The French Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty as well as the German Marcel Dreschsler won the prize for “The Astronomy Photographer of The Year” with a photo of the Andromeda galaxy accompanied by a plasma arc.
Planet, nebulae or clouds of stars… The competition called “The Astronomy Photographer of the Year”, saw its fifteenth edition reward a photo taken not by one, but by three amateur astronomers: the German Marcel Drechsler and the French Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty. Here is the complete list.
• Photography of the year
Name of the winning photograph: Andromeda, Unexpected. A name far from being chosen at random since beyond the magnificently captured Andromeda galaxy, the photo also shows a gigantic arc of blue plasma. She also won first prize in the “Galaxies” category.
“Scientists are currently studying this new discovery as part of a transnational collaboration,” the photographers explain, “it could be the largest structure of its type closest to us in the Universe.”
• The “Celestial Landscape” prize
The photo that won the most beautiful “Heavenly Landscape” award was “Grand Cosmic Fireworks” taken by Angel An in Tibet. Standing on the highest ridge of the Himalayan Mountains, Angel An saw leprechauns, a luminous phenomenon occurring at very high altitudes above thunderstorms. ephemeral artifice for the public on Earth,” Angel An further described.
• The “Our Sun” prize
The “Notre Soleil” prize was awarded to the photo “A Sun Question” taken by Edouardo Schaberg Poupeau. The surface of the Sun, which seems to be almost represented in fine brush strokes, has been immortalized here from Santa Fe in Argentina.
With his photography, Edouardo Scharberg Poupeau believes that the Sun “wanted to show us in a very graphic way that it is a star with many unanswered questions, as clearly shown by this enormous and beautiful filament in the shape of a question mark” .
• The “Our Moon” prize
In the “Our Moon” category, “Mars-Set” by Ethan Chappel was rewarded by showing an occultation of Mars which took place on December 8, 2022, when the Moon passed in front of the red planet. One of the great celestial events of 2022. “This image is a technical marvel and a real treat to look at,” said Steve Marsh, juror of this 15th edition of the competition.
• The price of the “Aurora Polar”
The photo that won the “Aurora Polar” prize was that of Monika Deviat. Named “Brushstroke”, it was taken in Finland and differs from the photos usually taken of the polar lights according to the photographer.
“I thought it was a unique and beautiful shape with the feather ends,” Monika Deviat said.
• The “Planets, comets and asteroids” prize
“Suspended in a Sunbeam” is the winning photograph in the “Planets, Comets and Asteroids” category. Captured by Tom Williams, it shows, according to him, a “unique view” of the planet Venus.
“Venus can be easily found with the naked eye or photographed with a small telescope, because it is the planet with the largest angular diameter visible from Earth. But not like this. Capturing these atmospheric details from the sunny part of the planet, even though it is so far from Earth, is a remarkable achievement”, reacted Laszlo Francsics, member of the jury.
• The “Man and Space” prize
The “Man and Space” prize was won by Vikas Chander for his photo entitled “Zeila”. This shows a ship stranded on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia under a gray sky dotted with star trails. “It’s a hauntingly beautiful image that would make the perfect setting for a ghost story,” commented competition juror Melissa Brobby.
• The “Stars and Nebulae” prize
For the “Stars and Nebulae” category, it’s the German Marcel Drechsler who wins again with “New Class of Galactic Nebulae Around the Star YY Hya”. The star YY Hya and its interstellar environment are immortalized there after more than 360 hours of exposure in an “absolutely breathtaking” way for juror Yuri Beletsky.
• The “Sir Patrick Moore Prize”
The “Sir Patrick Moore Prize” – a name given in homage to a famous amateur astronomer – was awarded to Aaron Wilhelm for “Sh2-132: Blinded by the Light”. Its subject: the Lion Nebula, name given for its shape which resembles the face and mane of the feline. “A beautiful image of this field of cloudiness”, for Steve Marsh who is a member of the competition jury.
• The “Young Astrophotographer” prize
The winner of the “Young Astrophotographer” award went to Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang for “The Running Chicken Nebula,” a photo taken from the El Sauce Observatory in Chile. Nebula IC2944, commonly known as the “Running Chicken Nebula”, is located in the constellation Centaurus, some 6,000 light years from Earth.
• The “Annie Maunder Prize”
Finally the “Annie Maunder Prize” – who was a Northern Irish astronomer of the 20th century, was won by John White for “Black Echo”. What appears at first glance to be a drop of water taken from a low angle turns out to be nothing more and nothing less than a visual representation of the sound of a black hole. “It is an image, a sound caused by an invisible source. Austere, beautiful, rather strange and certainly innovative!”, described Dr. Ed Bloomer of the jury.
Source: BFM TV
