The "Astronomical Photographer of the Year" competition has announced the stunning finalists of 2024. From captivating "mythical monsters" to dizzying distant constellations, the candidates on the shortlist of the best photos of the competition showcase the magnificent beauty of the sky around us. Here are the amazing nominees of this year. Among the finalists are photos of the sun, the aurora borealis, rare astronomical phenomena, and distant galaxies.
“Night with Valkyries” - José Miguel Picon Chimelis
In this image, a powerful geomagnetic storm creates a stunning colorful spectacle in the night sky of Iceland. The author took a panoramic photo near Mount Eistragorn - “one of the most amazing experiences I had during night photography.”
“Solar Pulse” - Wenlian Li
In this bright image by photographer Wenlian Li, an explosive solar spot ejects plasma from the surface of the Sun.
“Night Observation” - Jacob Zaner
In this shot from La Palma, one of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the large Isaac Newton telescope is under ominous cosmic clouds from the Cygnus constellation.
“Arctic Dragon” - Karina Letelier Baeza
Karina Letelier Baeza captured the aurora borealis in the shape of a dragon. Its tail descends to the horizon, bright green rays taking the form of wings rising above the rocky pyramids of Arctic Henge in Iceland.
“Serpentine” - Paul Havort
The author created this captivating image of stars above the ruins of an old pier and cracked clay on the beach of Snettisham in Norfolk, UK.
“Galaxy Devourer” - ShaRA (Shared Remote Astrophotography)
The interstellar clouds CG 4 (Cometary Globule 4) form a menacing shape that seems to be about to swallow the galaxy, in this photo taken by a group of astrophotographers.
“Blue Details M45: Pleiades” - Sandor Bilitski
In this shot, Sandor Bilitski captured the beauty of the Pleiades constellation. Also known as Messier 45 or the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades consist of thousands of the brightest stars. The constellation is located 445 light-years from Earth.
“Cosmic Firework: Geminids Meteor Shower” - Jacob Zaner
This panorama depicts the Geminids meteor shower against the background of the winter Milky Way in the night sky above La Palma. Jacob Zaner says he saw three meteors per minute during the peak of the shower.
“Scream of a Dying Star” - Yann Sainthé
Yann Sainthé captured the supernova star of Cygnus in this stunning shot. The title is a reference to "The Scream," a famous painting by Edvard Munch - it is the scream that continues to echo into space after the death of the star.
“Martian Dementors” - Leonardo Di Maggio
The author created this eerie abstract image using a photo taken from the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft - a spacecraft that searches for water on Mars.
Source: Live Science
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