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20 breathtaking astronomy photos capture the best of space

From galaxies to constellation rises, each visual is a treat for the eyes.

Meera Navlakha

on July 2, 2024

An aurora seemingly taking the form of a dragon.

Credit: Carina Letelier Baeza.

Space and photography fans are in for a treat. The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition has returned, with its sixteenth edition shortlist featuring a stunning array of photographs.

London's Royal Museums Greenwich received a whopping 3,500 entries from both amateur and professional photographers globally, each of whom captured a breathtaking glimpse of space. The 30 shortlisted entries range from visuals from the Geminid meteor shower to an aurora in the shape of a dragon to ancient supernova remnants. Categories cover everything from stars and nebulae to asteroids to lunar and solar images.

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The official winners of the competition will be revealed in September, but for now the shortlist is an incredible first look at the intersection between art and astronomy. Take a look:

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This image shows an abandoned house in the middle of the Namib Desert with the Milky Way rising above it.

"Abandoned House" by Stefan Liebermann. Credit: Stefan Liebermann

This image shows the details of the Sun’s surface.

"A Whale Sailing the Sun" by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau. Credit: Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau

The Isaac Newton Telescope at the edge of the telescope facility on La Palma.

"Observations at Night" by Jakob Sahner. Credit: Jakob Sahner

"Earth and Milky Way Galaxy Show" by Yoshiki Abe. Credit: Yoshiki Abe

SNR G156.2+5.7 is a beautiful and faint supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Auriga.

"SNR G156.2+5.7, a Faint Supernova Remnant in Auriga" by Bray Falls. Credit: Bray Falls

A view of the Eystrahorn Mountain on the night of a KP7 storm.

"A Night with the Valkyries" by Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis. Credit: Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis

An aurora panorama resembling a dragon, pictured in Raufarhöfn, Iceland.

"Arctic Dragon" by Carina Letelier Baeza. Credit: Carina Letelier Baeza

CG4 (Cometary Globule 4) is a complex of nebulosity and dust with a very peculiar shape, located in the southern constellation of Puppis.

"The Galaxy Devourer" by ShaRA (Shared Remote Astrophotography) Team. Credit: ShaRA (Shared Remote Astrophotography) Team

"Serpentine" by Paul Haworth. Credit: Paul Haworth

The Pleiades photographed in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.

"The Blue Details of M45: The Pleiades" by Sándor Biliczki. Credit: Sándor Biliczki

This image shows a close look at IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula.

"Misty Mountains" by Bence Toth. Credit: Bence Toth

The Carina arm of the Milky Way with a statue in the front, photographed in Kunene Region, Namibia.

"Run to Carina" by Vikas Chander. Credit: Vikas Chander

The planet Ceres and the Blowdryer galaxy photographed in Chile.

"M100 (the Blowdryer Galaxy) and Ceres" by Damon Mitchell Scotting. Credit: Damon Mitchell Scotting

This image shows the International Space Station (ISS) transiting the 51 per cent-illuminated Moon.

"International Space Station Daytime Moon Transit" by Kelvin Hennessy. Credit: Kelvin Hennessy

A picture of the solar eclipse from Australia, composed of superimposed images.

"Total Solar Eclipse" by Gwenaël Blanck. Credit: Gwenaël Blanck

M81, also known as Bode’s Galaxy, photographed in Michigan.

"M81, a Grand Design Spiral Galaxy" by Holden Aimar. Credit: Holden Aimar

This is a still image from a time-lapse sequence of a solar prominence in Portugal.

"Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion" by Miguel Claro. Credit: Miguel Claro

An image taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) missions.

"Martian Dementors" by Leonardo Di Maggio. Credit: Leonardo Di Maggio

Saturn’s decreasing ring tilt is helping the big orange moon Titan get closer to Saturn from our viewpoint than it has in over a decade.

"Saturn with Six Moons" by Andy Casely. Credit: Andy Casely

The aurora in motion when it turned into something resembling a dragon’s head on a clear night.

"The Fire-Spitting Dragon" by Moritz Telser. Credit: Moritz Telser

Want more Astronomy Photographer of the Year wonders? Check out 2023's list.

Meera Navlakha

Meera is a journalist based between London and New York. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Vice, The Independent, Vogue India, W Magazine, and others. She was previously a Culture Reporter at Mashable.