Astrophotography

Astrophotography, as the name suggests, is the art of photographing objects in outer space including the Moon, planets, distant stars and galaxies. Some people choose to take it up as a hobby and are rewarded with truly spectacular and captivating images of astronomical objects. It involves overcoming challenges that are unique to this form, such as long exposure shots, the need to collect light from a wide area, and clear skies with minimal pollution.

thumb_Overall Winner and Our Sun Winner _The Golden Ring © Shuchang Dong

Winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year in pictures

XINJIANG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: A man watches the Perseid meteor shower on the Pamir Plateau on August 13, 2021 in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Perseids: 2021’s most active meteor shower in pictures

This image combines observations of the nearby galaxies NGC 1300, NGC 1087, NGC 3627 (top, from left to right), NGC 4254 and NGC 4303 (bottom, from left to right) taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Each individual image is a combination of observations conducted at different wavelengths of light to map stellar populations and warm gas. The golden glows mainly correspond to clouds of ionised hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas, marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions in the background reveal the distribution of slightly older stars. The images were taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is making high-resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Galactic fireworks: New images of nearby galaxies

SH2-308 - Dolphin Head Nebula

Wonders of the Universe: 23 mind-blowing photos from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021 shortlist

CAPE SOINIO, GREECE - JUNE 24: Full moon, also known as the Strawberry Moon, rises behind Temple of Poseidon, near capital city Athens, in Cape Sounio, Greece on June 24, 2021. (Photo by Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Strawberry supermoon: Full Moon photos from around the world

Toronto, ON- June 10 - The morning of the eve of Ontario moving into Stage One of COVID-19 reopening is marked with a solar eclipse as viewed from the Beaches in Toronto. June 10, 2021. Close to 80 percent of the sun was covered by the moon at 5:40 am, about five minutes after sunrise. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Solar eclipse 2021: The best pictures of the Sun spectacle from around the world

The full blood super moon is seen during the partial eclipse in Melbourne on May 26, 2021 as stargazers across the Pacific are casting their eyes skyward to witness a rare

Blood supermoon 2021: Jaw-dropping photos of the total lunar eclipse from around the world

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Everyday science

Mars selfies, Pink Moons and a robot servant: The best images in science this month

Hidden gems: 8 beautiful Hubble Space Telescope images you probably haven't seen before © NASA/Hubble Space Telescope Heritage Team

Hubble's hidden gems 8 beautiful images you probably haven't seen before

The Voyager mission and our Pale Blue Dot: How the most famous picture in science came to be © NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Voyager mission and our Pale Blue Dot: How the most famous picture in science came to be

Looking back at Spitzer’s greatest photos © NASA/Spitzer

Looking back at Spitzer’s greatest photos

Quantum Droplet © Aleks Labuda

Everyday science

Science photography 16 incredible winners from the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2019

NASA and the night sky celebrated in new book, Stargazing (A Diamond and Lizard in the Sky © NASA/GSFC)

NASA and the night sky celebrated in new book, Stargazing

cover 08 - Kevin Lewis - Perseid over St. Cwyfan Church

Top tips on how to photograph the Perseid meteor shower

© Beate Behnke (Germany)

Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017