Meet the 30 Finalists of Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Awe-inspiring scenes of the Milky Way, dancing aurorae, and serene galaxies all feature on the shortlist for this year’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by ZWO and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. In 2025, the competition received over 5,500 entries from passionate amateur and dedicated professional photographers, submitted from 69 countries across the globe. Shortlisted images include a moonrise over the Dolomites, red-hued Northern Lights at Mono Lake, California and Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).
The overall winner will take home £10,000 ($13,555). There are also prizes for runners-up £500 ($676) and highly commended £250 ($338) entries. The special prize winners will receive £750 ($1,016). All the winning entrants will receive a one-year subscription to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
One of this year’s astronomical highlights was the solar eclipse visible from North America. Included in the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category is a 22-megapixel panorama capturing the event. Total Solar Eclipse by Louis Egan shows the different stages of the solar eclipse, photographed from Canada. Further highlights include peaks in solar activity. PengFei Chou’s photograph 500,000 kilometer (311,000 miles) Solar Prominence Eruption shows a massive solar outburst that lasted approximately an hour.






























In this year’s competition, The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation has become The Annie Maunder Open Category where entrants can experiment with different approaches to astronomy art, showcasing high concept, creative work. The striking image, Neon Sun by Peter Ward, uses images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) remapped with a more vibrant palette. The same coronal data is turned ’inside out’ to surround the Sun, creating the illusion of it being enclosed in a neon tube.
The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now in its seventeenth year and returns with an expert panel of judges from the worlds of art and astronomy. The winners of the competition’s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday September 11. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Friday September 12, alongside a selection of exceptional shortlisted images. The competition’s official book, published by Collins in association with Royal Museums Greenwich, will be available exclusively on-site and online at Royal Museums Greenwich from the exhibition opening date. It will then be available more widely from bookstores from Thursday September 25.