The overall winner of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 17 is The Andromeda Core by photographers Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu. 

This image showcases the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in exceptional detail, captured using a long focal-length telescope. Taking advantage of the excellent seeing conditions at AstroCamp Observatory, Nerpio, Spain. The photographers focused on revealing the intricate structure of the galaxy’s central region and its surrounding stellar population. The image will be on display alongside the winners of the other categories in the accompanying exhibition, opening at the National Maritime Museum, London on Friday 12 September 2025.

Liang, Yang and Yu said, ‘We are excited to be awarded and never expected to be the Overall Winner. Thanks to ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year, we have the opportunity to bring our work and the splendour of the universe to everybody.’

László Francsics, judge and astrophotographer said, ‘Not to show it all − this is one of the greatest virtues of this photo. The Andromeda Galaxy has been photographed in so many different ways and so many times with telescopes that it is hard to imagine a new photo would ever add to what we’ve already seen. But this does just that, an unusual dynamic composition with unprecedented detail that doesn’t obscure the overall scene.’

The ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award was won by Daniele Borsari for his image Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-Alpha. Greg Brown, judge and Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer, commented that ‘choosing black and white over bright colours and focusing purely on the shapes and contours of the nebulae is a bold decision that has paid off.’

An exciting special feature in this year’s exhibition will be a photograph taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Earth From Orbit was taken during ISS Expedition 72. This is one of a number of star ­field time exposures captured from the International Space Station (ISS) using a homemade sidereal star tracker. Rotating once every 90 minutes, the tracker counteracts the attitude motion of the orbiting ISS, allowing distant stars to be photographed as ­fixed pinpoints while the Earth continues to rotate below – previously an impossibility in orbital photography. Pettit returned to Earth in mid-April 2025, following a seven-month mission.

The other winning images include The Trace of Refraction by Marcella Giulia Pace, which beautifully captures the phenomenon of atmospheric refraction; Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks Taking a Final Bow by Dan Bartlett and Crown of Light by Kavan Chay which shows a spectacular aurora. In the Annie Maunder Open Category, judges awarded the winning prize to Fourth Dimension by Leonardo Di Maggio. This image uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) combined with a photograph that Di Maggio took of the inside of a meteorite.

Sam Wen, Founder and CEO of ZWO said, ‘The Overall Winner, The Andromeda Core, reveals an astonishing level of detail that truly took my breath away. Achieving such clarity and depth requires not only top-tier astronomical equipment and exceptional seeing conditions, but also a tremendous amount of patience and perseverance. It’s clear that behind this image lies a dedicated team whose persistent effort and collaboration made this masterpiece possible. A brilliant capture of one of our closest galactic neighbours—congratulations on this outstanding achievement!’

Dr Ed Bloomer, Royal Observatory Greenwich Astronomer and Judge said, ‘Once again, ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year offers up some of the best astrophotography in the world. This year I believe we're particularly strong on images which ask the observer to really think about what they're looking at and investigate just how the astrophotographer has achieved those particular results, this proved true for the judges as well! 

I think entrants have embraced the notion of being playful and bold and continue to strike out in unexpected directions. Consistently, there is tremendous care and dedication, and such a depth of skill on display.  It's an extremely strong showcase, with treasures for newcomers, enthusiasts, and even fellow experienced astrophotographers.’

 

Exhibition information for visitors:

 

Venue:                                    National Maritime Museum, London

Dates:                                     Opening 12 September 2025 

Website:                                 rmg.co.uk/shortlist 

Visitor Enquiries:                   020 8858 4422 | bookings@rmg.co.uk

Twitter:                                   @RMGreenwich #APY17
Instagram:                             @royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY17

Facebook                                /royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY17

Astrophotography Group:     facebook.com/groups/astrophotos

 

Notes to editors

 

1. Full details of the 2025 winners

Galaxies

 

  • Weitang Liang, Qi Yang, Chuhong Yu (China) with The Andromeda Core (Winner and Overall Winner)
  • Deep Sky Collective (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, UK, USA) with Cosmic Coincidences: Deer Lick and Stephan's Quintet on a Ribbon of H-alpha (Runner-Up)

  • Bence Tóth, Péter Feltóti, Bertalan Kecskés (Hungary) with Fireworks (Highly Commended)

Aurorae

  • Kavan Chay (New Zealand) with Crown of Light (Winner)
  • Luis Vilariño (Spain) with Celestial Arch (Runner-Up)
  • Dan Zafra (Spain) with Aurora Over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light (Highly Commended)

Our Moon

  • Marcella Giulia Pace (Italy) with The Trace of Refraction (Winner)
  • Tom Williams (UK) with Saturnrise (Runner-Up)
  • Raul Cantemir (Germany) with Aristarchus on the Moon (Highly Commended) 

