15 Stellar Shots from the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Contest

May 19, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Three vertical photos show dazzling night skies: left, the Milky Way above an Easter Island statue; center, colorful flowers under a star-filled sky; right, a person sits by a rock under a vibrant Milky Way with streaking star trails.

Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has announced the winners of its annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition. The curated 2025 collection features 25 of the best Milky Way photos captured worldwide, and, for the first time, includes a Milky Way photo captured from outer space.

The eighth edition of the Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition received over 6,000 entries. Photographers from nearly 20 countries entered images captured in 25 nations, including Chile, the United States, Greece, Switzerland, Guatemala, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Argentina, Yemen, Chad, and more.

This year’s contest includes an image captured from aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The photo captured by acclaimed astrophotographer and veteran NASA astronaut Don Pettit shows the Milky Way glittering above the Earth’s atmosphere.

“It bridges the gap between science and art, giving us an awe-inspiring look at the galaxy that surrounds us — from both Earth and orbit,” Capture the Atlas explains.

“While we can only see a small part of the Milky Way with our own eyes, photography allows us to uncover its hidden beauty — showing details, colors, and patterns in the night sky that usually go unnoticed. But beyond the camera and technique, it’s the photographer’s creativity, patience, and sense of wonder that truly bring these images to life,” Capture the Atlas continues.

Below are 15 of the 25 award-winning images from the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition. The rest of the winners are available on Capture the Atlas‘s website, complete with personal stories and EXIF data for each shot.

A natural rock arch frames a vibrant night sky filled with stars and pink nebula clouds, while dark rock formations stand on the horizon under a golden glow. — *Echiwile Arch* by Vikas Chandler; Ennedi, Chad. ‘When one first Googles information about visiting Chad, the results aren’t very encouraging from a safety perspective,’ the photographer explains. ‘Nevertheless, the intrepid astrophotographer in me decided to take the chance and visit this landlocked country, specifically the Ennedi Massif in the north.’ | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A small shed stands on snowy ground under a starry night sky, with a glowing arc of colorful nebulae and stars stretching above distant hills and a lit structure atop a hill. — *Winter Fairy Tale* by Uroš Fink; Dobratsch Nature Park, Austria. ‘Undoubtedly my wildest location this winter: Austria’s Dobratsch mountain! If I had to describe it in two words, it would be a ‘Winter Fairytale!’ Fink says. He hiked through the snow for hours with a 22-kilogram backpack and sled. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Rocky seashore at night with two large sea stacks in the water. The sky is filled with stars and a bright, colorful Milky Way galaxy stretching vertically above the rocks. The waves appear misty and soft. — *Evolution of Stars* by Kavan Chay; Otago, New Zealand. ‘The first image I captured from this spot is the one I feel truly kickstarted my astrophotography journey years ago. It was the first time I shot a tracked panorama using a ‘longer’ focal length lens (50mm),’ Chay explains. ‘It felt fitting to try again with a few extra years of experience and an astro-modified camera, which allows for easier capture of hydrogen-alpha-rich regions of the sky (like the reddish nebulae around Zeta Ophiuchi, as seen in the image). The years of experience certainly made panoramic shooting and editing easier, though the shoot wasn’t without its challenges.’ | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Pink rhododendron flowers bloom on a rugged mountainside under a night sky with the Milky Way visible, distant mountain peaks silhouetted against a glowing horizon. — *Blossom* by Ethan Su; Hehuan Muontain Dark Sky Park, Taiwan. ‘After three years of waiting, the Yushan alpine rhododendrons are finally in bloom once again on Taiwan’s 3,000-meter-high Hehuan Mountain. On this special night, distant clouds helped block city light pollution, revealing an exceptionally clear view of the Milky Way. A solar flare from active region AR3664 reached Earth that evening, intensifying the airglow and adding an otherworldly touch to the sky,’ Su remarks. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A rocky coastline at twilight under a star-filled sky, with the Milky Way and a bright comet visible above the calm sea. The horizon glows orange as the sun sets, and gentle waves wash onto the sandy shore below. — *Starlit Ocean: A Comet, the Setting Venus, the Milky Way, and McWay Falls* by Xingyang Cai; California, USA. ‘Capturing this image was a race against time, light, and distance. With Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS (C/2023 A3) making its approach, I knew I had a rare opportunity to see it with the naked eye before it faded into the cosmos,’ Cai recalls. ‘I embarked on a five-hour round trip to McWay Falls in Big Sur, one of the few Bortle 2 locations accessible along California’s coast. My window was narrow — just six precious minutes of true darkness before the Moon rose and washed out the night sky. But those six minutes were unforgettable.’ | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A volcano erupts at night, spewing smoke and lava under a clear, star-filled sky with the Milky Way visible. Silhouetted trees frame the scene in the foreground. — *Cosmic Fire* by Sergio Montúfar; Volcán Acatenango, Guatemala. ‘On the early morning of June 2, 2024, I summited Acatenango Volcano for the first time, hoping to witness the fiery beauty of the neighboring Volcan de Fuego against the Milky Way’s backdrop. That night, the volcano was incredibly active—each thunderous explosion reverberated in my chest, while glowing lava illuminated the dark slopes. Above, the Milky Way stretched diagonally across the sky, a mesmerizing band of stars contrasting with the chaos below,’ the photographer says. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A vibrant field of purple and pink lupine flowers under a colorful night sky filled with bright stars, nebulae, and the glowing Milky Way, with distant mountains and a calm lake in the background. — *A Sea of Lupines* by Max Inwood; Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. ‘The annual lupine bloom in New Zealand is spectacular, with fields of colorful flowers stretching across the Mackenzie Basin. This region, located in the heart of the South Island, is renowned for its dark skies, making the scene even more surreal at night,’ Inwood says. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A person sits on rocky terrain beneath a stone arch, gazing at the vibrant Milky Way and numerous shooting stars streaking across the night sky. — *Boot Arch Perseids* by Mike Abramyan; Alabama Hills, California, USA. ‘After three full nights of capturing meteors, I created this image. Sitting on the rock is my friend Arne, who often joins me on these adventures, gazing up at the magnificent core of our galaxy. Each meteor is painstakingly aligned to its true location in the night sky. The final depiction shows all the meteors I captured, combined into one frame — as if the Earth hadn’t been rotating and all the meteors had fallen at once,’ Ambramyan says. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

