Spectacular nebulae, awe-inspiring views of the Milky Way and meteor showers all feature in 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 2026, the competition received almost 4,000 entries from passionate amateur and dedicated professional photographers, submitted from 66 countries across the globe.
One of 2025’s astronomical highlights was the partial solar eclipse on 29 March visible from the UK, Europe and parts of the USA and Canada. British photographer James McBeath’s Moody Partial Solar Eclipse captures the Sun through fast-moving clouds to create an eerie representation of the event. Other shortlisted images include the first Full Moon of 2026 over the Paris skyline, an eagle-shaped aurora and ethereal cherry blossom trees at the Funakawa River, Japan.
The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now in its eighteenth 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 17 September. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Friday 18 September, 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 Friday 2 October.
Sam Wen, Founder and CEO of ZWO, said 'We are honoured to support the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition – a celebration of those who turn their eyes to the night sky and share its beauty with the world. At ZWO, we believe astrophotography is not only a means of recording the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, nurture learning and bring people together through a shared sense of wonder. As we continue to expand our innovations – including more accessible solutions like Seestar Smart Telescopes, our goal is to lower the barrier to entry and enable more people to experience the joy of exploring the Universe. In doing so, we hope to help more individuals discover the quiet beauty of looking up and finding their place beneath the stars.'
Exhibition information for visitors:
Venue: National Maritime Museum, London
Dates: Opening 18 September 2026
Website: rmg.co.uk/shortlist
Visitor Enquiries: 020 8858 4422 | bookings@rmg.co.uk
Twitter: @RMGreenwich #APY18
Instagram: @royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY18
Facebook /royalmuseumsgreenwich #APY18
Astrophotography Group: facebook.com/groups/astrophotos
Notes to editors
1. Competition Categories:
ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 18 – Overall winner
Skyscapes: Landscape and cityscape images of twilight and the night sky featuring the Milky Way, star trails, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, constellations, halos and noctilucent clouds alongside elements of Earthly scenery.
Aurorae: Photographs featuring auroral activity.
People and Space: Photographs of the night sky including people or a human-interest element.
Our Sun: Solar images including transits and solar eclipses.
Our Moon: Lunar images including occultations of planets and lunar eclipses and transits.
Planets, Comets and Asteroids: Everything else in our Solar System, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris.
Stars and Nebulae: Deep-space objects within the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other galactic phenomena.
Galaxies: Deep-space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters and stellar associations.
ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Pictures taken by budding astronomers under the age of 16.
The judges will also award two special prizes:
The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer: Photos taken by people who have taken up the hobby in the last year and have not entered an image into the competition before. The judges will give special consideration to those using simple and inexpensive start-out kits.
The Annie Maunder Open Category: For images processed by the entrants using their own astrophotography and pre-existing open-source data.
2. The winners of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 18 will be announced at an award ceremony in September 2026. The winning photographs will be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum alongside a selection of shortlisted images.
3. 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.
4. 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, welcomes over 2.5 million British and international visitors a year 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.
5. ZWO is a global leader in astrophotography solutions, recognised for advancing CMOS camera technology, smart telescope systems and integrated imaging workflows. Founded in 2011, the company develops reliable, purpose-built tools used by observatories, research institutions and astrophotographers worldwide. Its ASI camera series and ASIAIR control platform have become industry standards, supporting deep-sky and planetary imaging with consistent performance and an ecosystem designed for seamless operation. By focusing on equipment that works dependably and intuitively, ZWO helps remove many of the barriers that often stand between users and the night sky, making the process of connecting with the cosmos more straightforward and rewarding. Through ongoing development and collaboration with the astronomy community, ZWO continues to shape the future of astrophotography in both amateur and professional astronomy. For more information, visit zwoastro.com.
6. 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 1.2 million visits a month and reaches more than 100,000 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.
7. Royal Observatory Greenwich, in partnership with Collins, will be publishing Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 15 in September 2026, 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 2026 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 14 / RRP £30.00 / Hardback / Published September 2025 / 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.
The Observatory offers a short notice service to media stations looking for comment or interviews on any aspect of modern astronomy – discussing new discoveries and space missions, telling people what to look for in this month’s night sky, or talking about old favourites like black holes, whether there is life beyond Earth and the origins of the Universe.
For further information or images, please contact:
Press Office Tel: 020 8312 6790/6667/6545
or Email: press@rmg.co.uk