Unless Elon Musk has his way in the near future,Philippines Archives most of us probably aren't going to get to go to space. But that doesn't mean we can't admire it from afar.
On Sunday, London's Royal Museums Greenwich unveiled the winners (and the runners up) of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020. The competition has been running for 12 years now, and this year saw over 5,000 entries from six continents.
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From the dancing lights of the aurorae to our swirling neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, and with titles provided by the photographers, here are the top of the crop in their respective categories...
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Aurorae
Highly commended: 'Iceland' by Kristina Makeeva. Credit: Kristina Makeeva Runner-up: 'Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora' by Tom Archer. Credit: Tom Archer Winner: 'The Green Lady' by Nicholas Roemmelt. Credit:
Best newcomer
Winner: 'Waves' by Bence Toth. Credit: Bence Toth
Galaxies
Highly commended: 'Attack on the Large Magellanic Cloud' by Juan-Carlos Munoz-Mateos. Credit: Juan-Carlos Munoz-Mateos Runner-up: 'NGC 3628 with 300,000 Light Year Long Tail' by Mark Hanson. Credit: Mark Hanson Winner and overall winner: 'Andromeda Galaxy at Arms Length' by Nicolas Lefaudeux. Credit: Nicolas Lefaudeux
Our moon
Highly commended: 'Moon Base' by Daniel Koszela. Credit: Daniel Koszela Runner-up: 'HDR Partial Lunar Eclipse With Clouds' by Ethan Roberts. Credit: Ethan Roberts Winner: 'Tycho Crater Region with Colours' by Alain Paillou. Credit: Alain Paillou
Our sun
Highly commended: 'Ultraviolet' by Alan Friedman. Credit: Alan Friedman Runner-up: '145 Seconds of Darkness' by Filip Ogorzelski. Credit: Filip Ogorzelski Winner: 'Liquid Sunshine' by Alexandra Hart. Credit: Alexandra Hart
People and space
Highly commended: 'AZURE Vapor Tracers' by Yang Sutie. Credit: Yang Sutie Runner-up: 'Observe the Heart of the Galaxy' by Tian Li. Credit: Tian Li Winner: 'The Prison of Technology' by Rafael Schmall. Credit: Rafael Schmall
Planets, comets, and asteroids
Highly commended: 'The Ghost of Alnilam and a Near Earth Asteroid' by Robert Stephens. Credit: Robert Stephens Runner-up: 'In the Outer Reaches' by Martin Lewis. Credit: Martin Lewis Winner: 'Space Between Us...' by Łukasz Sujka. Credit: Łukasz Sujka
Skyscapes
Highly commended: 'Voice of the Universe' by Weijian Chen. Credit: Weijian Chen Runner-up: 'Desert Magic' by Stefan Liebermann. Credit: Stefan Liebermann Winner: 'Painting the Sky' by Thomas Kast. Credit: Thomas Kast
Stars and nebulae
Highly commended: 'The Misty Elephant's Trunk' by Min Xie. Credit: Min Xie Runner-up: 'The Dolphin Jumping out of an Ocean of Gas' by Connor Matherne. Credit: Connor Matherne Winner: 'Cosmic Inferno' by Peter Ward. Credit: Peter Ward
Young competition
Runner-up: 'Detached Prominences' by Thea Hutchinson. Credit: Thea Hutchinson Winner: 'The Four Planets and the Moon' by Alice Fock Hang. Credit: Alice Fock Hang
Tickets for the 2020 exhibition are available from Sept 14. via the Royal Museum Greenwich website, if you happen to be in London. Otherwise, find the biggest screen you can.