Astronomy Photographer of the Year showcases the world's best space photography, from spectacular skyscapes to mind-blowing images of distant planets and galaxies. Every year, photographers from across the globe compete to be part of the final exhibition and take home the prestigious title. Entry to the 2023 competition is now closed. Keep an eye out for the shortlist announcement later this year, and sign up to our space newsletter to hear more about Astronomy Photographer of the Year and news from the Royal Observatory. Never miss a shooting star Sign up to our space newsletter to keep up to date with the latest news from Astronomy Photographer of the Year Sign up About the competition The 2023 competition Competition opening date: 9 January 2023 Competition closing date: 12pm GMT (midday) 3 March 2023 Photographers of all skill levels are invited to submit up to 10 images to the competition. There are separate photography prizes open to adults, young photographers and astrophotography newcomers. A full list of competition categories is below. All entrants have a chance of winning cash prizes, seeing their image displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, a year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine, and a copy of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year publication. Explore spectacular winning images from previous competitions and our latest exhibition at the National Maritime Museum to see examples of award-winning astrophotography images. How to enter All images can be submitted online via our dedicated competition website. The Adult competition is open to anyone aged 16 and over, and the Young competition is open to anyone under 16. You may submit a total of 10 images to be considered. There will be a £10 fee per entrant. Entrants to the Young Competition and special prizes are exempt. The overall winner's prize across all Adult categories is £10,000. Keep reading this page for full details about the prizes on offer. Enter now Rules and categories The full competition rules are available here. If you have any questions, please email astrophotocomp@rmg.co.uk. The different categories are listed below. Adult competition categories Aurorae: Photographs featuring the northern and southern lights (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis) Galaxies: Photographs of deep-space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters and stellar associations Our Moon: Photographs of the Moon, including lunar eclipses and the occultation of stars and planets. Our Sun: Photographs of the Sun, including solar eclipses and transits. People and Space: Photographs of the night sky that include people or elements that show the presence or influence of human beings Planets, Comets and Asteroids: Photographs of objects in our solar system, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris Skyscapes: Photographs of landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes in which the night sky or twilight sky is a prominent feature Stars and Nebulae: Photographs of deep-space objects in the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other galactic phenomena Young competition There are no separate categories in the Young competition. The Young competition will have one winner, one runner-up and three highly commended awards. Special prizes The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer: For newcomers who have only been practising astronomy photography since January 2022, are aged 16 or over, and have not entered the competition before. The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation: For images processed using pre-existing open source data. Find out more about this category here. Prizes Overall winner The overall winner is chosen from amongst all the Adult competition category winners. This winner receives £10,000 and the title of Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Adult competition There are eight different categories for adult photographers to enter. The judges will select a winner, runner-up and one highly commended entry from each category. These will receive the following prize money: Winner: £1,500 Runner-up: £500 Highly commended: £250 Young competition The judges will select a winner, runner-up and three highly commended images in the Young Competition. Young Winner: £1,500 Young Runner-up: £500 Young Highly Commended: £250 Special Prizes The judges will also award two Special Prizes: the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer and the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation. Both winners will receive £750. Additional information All winners will also receive: Their winning image displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum One year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine A copy of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year publication. Meet the judges Imad Ahmed Director of the New Crescent Society Yuri Beletsky Astrophotographer and astronomer at Las Campanas Observatory Ed Bloomer Public Astronomy manager at Royal Museums Greenwich Melissa Brobby Journalist, science communicator and Social Media Officer for the Institute of Physics László Francsics Architect, Chairman of the Hungarian Astrophotographers' Association, and the overall winner of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019 Overall Winner Sheila Kanani Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer for the Royal Astronomical Society Hannah Lyons Assistant Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich Steve Marsh Art Editor for BBC Sky at Night Magazine Alan Sparrow Chair of the UK Picture Editors' Guild Keep in touch Join the astrophotography Facebook group Sign up to our space newsletter Email us at astrophotocomp@rmg.co.uk if you have any questions. The perfect shot Hear from past entrants about what it takes to win Astronomy Photographer of the Year, and find out more about how they capture their remarkable shots. Tap the arrows to watch all the interviews. Andrea Vanoni Pauline Woolley Saahil Sinha Deepal Ratnayaka Dario Giannobile Terry Hancock Julie F Hill Daniel Koszela Nicolas Lefaudeax Be inspired See the winning images from the 2022 competition 2022 overall winners See the spectacular winning images from Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Galaxies 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Galaxies category Skyscapes 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Skyscapes category Our Sun 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Our Sun category Our Moon 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Our Moon category Aurorae 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Aurorae category Planets, Comets and Asteroids 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Planets, Comets and Asteroids category People and Space 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 People and Space category Stars and Nebulae 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Stars and Nebulae category Best Newcomer 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Best Newcomer category Young competition 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Young competition category Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation 2022 See the stunning winning and shortlisted images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation category Own awe-inspiring astrophotography Own beautiful award-winning astrophotography. 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Buy Now Visit this year's exhibition See the spectacular winning images from Astronomy Photographer of the Year at the National Maritime Museum Visit the exhibition Watch the live awards ceremony Sponsors and partners