Distorted Shadows of the Moon's Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse © Ryan Imperio (USA)
The overall winner of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 16 is Ryan Imperio for his photograph, Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse, that captures the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse.
Baily’s beads are formed when sunlight shines through the valleys and craters of the Moon’s surface, breaking the eclipse’s well-known ring pattern, and are only visible when the Moon either enters or exits an eclipse. These are a challenge to capture due to their brevity and the precise timing needed. The image will be on display alongside the winners of the other categories in the accompanying exhibition, opening at the National Maritime Museum on Friday 13 September 2024.
Ryan Imperio said, ‘The images selected each year are absolutely astonishing and I am both thrilled and honoured to have my photo among them. I had hoped my image would be shared in some way but never expected to be selected as a winner, let alone Overall Winner!’
Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, judge and meteorologist said, ’This is an impressive dissection of the fleeting few seconds during the visibility of the Baily’s beads. This image left me captivated and amazed. It’s exceptional work deserving of high recognition.’
The Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award was won by Daniel Borsari for his image NGC NGC 1499, A Dusty California. Neal White, judge and artist, commented that ‘it demonstrated the future of astronomy photography being fearlessly, and openly, taken forward by a new generation’.
The other winning images include Aurora Borealis over Brighton Seafront by Michael Steven Harris, which beautifully captures the pink hues of the aurora despite the significant light pollution in the area; Tasman Gems by Tom Rae, a Milky Way photograph of the southern hemisphere night sky including the hydrogen clouds of the Gum Nebula and Parallel Lines Over the City by Ran Shen which uses a simple but powerful composition to show the trajectories of Venus and Jupiter over the skyline of Lujiazui, Shanghai. In the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation category, judges awarded the winning prize to Anatomy of a Habitable Planet by Sergio Díaz Ruiz. This image shows Earth as a seemingly alien world as a distant civilisation might study it.
Another of the judges’ favourite images was SNR G107.5-5.2, Unexpected Discovery (The Nereides Nebula in Cassiopeia) a group submission by Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino and Richard Galli. The photograph captures a previously unknown gigantic supernova remnant (SNR) in the centre of the famous constellation Cassiopeia, bringing an exciting discovery to the winning images.
Dr Ed Bloomer, astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich said, ‘Once again, I've had the great privilege of being on the judging panel for Astronomy Photographer of the Year – an abundance of astonishing works flood to us, and it is a joy to see what the world's best astrophotographers are producing. It really is true that choosing the winners is a long process, and heavily debated amongst the panel.
This year, I've personally enjoyed what I think is a very strong showing for the Aurorae category. The Young entrants are mightily impressive as well, and the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation is surprising, beautiful and intriguing. But there are wonders spread across every category. Try and see as much as you can at the exhibition, you'll be swept away by what has been created.’
Victoria Lane, Senior Curator, Art and Identity at Royal Museums Greenwich said, ‘It was a privilege to judge the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The range and skill of images, some seemingly impossible to photograph, is astounding. I was particularly impressed by the creativity and innovative approaches of the entries to our Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation, which emphasises the art rather than the science of space.’
The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Marketsand in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. For the 2024 competition there were over 3,500 entries from 58 countries.
Exhibition information for visitors:
Venue: National Maritime Museum, London
Dates: Opening 13 September 2024
Website: rmg.co.uk/shortlist
Visitor Enquiries: 020 8858 4422 | bookings@rmg.co.uk
Twitter: @RMGreenwich #APY16
Instagram: @royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY16
Facebook /royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY16
Astrophotography Group: facebook.com/groups/astrophotos
Notes to editors
1. Full details of the 2024 winners
Our Sun
- Ryan Imperio (USA) with Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse (Winner and Overall Winner)
- Peter Ward (Australia) with Coronal Chronograph (Runner-Up)
- Andras Papp (Hungary) with Blue turns to Red, our Sun Rotates (Highly Commended)
Galaxies
- Bence Tóth (Hungary) and Péter Feltóti (Hungary) with Echoes of the Past (Winner)
- Jakob Sahner (Germany) with A Very Deep Look at the Markarian’s Chain (Runner-Up)
- Sophie Paulin, Jens Unger, Jakob Sahner (Germany) with M63, The Tidal Streams Around the Sunflower Galaxy (Highly Commended)
Aurorae
- Larryn Rae (New Zealand) with Queenstown Aurora (Winner)
- Filip Hrebenda (Slovakia) with The Green Kingdom (Runner-Up)
- Michael Steven Harris (UK) with Aurora Borealis over Brighton Seafront (Highly Commended)
Our Moon
- Gábor Balázs (Hungary) with Shadow Peaks of Sinus Iridum (Winner)
- Lóránd Fényes (Hungary) with Venus and the Moon in Infrared (Runner-Up)
- Jinyuan Chen (China) with Crescent (Highly Commended)
People and Space
- Tom Williams (UK) with High-Tech Silhouette (Winner)
- Ran Shen (China) with Parallel Lines Over the City (Runner-Up)
- Matt Jackson (USA) with Big Brother is Watching You (Highly Commended)
Planets, Comets and Asteroids
- Tom Williams (UK) with On Approach (Winner)
- Sophie Paulin and Tom Williams (Germany and UK) with Methane Lights of Jupiter (Runner-Up)
- Damon Mitchell Scotting (UK) with M100 (The Blowdryer Galaxy) and Ceres (Highly Commended)
