Comet Leonard, A ‘Blood Moon’ And ‘Winged Aurora’ Star In Annual Astronomy Photographer Of The Year

Remember Comet Leonard, the “Christmas Comet?”

Astrophotographers got some incredible images of it at the time and several months later one of them has walked off with an international award for the best space image of the year.

Gerald Rhemann, whose images of Comet Leonard were the ones to watch for on social media during December 2021, took his stunning images from Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm in, Khomas, Namibia. On Christmas Day he imaged it just as it suffered from a dramatic “tail disconnection event” as part of its tail was wrenched-off and swallowed-up by the solar wind.

The overall winner of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 14, Rhemann’s photograph of a rare event will be on display at the National Maritime Museum in London on Saturday, September 17, 2022. “This award is one of the highlights of my astrophotography work,” said Rhemann. “All the effort that went into making this image a success was worth it.”

The competition received over 3,000 entries from sixty-seven countries. Here’s a selection of some of the best images from this year’s competition, which had 11 different categories:

Noah Kujawski’s photograph of the lunar eclipse in November 2021 shows the fantastic red colour created by light passing through all the Earth’s sunrises and sunsets, casting a blood-red light onto the Moon.

An unusual “‘winged aurora” crowning a mountain in Murmansk, Russia, as captured by Alexander Stepanenko. “It’s not uncommon to spot shapes during an auroral display but this bird is one of the best we have ever seen,” said Steve Marsh, judge and Art Editor for BBC Sky at Night Magazine. “It has so much movement and dynamism in it.”

A composite image taken using a Sony A7 III camera by photographer Mihail Minkov in Bulgaria in August 2021, this shows Buzludzha, a spaceship-like structure built in the 1970s. “An exceptional image of an iconic Brutalist building, perched on the northernmost edge of Bulgaria’s Balkan Mountains,” said Hannah Lyons, Assistant Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich. “The spaceship-like structure, combined with the luminous skyscape and the ascending figure, create an eerie yet calming symphony.”

The Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award was won by two fourteen-year-old boys from China, Yang Hanwen and Zhou Zezhen for an image of the Andromeda Galaxy (above). “One of the main functions of astrophotography is to attract more people to fall in love with astronomy by showing the beauty of the Universe,” said Zezhen.

“The Eye of God” by Chinese photographer Weitang Liang is an image of the Helix Nebula, which resembles an eye.

“Shadow Profile of Plato’s East Rim” by British photographer Martin Lewis, one of the sharpest images of giant lunar crater Plato.

“In the Embrace of a Green Lady” by Slovakian photographer Filip Hrebenda shows the Northern Lights reflected on a freezing Icelandic lake.

“A Year in the Sun” by Indian photographer Soumyadeep Mukherjee is a clever composite of images of the Sun taken over the course of en entire year. It shows the zones where sunspots primarily form.

“The International Space Station (ISS) Transiting Tranquility Base” by American photographer Andrew McCarthy won the People & Space category. It features the ISS positioned directly over the Sea of Tranquility where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and became the first Moon-walkers in 1969.

“Fourteen years of the competition have shown that astronomy is timeless and can withstand anything,” said Marsh. “This year has showcased some almost “space telescope” quality imaging, with entrants pouncing on celestial events as they happen, finding new ways to bring us well documented objects and showing acute knowledge of their craft.”

The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.