Royal Museums Greenwich | 2021 Jan 11
Astronomy Photographer of the Year is open to everyone. All you need is a camera or phone and an eye for a stunning shot. The competition showcases the world's best space photography, from spectacular skyscapes to mind-blowing images of distant planets and galaxies. Every year, photographers from across the globe compete to be part of the final exhibition and take home the prestigious title.
Competition opening date: 11 January 2021
Competition closing date: 5 March 2021 12pm GMT (midday)
Photographers of all skill levels are invited to submit up to 10 images to the competition. There are separate photography prizes open to adults, young photographers and astrophotography newcomers. A full list of competition categories is below. All entrants have a chance of winning cash prizes, seeing their image displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, a year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine, and a copy of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year publication.
Enter via our online entry site here.
The full competition rules are available here.
Competition Categories:
- Aurorae: Photographs featuring the northern and southern lights (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis)
- Galaxies: Photographs of deep-space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters and stellar associations
- Our Moon: Photographs of the Moon, including lunar eclipses and the occultation of stars and planets
- Our Sun: Photographs of the Sun, including solar eclipses and transits
- People and Space: Photographs of the night sky that include people or elements that show the presence or influence of human beings
- Planets, Comets and Asteroids: Photographs of objects in our solar system, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris
- Skyscapes: Photographs of landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes in which the night sky or twilight sky is a prominent feature
- Stars and Nebulae: Photographs of deep-space objects in the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other galactic phenomena
- Young Competition: Young entrants must be aged 15 or under on the Closing Date of the competition
- The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer: For newcomers who have only been practising astronomy photography since January 2020, are aged 16 or over, and have not entered the competition before
- The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation: For images processed using pre-existing open source data
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