Skyscapes 2018

See the winning and shortlisted entrees for the 2018 Skyscapes category of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the year and discover how the interactions of light between our settlements and the heavenly skies above can be captured in a single image. 

Find out more

There's a dreamlike quality to this beautiful image, and a superb capture astronomically of the movement of Almach.

Jon Culshaw; Comedian, impersonator and regular guest on The Sky at Night

 

Winner - Circumpolar

© Ferenc Szémár
 
Minolta 80–200 f/2.8 telescope, tripod, Sony SLT-A99V camera, 135 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 640, 50 × 300-second exposures
This picture is teeming with cosmic energy. As a star trail, it reveals Earth's rotation and place in the universe. And at its core, it exuberantly exposes the celestial mechanics of a lunar eclipse.

Melanie Vandenbrouck; Curator of Art (post-1800) at Royal Museums Greenwich

 

Runner-up - Eclipsed Moon Trail

© Chuanjin Su
 
Sony ILCE-7RM2 camera, 17 mm f/4 lens, ISO 100, 950 × 15-second exposures
This image has it all: a background of pin-sharp stars, reflection nebulae and tenuous gas and dust, against which sit the silhouettes of dark nebulae in which young stars could be on the verge of creation. It's all so attentively captured, and so delicately processed with a strikingly fresh take on the narrowband palette. Exquisite!

Chris Bramley; Editor of BBC Sky at Night Magazine

 

Highly commended - Midnight Glow over Limfjord

© Ruslan Merzlyakov
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 14 mm f/2.8 lens ISO 400, 10-second exposure

Fomalhaut

© Ollie Taylor
 
Nikon D750 camera, 50 mm f/2 lens, ISO 6400, 8-second exposure

Entering the Atmosphere

© Ollie Taylor
 
Nikon D750 camera, 30 mm f/7.1 lens, ISO 200, 325-second exposure

Cave Man

© Brandon Yoshizawa
 
Nikon D750 camera, 14 mm f/4 lens, ISO 1600, 119-second total exposure

Holding Due North

© Jake Mosher
 
Nikon D810 camera, 20 mm f/4 lens, ISO 1600, multiple 40-second exposures

Milky Way Shining over Atashkooh

© Masoud Ghadiri
 
Nikon D810 camera, 15 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 3200, 29-second exposure

The Picture of Duoxiongla Mountain under the Galaxy

© Tianhong Li
 
Nikon D810A camera, 35 mm f/2 lens Sky: total 3 pictures, ISO 1250, 60-second exposure Ground: total 3 pictures, ISO 800, 240-second exposure

Kynance Cove by Night

© Ainsley Bennett
 
Nikon D810 camera, 35 mm lens Sky: f/2.2, ISO 4000, 13-second exposure Foreground: f/3.2, ISO 1600, 310-second exposure

Circles and Spirals

© Marc Toso
 
Nikon D810A camera, 14 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 200, 360 × 30-second exposures

The Sun's Footprint

© Jiajie Zhang
 
Canon 6D MK2 camera, 16 mm lens Sun: f/10, ISO 100, 1/250-second exposure Mid-Eclipse: f/6.3, ISO 100, 1.6-second exposure

Illuminating Park Links

© Shawna Cadwell
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 24 mm f/1.8 lens, ISO 1600, 15-second exposure

Hello Winter Starry Sky

© Runze Jiang
 
Canon EOS 600D camera, 35 mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 6400, multiple 30-second exposures

Journey to Stars

© Vitalis Vasylius
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 24 mm f/2 lens, ISO 6400, 14 × 20-second exposures

Solar Eclipse and Wind Farm

© Ziyi Ye
 
Sony ILCE-7RM2 camera, 15 mm f/8 lens, ISO 100, 0.6-second exposure

Ancient Light, Silver Gelatin Photograph

© Melanie King
 
Canon Rebel camera, 28 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 3200, 5-minute exposure

Milky Way Sword

© Lu Shupei
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 35 mm f/2.0 lens, ISO 1000, 120-second exposure

Gemini Meteor Shower

© Sutie Yang
 
Nikon D800 camera, 20 mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 2500, 10-second exposure

Dark Beach with Bright Meteors

© Ziyi Ye
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 14 mm f/2 lens, ISO 500, composite of 30 photos with 13-second exposures

Diffuse

© Alyn Wallace
 
Canon EOS 6D camera, 14 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 6400, 25-second exposure

Guarding the Galaxy

© Jez Hughes
 
Sony ILCE-7RM2 camera, 24 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 3200 Sky: 20-second exposure Tree: 8-second exposure

Cable Bay

© Mark Gee
 
Canon EOS 6D Mark II camera, 24 mm f/4 lens, ISO 6400, 42 × 30-second exposures

Thunderstorm under Milky Way

​© Tianyuan Xiao

Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera, 25 mm f/3.2 lens, ISO 2500, 30-second exposure
Sponsors and supporters