View from space showing part of a space station, city lights on Earth's surface, a glowing green atmospheric layer, and the Milky Way galaxy stretching across the star-filled sky. — *One in a Billion* by Don Pettit; International Space Station (ISS). ‘I float in the Cupola, looking out the seven windows composing this faceted transparent jewel. While my mind is submerged in contemplation, my eyes gorge on the dim reflections from a nighttime Earth. There are over eight billion people that call this planet home. There are seven of us that can say the same for Space Station. What a privilege it is to be here. I used an orbital star tracker to take out the star streak motion from orbit,’ Pettit, a veteran NASA astronaut and celebrated photographer, explains. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Moai statues on a grassy hill under a star-filled night sky, with the Milky Way galaxy brightly visible and stretching diagonally across the background. — *The Night Guardians* by Rositsa Dimitrova; Easter Island, Chile. ‘Easter Island had been on my bucket list for a long time, and it once seemed almost impossible to reach,’ Dimitrova says. While the weather was cloudy much of the night, the clouds broke around 5 AM. ‘We felt incredibly be lucky to be in the right place at the right time.’ | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A snowy mountain landscape under a starry night sky with the Milky Way arching above; a person in yellow stands on the left, and an orange tent glows on the right. — *Double Milky Way Arch Over Matterhorn* by Angel Fux; Zermatt, Switzerland. ‘This image captures the rare Double Arch Milky Way, where both the Winter Milky Way (with Orion rising) and the Summer Milky Way (with the Galactic Center) appear in the same night — a seamless transition between seasons,’ Fux explains. ‘Taken at 3,200 meters in the heart of winter, the night was brutally cold, testing both my endurance and equipment. This is a time blend, preserving the real positions of both arches by combining frames taken hours apart, with the foreground captured at dawn for the best detail.’ | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Baobab trees with sparse pink flowers stand on rocky ground under a vivid, star-filled night sky and the bright band of the Milky Way, creating a surreal, otherworldly landscape. — *Bottle Tree Paradise* by Benjamin Barakat; Socotra, Yemen. ‘Socotra is one of my favorite places on Earth, but when it comes to a specific location, this one stands out. It doesn’t have an official name, as it’s not a destination for the few fortunate tourists who visit Socotra. After shooting there for the past four years and scouting the island, I’ve discovered hidden gems like this one, which I call Bottle Tree Paradise,’ Barakat explains. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

A panoramic night view of observatory domes beneath a starry sky, with the Milky Way arching overhead and a faint green aurora on the horizon. — *Tololo Lunar Eclipse Sky* by Petr Horálek; Cerro Tololo Observatory, Chile. ‘On March 14, 2025, a total lunar eclipse occurred, especially visible over the Americas and the Pacific Ocean. I was fortunate to observe this particular eclipse from the NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. You can see how epic the sky was during totality, as the Moon darkened enough for the majestic Milky Way, the faint belt of Zodiacal Light, and prominent airglow to stand out,’ Horálek says. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

The Milky Way arches across a starry night sky over a rugged coastline with sea stacks, calm waves, and lush green vegetation in the foreground. — *Diamond Beach Emerald Sky* by Brent Martin; Great Ocean Road, Australia. ‘With a clear night forecast and the Milky Way core returning for 2025, I set out to explore the Great Ocean Road. After a few setbacks — such as a failed composition and getting the car stuck on a sandy track — I almost gave up. However, I pushed on and found a great spot above the beach to capture the scene,’ a determined Martin explains. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Tall cacti and rocky terrain under a night sky with the Milky Way arching brightly overhead, creating a dramatic and vibrant desert landscape. — *Valle de Los Cactus* by Pablo Ruiz; San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. ‘A panoramic shot of the Milky Way in a remote area of the Atacama Cactus Valley, known for its large concentration of cactus plants. I love this place with its countless possibilities. The panorama was taken just as the galactic center began to rise, with the spectacular Gum Nebula visible on the right,’ Ruiz says. | 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year

Photographers interested in capturing beautiful Milky Way photos of their own will find a lot of fantastic advice in PetaPixel‘s “How to Photograph the Milky Way” guide. Capture the Atlas has a detailed guide as well, which includes a chart for the best Milky Way viewing in 2025. Calendars for a variety of locations are available for free from Capture the Atlas.

Image credits: Capture the Atlas. Each photographer is credited in the individual photo captions.