Skyscapes
- Tom Rae (New Zealand) with Tasman Gems (Winner)
- Fei Xue (China) with Symphony of the Night Sky (Runner-Up)
- Petr Horalek (Czechia) with Like Blue Lava (Highly Commended)
Stars and Nebulae
- Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino, Richard Galli (Germany, USA, France, France, France) with SNR G107.5-5.2, Unexpected Discovery (The Nereides Nebula in Cassiopeia) (Winner)
- Mukund Raguram (USA) with Serpens: a Mosaic (Runner-Up)
- Bence Tóth (Hungary) with Antares Region (Highly Commended)
The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
- Xin Feng and Miao Gong (China) with SH2-308: Dolphin Head Nebula (Winner)
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- Daniele Borsari (Italy), aged 14 with NGC 1499, A Dusty California (Winner)
- Sonny Chart (UK), aged 15 with IC 405 and IC 410: The Flaming Star and Tadpole Nebulae (Runner-Up)
- ZiYang Chang (China), aged 14 with M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy (Highly Commended)
- Runwei Xu (China), aged 15 with Double Comet (Highly Commended)
- Benjamin Lawler, aged 8 and Joshua Lawler, aged 10 (UK) with M106, a Spiral Galaxy (Highly Commended)
The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation
- Sergio Díaz Ruiz (Spain) with Anatomy of a Habitable Planet (Winner)
2. The winners of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 16 will be announced at an award ceremony in September 2024. The winning photographs will be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum alongside a selection of shortlisted images.
3. The overall winner will receive £10,000. Winners of all other categories and the photographer named winner in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category will receive £1,500. There are also prizes for runners-up (£500) and highly commended (£250) entries. The special prize winners will receive £750. All the winning entrants will receive a one-year subscription to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
4. Royal Observatory Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian and one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. Since its founding in 1675, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich has been at the center of the measurement of time and space and visitors today can still stand on the historic Prime Meridian line. The Observatory galleries and Peter Harrison Planetarium help unravel the extraordinary phenomena of time, space and astronomy. In 2018, the Royal Observatory acquired the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope (AMAT), the first new telescope to be installed in Greenwich in over 60 years, marking a new era for the world-famous site and restoring its status as a working observatory.
The Royal Observatory is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, which also incorporates the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House and Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings, which form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcomes over 2.5 million British and international visitors a year and is also a major centre of education and research. The mission of Royal Museums Greenwich is to enrich people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space and Britain’s role in world history. For more information visit rmg.co.uk.
5. Liberty Specialty Markets, part of Liberty Mutual, offers specialty and commercial insurance and reinsurance products across key UK, European, Middle East, US, Bermuda, Asia Pacific & Latin America markets. We provide brokers and insureds with a broad product range through both the Company and Lloyd’s markets and have over 2,000 employees in approximately 60 offices. At Liberty Mutual, we believe progress happens when people feel secure. By providing protection for the unexpected and delivering it with care, we help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow. In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, today we are the eighth largest global property and casualty insurer based on 2023 gross written premium. We also rank 87 on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the US based on 2023 revenue. As of December 31, 2023, we had $49.4 billion in annual consolidated revenue. We employ over 45,000 people in 29 countries and economies around the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, specialty lines, reinsurance, commercial multiple-peril, workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, surety, and commercial property.
6. BBC Sky at Night Magazine is Britain’s best-selling astronomy magazine, with a combined print and digital monthly circulation of 31,289. skyatnightmagazine.com has 700,000 visits a month and reaches 110,000 organic social media followers through Facebook, X and Instagram. The magazine is available monthly through its app (available on Apple App Store and Google Play), on Apple News, on Zinio and in print, and is media partner of the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. With writing from the world’s leading astronomers and science communicators, BBC Sky at Night Magazine complements one of the world’s longest running TV programmes, BBC Four’s The Sky at Night, and is published by Our Media under licence from BBC Worldwide.
7. Royal Observatory Greenwich, in partnership with Collins, will be publishing Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 13 in September 2024, RRP £30.00. It is the official publication of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition and will showcase breathtaking images of space and the night sky from the 2024 competition shortlist. Photographs will be accompanied by full details, including each photographer’s information, photographic location and technical specifications.
Last year’s publication is still available to buy: Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 12 / RRP £30.00 / Hardback / Published September 2023 / Royal Museums Greenwich online shop. For further information or to request review copies please contact: Catherine Howe/ catherine.howe@harpercollins.co.uk / 020 8307 4048.
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