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Winners: Earth and Space
This category is for photos that include landscape, people or other 'Earthly' things along with an astronomical subject.
Winners 2011 | Our Solar System | Deep Space | Young astronomy photographer | Special prizes
Winner
Galactic Paradise by Tunç Tezel (Turkey)
11 July 2010
What the photographer says:
‘When I travelled to see the total solar eclipse of 11 July 2010, I stayed in Oneroa village on the west coast of Mangaia, Cook Islands. This is how the sky looked from a relatively open area just outside Oneroa village.’
Hutech modified Canon 5D DSLR camera with a 24 mm lens
What it shows:
Forming a dramatic backdrop to a tropical skyline, the Milky Way galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars in a disc-like structure. Our Sun lies within the disc, about two-thirds of the way out from the centre, so we see it as a bright band encircling the sky. This southern hemisphere view highlights dark clouds of dust that aboriginal Australian astronomers called the ‘Emu in the sky’.
What the judges say:
Will Gater says: ‘This beautiful image has a truly magical feel to it. I love how the rich star fields of the Milky Way appear to follow the line of the horizon. Look closely and you’ll see many pink nebulae nestled within our galaxy’s spiral arms.’
What Flickr members say:
ayiomamitis says: ‘WoW!...Truly outstanding in every sense of the word. Great composition and equally great execution.’
Runner-up
Divine Presence by Ole C. Salomonsen (Norway)
11 March 2011
What the photographer says:
‘I love watching the aurorae dancing over my head, surrounded by stars, and sometimes the Moon and even shooting stars. It really puts things into perspective when you’re standing there, and you realize how small you are in this endless universe we are living in.’
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with a Nikon 14-24mm lens set at 20mm
What it shows:
The aurorae, or Northern and Southern Lights, are caused by the interaction between the Earth’s atmosphere and a stream of particles from the Sun known as the solar wind. The Earth’s magnetic field funnels these particles down over the planet’s poles giving rise to the glowing curtains of coloured light. These are best seen in the night sky near to the North and South Poles.
Highly commended
Meteor at Midnight, Glastonbury Tor by Mike Kempsey (DT6 Photographic ) (UK)
12 August 2010
What the photographer says:
‘My interest in astrophotography stems from being both an incurable night owl and an incurable landscape photographer. I have a long-standing acquaintance with the Moon, and it has assisted me with my night photography on many occasions, but until last year, Perseus and its radiant display had escaped my camera’s gaze.’
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with a Carl Zeiss 50mm Planar T* lens
What it shows:
During the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks each year in August, hundreds of meteors – often called shooting stars – can be seen in a single night. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through trails of debris left by comets. Small fragments of comet dust leave a bright and sometimes colourful streak as they heat up while passing through the Earth’s atmosphere. This photograph captures one momentary flash beside the 15th-century St Michael’s Tower.
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Aurora photography provides a great opportunity to escape to a world with just you, your camera and the Universe.
Ole: the quest for aurorae
Ole C. Salomonsen describes the experience of capturing his Earth and Space image Divine Presence.
Highly commended
Volcanic Aurora by Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson (Iceland)
24 April 2010
What the photographer says:
‘I have always wanted to shoot the aurora with an erupting volcano. This night shooting the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, at the very end of the aurora season, luck was with me.’
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with a Canon EF 16-35mm lens set at 30mm
What it shows:
A shimmering aurora, resulting from magnetic activity on the Sun, provides a spectacular background to a dramatic volcanic eruption on Earth. A dark cloud of ash at ground level can be seen to the left in this photograph, while there is bright red lava at the mouth of the volcano. The eruption caused substantial disruption to international travel in the spring of 2010.
Highly commended
Red Moon rising over Oxford by Andrew Steele (UK)
16 June 2011
What the photographer says:
‘After the lunar eclipse of 15 June was obscured by a thick blanket of cloud, I was determined to make the best of my careful planning, regardless. The following night, I went up the same hill from which I’d planned to photograph the eclipsed Moon behind Oxford, and captured this shot.’
Nikon D90 camera with a 70-200 mm lens and TC-17E II teleconverter
What it shows:
The Moon often appears coloured when close to the horizon, as its light is filtered through the thick layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this image, made up of three overlapping photographs, an incredibly red full moon rises over low clouds in the early evening. At these low angles, the Moon can look much larger than usual because our eyes compare it with familiar objects on the skyline.