Winners of the 2018 Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest have just been announced. This is the tenth year of the competition, and just like before, the winning images didn’t disappoint. The judges had a difficult task of selecting 31 out of 4,200 images from 91 countries. But the selected best of the best will take your breath away.
The 2018 Astronomy Photographer of the Year is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, in association with Insight Investment and BBC Sky at Night Magazine. Professional photographers, as well as the amateurs, submitted their work, competing in nine categories:
- People and Space
- Aurorae
- Galaxies
- Our Moon
- Our Sun
- Planets, Comets and Asteroids
- Skyscapes
- Stars and nebulae
- Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Additionally, there are two special prizes: The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer and the Robotic Scope prize.
American photographer Brad Goldpaint was selected as the overall winner for his photo titled “Transport the Soul.” He received the main prize of £10,000 (around $13,000) for his stunning photo, while the winners of subcategories won £1,500 (around $1,950).
Dr. Melanie Vandenbrouck, Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich and judge for the competition, said that picking just 31 winners from the 134 shortlisted images was “fiendishly difficult:”
“With a competition that keeps on flourishing over the years, the growing community of amateur astrophotographers have time after time surprised us with technically accomplished, playfully imaginative and astoundingly beautiful images that sit at the intersection of art and science. This year did not disappoint. Their mesmerising, often astonishing photographs, show us the exquisite complexity of space, and movingly convey our place in the universe. And to see our young winners compete with seasoned photographers in their skill, imagination, and aesthetic sense, remains the greatest reward of all.”
The winning photos will be exhibited in the National Maritime Museum from 24 October 2018, so don’t miss it if you’re in London. But for all of you living far (like I do), here are the winning images from all categories. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!
More photos from Astronomy Photographer of the Year contests
- These are the stunning shortlisted images of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017
- These Are the Winning Photos of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017
- The Winning Photos of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018 Contest Are Out of This World
- Shortlisted photos of 2019 Astronomy Photographer of the Year are breathtaking
- Behold The Awe-Inspiring Winning Photos of 2019 Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- The 2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Shortlists Will Take Your Breath Away
- Extraordinary Photo of Andromeda Galaxy Wins Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020
- Stunning Photo of an “Alien Throne” Is People’s Choice of 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- A Photo of Annular Solar Eclipse in Tibet Wins 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- Astronomy Photographer of the Year Shares Stunning 2022 Shortlists
- Rare Photo of Comet Leonard’s Disconnected Gas Tail Wins 2022 Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- Astronomy Photographer of the Year Reveals Stellar 2023 Shortlists
- This Year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year Includes… A Stargate?
People and Space
Category winner and overall winner
Nikon D810 camera, 14 mm f/4.0 lens, ISO 2500, 20-second exposure
Runner-up
Sony ILCE-7S camera, 28-mm f/2 lens, ISO 6400, 15-second exposure
Highly commended
Nikon D810 camera, 20-mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 5000, 10-second exposure
Aurorae
Winner
Sony ILCE-7S2 camera, 20-mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 2000, 3.2-second exposure
Runner-up
Sony ILCE-7R camera, 22-mm f/4 lens, ISO 1000, 30-second exposure
Highly commended
Canon EOS 5DS R camera, 17-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 2000, 8-second exposure
Galaxies
Winner
Planewave CDK 12.5 telescope, Astrodon Gen II LRGB, Baarder H lens at 2541 mm f/8, Astro Physics 900 mount, SBIG STXL-11000 camera, Luminance: 33 x 1200 seconds [11hrs], H: 12 x 1200 seconds [4hrs], Red-Green-Blue: 450 x 12–18 seconds
Runner-up
