Stars and Nebulae 2025

A large star cluster surrounding the Milky Way filled with galaxies

Category winner

M13: An Ultra-Deep Exposure of the Popular Cluster by Distant Luminosity

"M13, or the Great Hercules Cluster, is one of the most prominent and well-studied globular clusters in the northern sky. Discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, it is located in the constellation Hercules and lies about 22,200 light years from Earth," they say.

"With an apparent magnitude of 5.8, M13 is visible to the naked eye under dark skies and can be easily observed through binoculars or a small telescope. Our goal was to get the deepest possible image of the cluster, in which, to our surprise, even integrated flux nebulae appeared."

Taken in Pena Trevinca, Veiga, Gijón Municipality, Asturias, Spain, 25 September 2024

A green, orange and purple swirling nebula

Runner-up

Veil of Stars by Zixiong Jin

"This image showcases the iconic NGC 6960, also known as the Veil Nebula. To capture its intricate details and vivid colours, I used a telescope, a cooled monochrome camera, an equatorial mount and a motorised filter wheel equipped with H-Alpha, OIII, SII, Red, Green and Blue filters," Zixiong says.

"For this particular target, I cropped from a larger mosaic to better illustrate the concept and shape of the ‘veil’ in a unique composition."

Taken in Marathon Sky Park, Brewster County, Texas, USA, 28 November 2024

Highly commended

Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula by Shaoyu Zhang

"This full-spectrum image of the Spaghetti Nebula unveils the faint and elusive nature of this supernova remnant, hidden behind a vast cloud of dust that obstructs its emission light. To enhance its visual appeal, I dedicated considerable time to capturing OIII data, intensifying the blue and green hues, while allowing SII and H-alpha to support high-dynamic-range stretching for added depth," Shaoyu says.

"I replaced parts of the outer region with LRGB broadband data I had captured to highlight surrounding dust and a small unnamed reflection nebula in the lower left corner, bringing balance and harmony to the composition."

Taken at Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, Río Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, 21, 24–25 December 2024, 3–5, 15–16, 19–31 January, 1–6 and 10–19 February 2025