Exciting discovery made as Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners announced
The winners of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year group category have made a surprising discovery.
SNR G107.5-5.2, Unexpected Discovery (The Nereides Nebula in Cassiopeia) was a group submission by Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino and Richard Galli.
The photograph captures a previously unknown gigantic supernova remnant (SNR) in the centre of the famous constellation Cassiopeia.
A SNR is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The SNR is bound by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material from the explosion.
The image will be on display alongside the winners of the other categories in the accompanying exhibition, opening at the National Maritime Museum tomorrow.
The overall winner of the competition is Ryan Imperio, for his photograph, Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse.
Mr Imperio said: “The images selected each year are absolutely astonishing and I am both thrilled and honoured to have my photo among them. I had hoped my image would be shared in some way but never expected to be selected as a winner, let alone Overall Winner!”
The image captures the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse.
Baily’s beads are formed when sunlight shines through the craters of the Moon’s surface, breaking the eclipse’s well-known ring pattern. The phenomenon is only visible when the Moon either enters or exits an eclipse.
Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, judge and meteorologist, said: “This is an impressive dissection of the fleeting few seconds during the visibility of the Baily’s beads.
“This image left me captivated and amazed. It’s exceptional work deserving of high recognition.”
Elsewhere in the competition, Daniel Borsari received the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award for his image NGC NGC 1499, A Dusty California.
Neal White, judge and artist, said: “It demonstrated the future of astronomy photography being fearlessly, and openly, taken forward by a new generation.”
Other winning images include Aurora Borealis over Brighton Seafront by Michael Steven Harris, Tasman Gems by Tom Rae and Parallel Lines Over the City by Ran Shen.
In the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation category, judges awarded the winning prize to Anatomy of a Habitable Planet by Sergio Díaz Ruiz. The image shows Earth as a seemingly alien world, from the perspective of a distant civilisation.
Victoria Lane, senior curator, art and identity at Royal Museums Greenwich said: “It was a privilege to judge the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The range and skill of images, some seemingly impossible to photograph, is astounding.”
The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
For the 2024 competition there were more than 3,500 entries from 58 countries.
Pictured top: Overall winning image of s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024, Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse (Picture: Ryan Imperio)