Our Sun

  • James Sinclair (USA) with Active Region of the Sun’s Chromosphere (Winner)
  • Zhang Yanguang (China) with A Sun Yawn (Runner-Up)

  • PengFei Chou (China) with 500,000 km Solar Prominence Eruption (Highly Commended)

People and Space

  • Tom Williams (UK) with ISS Lunar Flyby (Winner)
  • Takanobu Kurosaki (Japan) with Rotation (Runner-Up)
  • Zhang Yanguang (China) with Instant and Eternal (Highly Commended) 

Planets, Comets and Asteroids

  • Dan Bartlett (USA) with Comet 12P/Pons−Brooks Taking a Final Bow (Winner)
  • Tom Williams (UK) with Satellites and Storms (Runner-Up)
  • Andre Vilhena (Portugal) with The War God Meets the Beehive (Highly Commended)

Skyscapes

  • Tom Rae (New Zealand) with The Ridge (Winner)
  • Alex van Harmelen (Australia) with Trails at Rest (Runner-Up)

  • Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy) with Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites (Highly Commended)

Stars and Nebulae

  • Distant Luminosity (Germany) with M13: An Ultra-Deep Exposure of the Popular Cluster (Winner)
  • Zixiong Jin (China) with Veil of Stars (Runner-Up)
  • Shaoyu Zhang (China) with Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula (Highly Commended)

The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer

  • Yurui Gong, Xizhen Ruan (China) with Encounter Across Light Years (Winner)

ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year

  • Daniele Borsari (Italy) with Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha (Winner)
  • Holden Aimar (USA), with C/2023 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS: The Great Comet of 2024 (Runner-Up)
  • Daniele Borsari (Italy) with The Shark and the Rotten Fish Nebulae in an Ocean of Dust (Highly Commended)
  • Louis Egan (Canada) with Total Solar Eclipse (Highly Commended)
  • Shamiqh Gajdhar (India) with The Moon With Saturn (Highly Commended) 

Annie Maunder Open Category

  • Leonardo Di Maggio (UK) with Fourth Dimension (Winner)

2. The overall winner will receive £10,000. Winners of all other categories and the photographer named winner in the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category will receive £1,500. There are also prizes for runners-up (£500) and highly commended (£250) entries. The special prize winners will receive £750. All the winning entrants will receive a one-year subscription to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

3. Royal Observatory Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian and one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. Since its founding in 1675, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich has been at the centre of the measurement of time and space and visitors today can still stand on the historic Prime Meridian line. The Observatory galleries and Peter Harrison Planetarium help unravel the extraordinary phenomena of time, space and astronomy. In 2018, the Royal Observatory acquired the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope (AMAT), the first new telescope to be installed in Greenwich in over 60 years, marking a new era for the world-famous site and restoring its status as a working observatory.

The Royal Observatory is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, which also incorporates the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House and Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings, which form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is also a major centre of education and research. The mission of Royal Museums Greenwich is to enrich people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space and Britain’s role in world history. For more information visit rmg.co.uk.

4. Founded in 2011, ZWO is a global leader in astrophotography imaging solutions, pioneering advancements in camera technology, smart telescope design and imaging software. Best known for its ASI camera line and Seestar smart telescopes, ZWO has made deep-sky imaging more accessible to hobbyists, educators and professionals around the world. Through continuous innovation and a strong user community, ZWO is shaping the future of how we explore and capture the night sky. For more information, visit zwoastro.com.

5. BBC Sky at Night Magazine is Britain’s best-selling astronomy magazine, with a combined print and digital monthly circulation of more than 40,000 readers. skyatnightmagazine.com has 1 million visits a month and reaches 110,000 organic social media followers through Facebook, X and Instagram. The magazine is available monthly through its app (available on Apple App Store and Google Play), on Apple News, on Zinio and in print, and is media partner of the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. With writing from the world’s leading astronomers and science communicators, BBC Sky at Night Magazine complements one of the world’s longest running TV programmes, BBC Four’s The Sky at Night, and is published by Our Media under licence from BBC Worldwide.

6. Royal Observatory Greenwich, in partnership with Collins, will be publishing Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 14  in September 2025, RRP £30.00. It is the official publication of the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition and will showcase breathtaking images of space and the night sky from the 2025 competition shortlist. Photographs will be accompanied by full details, including each photographer’s information, location where photographs were taken and technical specifications.

Last year’s publication is still available to buy: Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 13 / RRP £30.00 / Hardback / Published September 2024 / Royal Museums Greenwich online shop. For further information or to request review copies please contact: Catherine Howe/ catherine.howe@harpercollins.co.uk / 020 8307 4048. 

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Media interviews:

The Modern Astronomy team at Royal Observatory Greenwich is dedicated to the public understanding of science and its experts are available to give radio and TV interviews on astronomy – at the historic Observatory site or in the studio.

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