Space may be the final frontier for man, but his cameras have been probing its depths for quite some time.
The annual Astronomy Photographers of the Year competition draws entries from some of the world’s best “big-picture” photographers, and this year’s class lived up to its name. This year’s winners consist of beautiful images of everything from our own solar system to the furthest reaches of the galaxy.
The top images were revealed during a presentation at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, in association with Sky at Night Magazine.
Australian photographer Mark Gee took top prize at this year’s competition with “Guiding Light to the Stars” — an incredible panorama of the Milky Way galaxy taken from New Zealand — which won the “Earth and Space” Category and was named best photograph overall. Read about how Gee captured the amazing image here.
The 2013 competition was split into four categories: Earth and Space, Our Solar System, Deep Space, and Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. There were also three special awards, including one in the Robotic Scope category — images taken remotely by a robotic telescope camera.
From breathtaking images of Venus’ transit to the purple and blue swirls of distant nebulae, the competition culled some truly incredible photos from some truly talented photographers. Check out all the winners at the observatory’s website.
Also be sure to submit your own photograph’s for next year’s contest, which starts right now. Because you know how the saying goes: shoot for the moon, and you’ll land amongst the stars.