The Best Astronomy Photo Competition of 2014 has concluded.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich and the BBC's Sky At Night programme hold an annual Astronomy Photo of the Year competition. Spectacular images were submitted for 2014, but only a few won the Best of the Year award. The results of the competition have been announced, and the images are stunning.
-
- Another shooting star-themed photo from Emmett Sparling of Canada. Here, the Earth's rotation and the steady camera have created a trail of shooting stars. The photo was taken near Cypress Mountain.
-
- The Horsehead Nebula, which has never lost its popularity. Bill Snyder's Horsehead Nebula (IC 434) from the United States.
-
- This photograph was taken by Matt James in Australia. Thanks to the Earth's rotation, the image appears to show shooting stars when the camera is held steady. It was taken at the Capital Wind Farm near Lake George in Bungendore, Australia.
-
- Mark Hanson from the United States took this photo in Animas, New Mexico. The image shows a spiral galaxy called NGC 3718.
-
- Alexandra Hart from England submitted this photo, claiming it demonstrates the Sun's intensity and magnitude. The solar flare on the left is many times larger than Earth's.
-
- George Tarsoudis from Greece took a detailed photo of the 86 km long Tycho crater on the Moon.
-
- Chris Murphy from New Zealand took this photo in the Wairarapa rock formations in New Zealand. It looks like it's from another planet.
-
- Shishir and Shashank Dholakia from the United States took a larger image showing the Horsehead Nebula and the ionized hydrogen gas around it.
-
- That's not Gandalf you see, don't smile just yet. This photo was taken during the very rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse in November 2013. Eclipses in which the Moon doesn't completely cover the Sun are called Hybrid Eclipses. Eugen Kamenew from Germany was photographed posing as a tour guide during a tourist trip in Kenya.
-
- Julie Fletcher from Australia created this beautiful image, capturing Venus and Aphrodite's star alongside human figures. She titled the photo "Lost Souls."
-
- David Fitz-Henry captured the Helix (NGC 7293) Nebula from Australia. The large eye-like nebula is 700 light-years away.
-
- First prize went to James Woodend from England. This photograph of green auroras and their reflections in the Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. This is also the first time an aurora photograph has won an award in this competition.