Takahashi FSQ 106ED telescope, Idas lps 2-inch lens, SkyWatcher Nq6pro mount, Canon 6D camera, 414-mm f/3.9 lens, ISO 1600, 24x30x400″ exposure
Highly commended
Takahashi FSQ 106 ED telescope, LRGB Baader filters, ORION ATLAS EQ-G mount, QSI 583ws camera, 530-mm f/5 lens, 36 hours 30 mins exposure
Our Moon
Winner
Celestron 14 telescope, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount, ZWO ASI 224MC camera, 4,200-mm f/12 lens, multiple 20ms exposures
Runner-up
Takahashi FSQ85 telescope, Losmandy Starlapse mount, Canon 5D Mark IV camera, 500-mm f/5 lens, 9 exposures ranging from ISO 100 to 900, 150 2-seconds through to 1/4000th second exposures
Highly commended
Homemade 250-mm f/4 Carbon Newton telescope, f/11, 250/1000 mirror lens, Skywatcher EQ6 mount, ZWO ASI 174 MM camera, 6250 mm f/4 lens increased to f/11, multiple 1/200-second exposures
Our Sun
Winner
AF-S NIKKOR 105-mm f/1.4E ED lens, Nikon D810 camera on an untracked tripod, 105 mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 64, multiple exposures of 0.3-second, 0.6-second and 1.3-second
Runner-up
Home-built telescope based on iStar Optical 150mm f/10 lens, double stacked hydrogen-alpha filter at 5250 mm, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, Basler acA1920-155um camera, 150-mm f/35 lens, multiple 0.006-second exposures as an AVI
Highly commended
Sky-Watcher DOB10 GOTO telescope, Optolong R Filter, QHY5III290M camera, 3,600-mm f/4.7 lens, ISO 160, 0.7ms exposure
Planets, Comets and Asteroids
Winner
Home-built 444-mm Dobsonian reflecting telescope, Astronomik 807nm IR filter, Home-built Equatorial tracking platform, ZWO ASI174MM camera, 12.4-m f/28 lens, 6msec frame time, 5.3sec total exposure duration
Runner-up
Home-built 444-mm Dobsonian Newtonian reflector telescope (Mercury used 222-mm Dobsonian), various IR filters for Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Saturn (L). UV filter for Venus, home-built Equatorial Platform, ZWO ASI174MC/ASI174MM/ ASI290MM camera, various focal lengths f/12 to f/36, various exposures
Highly commended
ASA 12-inch (300 mm) Astrograph telescope at f/3.62, ASA DDM 85 telescope mount, ASI ZWO 1600 MC colour CCD camera, exposure: RGB composite, 4.6-hours total exposure
Skyscapes
Winner
Minolta 80–200 f/2.8 telescope, tripod, Sony SLT-A99V camera, 135-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 640, 50 x 300-second exposures
Runner-up
Sony ILCE-7RM2 camera, 17-mm f/4 lens, ISO 100, 950 x 15-seconds
Highly commended
Canon EOS 6D camera, 14-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 10-second exposure
Stars and nebulae
Winner
Takahashi FSQ 106 ED telescope, Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount, Canon EOS 6D Cooling CDS Mod camera, 530-mm f/5 lens, ISO 1600, total 6-hours exposure
Runner-up
Takahashi FSQ 106 ED telescope, Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount, Canon EOS 6D Cooling CDS Mod camera, 383-mm f/3.6 lens, ISO 1600, 1, 3 and 6 min, total 5 Hours exposure
Highly commended
Homebuilt 12.5-inch f/4 Serrurier Truss Newtonian telescope, Losmandy G-11 mount, QSI 683wsg-8 camera, 1,450-mm 12.5” f/4 lens, 14 hours and 40 minute exposure
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Winner
Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera, 50-mm panorama f/2.0 lens, ISO 6400, 8-second exposure
Runner-up
Takahashi MT-160 telescope, f/4.8 reducer for MT-160, Celestron CGEM mount, Canon EOS 700D camera, 776-mm f/4.8 lens, ISO 800, 12 x 5 minute exposures
Highly commended
Lunt LS60 telescope, Celestron CGE Pro mount, ZWO ASI174MM camera, 1250 (500-mm with x2.5 Powermate) f/21 (f/8.3 x 2.5) lens, 2000 frames best 20% retained
Highly commended
SkyWatcher Skyliner 200 p, SkyWatcher 25mm wide angle, Dobsonian mount, Apple iPad 5th generation, 3.3-mm f/2.4 lens, ISO 250, 1/17-second exposure
Highly commended
Celestron C11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, Baader red filter, SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount, Imaging Resource DMK21 camera, 2,700-mm f/10 lens, 1/300-second exposure
Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
Winner
Nikon D810A camera, 35-mm f/2 lens; sky: ISO 1250, 16 x 60-second exposures, total 16 pictures; ground: ISO 640, 4 x 120-second exposures, total 4 pictures
Robotic scope
Winner
Takahashi FSQ106 telescope at 106 mm, Paramount ME mount, SBIG STL-11000M camera, 530-mm f/5 lens, exposure: four LRGB frames, each frame 30 minutes each
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