Skyscapes 2025

The Milky Way arches above rocky ridges, mountains and winding river tributaries.

Category winner

The Ridge by Tom Rae

"This is one of my biggest astrophotography accomplishments to date, and the largest panorama I have ever captured, with the full resolution image containing over a billion pixels from 62 images stitched together. I had envisioned this composition for a long time, capturing the twin glacial rivers with the Milky Way core off to the left of the image, as well as the famous Southern Cross and other pointers high in the centre sky."

Taken in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Mackenzie District, New Zealand, 8 April 2024

A long exposure reveals streaks of star trails in a dark sky above the vast green ocean.

Runner-up

Trails at Rest by Alex van Harmelen

"Even at anchor our ship continued to move with the ocean currents, causing a back-and-forth arc of travel. This photo captures that motion in the star trails, traced into the night sky over a 20-minute period. It is interesting to note that the trails on the right have a larger vertical amplitude [they show greater movement up and down, due to distortion] which reduces to near zero amplitude on the left. This is due to Earth’s rotation around the south celestial pole, positioned towards the left of the photo. Some zodiacal light [faint, triangular glow visible in the night sky, particularly around twilight, that extends upwards from the direction of the Sun] also makes an appearance in this pre-dawn long exposure."

Taken in Prince Frederick Harbour, Western Australia, Australia, 14 July 2024

The Full Moon in a dark grey sky above red mountain peaks.

Highly commended

Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites by Fabian Dalpiaz

"This is a perfectly planned shot of the Full Moon rising above the rugged peaks of the Dolomites. With no clouds in sight and in flawless conditions, the golden light of sunset bathes the mountains, creating harmony between Earth and sky. All it takes is being in the right place at the right time and pressing the shutter button."

Taken in Santuario di Pietralba, Deutschnofen, South Tyrol, Italy, 15 November 2024