Horsehead Nebula by Martin Pugh (UK)

Congratulations to Martin Pugh who wins the title Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2009, with his stunning image of the Horsehead Nebula. The judges were amazed by this image, as Marek Kukula explains: ‘The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky, but this is one of the best images of it I've ever seen. Thirty years ago it would have taken hours of effort on a large professional telescope to make an image like this, so it really shows how far astronomy has come – a fitting way to celebrate the International year of Astronomy in 2009.’