Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Entrants can submit up to 10 images in the competition, which normally runs January–March.[4]

2009-14 categories:

• Earth and Space - Photographs featuring the night sky or twilight sky.
• Our Solar System - Photographs of our Moon, the Sun, and objects in our solar system.
• Deep Space - Photographs of deep-space objects inside the Milky Way galaxy and beyond.
• People and Space Special Prize - Photographs of the night sky that include people or elements that show the presence or influence of human beings.
• Young Competition - Photographs taken by entrants aged 15 or under of any astronomical subject.

Since 2015 the categories have been:

• Aurorae - Photographs featuring the northern and southern lights (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis).
• Galaxies - Photographs of deep-space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters and stellar associations.
• Our Moon - Photographs of the Moon, including lunar eclipses and the occultation of stars and planets, and the Moon alongside earthly scenery.
• Our Sun - Photographs of the Sun, including solar eclipses and transits, and the Sun alongside earthly scenery.
• People and Space - Photographs of the night sky that include people or elements that show the presence or influence of human beings.
• Planets, Comets and Asteroids - Photographs of objects in our solar system, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris.
• Skyscapes - Photographs of landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes in which the night sky or twilight sky is a prominent feature.
• Stars and Nebulae - Photographs of deep-space objects in the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other galactic phenomena.
• The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer Special Prize - Photographs of any astronomical subject taken by people who have only been practicing astronomy photography for one year and have not entered the competition before.
• The Robotic Scope Special Prize - Photographs taken with a remotely operated robotic telescope which is publicly accessible.
• The Young Competition - Photographs taken by entrants aged 15 or under of any astronomical subject.[5]

Entries are judged anonymously by a panel of judges. Up to 140 images are shortlisted and are included in the annual publication. In the adult competition, the judges select a winner, runner-up and highly commended image in each category and one winner for each of the special prizes. In the young competition, a winner, runner-up and three highly commended images are chosen. The overall winner, the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year, is chosen from the category winners in the adult competition.

Current judges:[6]

• Chris Bramley (editor of the BBC Sky at Night magazine)
• Jon Culshaw (Comedian, impersonator and regular guest on The Sky at Night)
• Will Gater (astronomer, journalist and astrophotographer)
• Pete Lawrence (world-class astrophotographer, presenter of The Sky at Night)
• Ed Robinson (award-winning photographer)
• Sarah Pickering (artist and Teaching Fellow at the Slade School of Fine Art)
• Rebecca Roth (photographer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)
• Oana Sandu (community coordinator for the European Southern Observatory)
• Melanie Vandenbrouck (curator at Royal Museums Greenwich)

Past judges:

• Sir Patrick Moore (astronomer, writer and broadcaster)
• Maggie Aderin-Pocock (space scientist, science writer and broadcaster)
• Melanie Grant (Picture Editor of Intelligent Life magazine at The Economist)
• Rebecca Higgitt (Historian of science and former Curator of the History of Science and Technology at Royal Museums Greenwich)
• Dan Holdsworth (Fine-art photographer)
• Oliva Johnson (Astronomy educator and former Astronomy Programmes Manager at the Royal Observatory Greenwich)
• Damian Peach (Astrophotographer and planetary observer)
• Graham Southorn (Former Editor of the BBC Sky at Night magazine))
• Marek Kukula (Former Public Astronomer at Royal Museums Greenwich)
• Wolfgang Tillmans (Turner prize winning artist)
• Chris Lintott (Astronomer at the University of Oxford and co-presenter of The Sky at Night)

• 2009 - 'Horsehead Nebula' by Martin Pugh [7]
• 2010 - 'Blazing Bristlecone' by Thomas Lowe [8]
• 2011 - 'Jupiter with lo and Ganymede - September 2010' by Damian Peach [9]
• 2012 - 'M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy' by Martin Pugh [10]
• 2013 - 'Guiding Light to the Stars' by Mark Gee [11]
• 2014 - 'Aurora over a Glacier Lagoon' by James Woodend [12]
• 2015 – Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen – a skyscape by Luc Jamet showing the solar eclipse of March 20, 2015[13]
• 2016 - 'Baily's Beads' by Yun Jun [14]
• 2017 - 'The Rho Ophiuchi Clouds' by Artem Mironov [15]
• 2018 - 'Transport the Soul' by Brad Goldpaint [16]
• 2019 - 'Into the Shadow' by László Francsics [17]
• 2020 - 'Andromeda Galaxy at Arm's Length' by Nicolas Lefaudeux [18]

The astrophotography website Skies & Scopes conducted a data analysis of equipment data made public from all shortlisted images in 2019 and 2020. It found that 11% of 252 shortlisted images in 2019 and 2020 were taken with a Canon EOS 6D. However, Nikon cameras were overall more frequently used. The Takahashi FSQ-106ED was the most successfully used telescope, followed closely by the Celestron C14. The Sky-Watcher EQ6 was the most commonly used tracking mount in the competition.[19]