Stunning Eclipse and Dolphin Head Stunning Eclipse and Dolphin Head Nebula Images Among 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winners

The 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, hosted by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, U.K., has announced its winners, showcasing breathtaking images including the Dolphin Head Nebula and a vibrant multicolored Earth. The grand prize went to Ryan Imperio for his captivating image of sunlight streaming through lunar mountains during a solar eclipse, titled “Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse.” This photo, taken on October 14, 2023, in Odessa, Texas, captures the rare Baily’s beads effect, where sunlight breaks through the moon’s uneven surface of craters and valleys.

Judge Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn praised the photo, highlighting its meticulous capture of the fleeting Baily’s beads phenomenon, which occurs briefly as the moon moves in and out of eclipse.

Other winning images included a stunning shot of the Dolphin Head Nebula, earning Xin Feng and Miao Gong the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer for their ten-day-long effort in China’s Sichuan province, and a mesmerizing photo of the Centaurus A galaxy, surrounded by high-speed jets of radiation and particles, taken by Hungarian photographers Bence Tóth and Péter Feltóti in Namibia.

In the Image Innovation category, Sergio Díaz Ruiz from Spain won with a vibrant, multicolored satellite data visualization of Earth, featuring land, oceans, and atmospheric features in hues of red, green, and blue.

The competition received around 3,500 entries, with winners selected in 11 categories by a panel of judges.