Awe-inspiring scenes of the Milky Way, dancing aurorae and serene galaxies are all features of 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 2025, the competition received over 5,500 entries from passionate amateur and dedicated professional photographers, submitted from 69 countries across the globe. Shortlisted images include a moonrise over the Dolomites, red-hued Northern Lights at Mono Lake, California and Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).
One of this year’s astronomical highlights was the solar eclipse visible from North America. Included in the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category is a 22-megapixel panorama capturing the event. Total Solar Eclipse by Louis Egan shows the different stages of the solar eclipse, photographed from Canada. Further highlights include peaks in solar activity. PengFei Chou’s photograph 500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption shows a massive solar outburst that lasted approximately an hour.
In this year’s competition, The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation has become The Annie Maunder Open Category where entrants can experiment with different approaches to astronomy art, showcasing high concept, creative work. The striking image, Neon Sun by Peter Ward, uses images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) remapped with a more vibrant palette. The same coronal data is turned ’inside out’ to surround the Sun, creating the illusion of it being enclosed in a neon tube.
The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now in its seventeenth 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 11 September. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Friday 12 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 Thursday 25 September.
Sam Wen, Founder and CEO of ZWO said ‘We are honoured to support the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition — a tribute to those who turn their eyes to the stars and share what they see with the world. At ZWO, we believe that astrophotography is not only a way to record the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, foster education and build communities that transcend borders. Everyone deserves a chance to connect with the Universe — and through our support, we hope to bring that experience to more people.’
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. Competition Categories:
ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 17 – Overall winner
Skyscapes: Landscape and cityscape images of twilight and the night sky featuring the Milky Way, star trails, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, constellation rises, 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 occultation 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 17 will be announced at an award ceremony in September 2025. 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. 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.
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 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.
7. 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.
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