Astrophotography is presumably one of the most troublesome and particular sorts of photography to take a stab at, however in the event that you figure out how to hit the nail on the head the prizes are probably the most amazingly stunning pictures you are ever liable to see.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich has recently uncovered the champs of its yearly Astronomy Photographer of the Year rivalry, and the nature of the participants was completely tremendous. This year the challenge pulled in 4,602 sections from 90 distinct nations over the world, all exhibiting the universe in another light and competing for the pined for prize of best picture.
1. Aurorae: ‘Aurora Is A Bird’ By Alexander Stepanenko
Hungarian photographer László Francsics was named the overall winner of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019. His bewitching image, ‘Into the Shadow’, depicts the 35 phases of the total lunar eclipse that occurred on 21 January 2019.
“I started taking astrophotos in 2003 at the age of 19 at the very moment I looked into a small telescope,” László told. “I had already been into photography for several years, and one of my friends pulled me into amateur astronomy. I put the two things together immediately.”
“For this moon eclipse shot I did not need to travel anywhere, I took this photo at home from the roof-terrace over my house. But for deepsky images (nebulas, galaxies) we have to go to extremely dark places far from settlement, also in Hungary. Hungary is actually a fairly good location in Europe for astrophotography as the light pollution is quite low at certain areas.”
László is incredibly proud and honored to win the prestigious award, however he explains that it was not entirely unexpected. His wife knew it was coming! “When I started to process the image after my sleepless night of the capturing, she saw halfready image on my computers screen and told me confidently that it will be the next overall winner, he told us. “She has never said it before, despite I have already took 5 awarded images at the IAPY competition during the past 7 years.”
The style of photography, while techincal and difficult, is more accessible than you might think. László says that people are trying it with their mobile phones – you don’t need a hundred thousand dollar robotic photo-telescope in the Atacama desert! “In Hungary we have a strong community of astrophotographers, he said. “In 2018, we founded the Hungarian Astrophotographers’ Association, of which I became the chairman, and already have 90 members. We organise annual exhibitions, frequent club events, and most of all we go out together to take photos under the starry sky. Our recent great challenge to establish our own astrophoto observing site in Hungary.”
2. Stars And Nebulae: ‘Deep In The Heart Of Mordor – Ngc 7293’ By Andrew Campbell
3. Skyscapes Highly Commended: ‘Flower Power’ By Brandon Yoshizawa
4. Our Sun Winner: ‘A Little Fireworks’ By Alan Friedman
5. People And Space Winner: ‘Ben, Floyd & The Core’ By Ben Bush
6. Stars And Nebulae: ‘Ngc 6164, The Blue Doily’ By Josep Drudis
7. Galaxies Highly Commended: ‘Andromeda Galaxy’ By Raul Villaverde Fraile
8. Stars And Nebulae: ‘Depth And Height, Ngc 7822 Devil’s Head Nebulae Complex’ By László Bagi
9. Robotic Scope: ‘Sh2-308 Dolphin Head’ By Tian Lee
10. Aurorae: ‘To The Flying Aurora’ By Zhijun Yan
11. Skyscapes Winner: ‘Across The Sky Of History’ By Wang Zheng
12. Skyscapes: ‘Deadvlei’ By Stefan Liebermann
13. Our Moon: ‘Mineral Moon – Aristarchus Quadrangle’ By Alain Paillou
14. Aurorae: ‘Aurora Like Phoenix’ By Wang Zheng
15. The Sir Patrick Moore Prize For Best Newcomer Joint: ‘Bloodborne’ By Keijo Laitala
16. Aurorae: ‘Aurora Outside The Tiny Cave’ By Sutie Yang
17. Stars And Nebulae Runner-Up: ‘A Horsehead Curtain Call’ By Bob Franke
18. People And Space Runner-Up: ‘Above The Tower’ By Sam King
19. Our Moon: ‘Sunlight Versus Earthshine’ By László Francsics
20. Stars And Nebulae Winner: ‘Statue Of Liberty Nebula’ By Ignacio Diaz Bobillo
