Astronomy Photographer of the Year Annual photo contest showcasing all things space relatedis back for the first time in 16 yearsNumber Run.
More than 3,500 photos were submitted for the award, and Karina Leterrier Baeza’s photo was among the 30 finalists. Arctic DragonThis photo taken at Arctic Henge in Iceland shows the aurora borealis, the result of a geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection, looking like a rearing dragon.
The final candidates are The cry of a dying star (Below), photo by Jan Sainty. The “star” in question is actually the remnant of a supernova explosion, when a star dies and explodes, releasing a tremendous amount of light and energy. This explosion occurred about 10,000 years ago.
![The Scream of a Dying Star – Yann Santi (France) Supernova afterglows in Cygnus are a popular subject for astrophotographers, but the idea here was to take advantage of the high image quality and long exposures of the sky to highlight rarely seen details, such as the outer layers of a supernova remnant. The image is named after Edvard Munch's famous painting](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/08170250/SEI_211400846.jpg)
Sainty combined clear skies and a long exposure over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco to capture rarely seen details of this glowing remnant, called Cygnus Loop, named after the famous painting. scream Sainti said the painting symbolizes Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” but also the “scream” that reverberates through the universe after a star dies.
Below is a stunning photo of the sun’s corona (the outermost layer of the atmosphere) over the Himalayan mountain ranges, taken by Geshuang Chen near the Tibetan city of Shigatse. Normally hidden by the brightness of the sun’s surface, the corona can be glimpsed here because thin clouds are diffracting sunlight, producing a vibrant array of rainbow colors. Chen calls this image the “solar corona.” Himalayan Palette.
![Himalayan Palette – Geshuang Chen (China) During Chinese New Year, the sun and high clouds worked together to create this giant corona that soared over the Himalayan ranges. The result was a huge palette of colors above the snowy peaks. Drone footage, DJI Mavic 3 camera, 12.3mm f/5, ISO 100, 1/3200 second exposure Photo location: Shigatse, Tibet, China, 24 January 2023](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/08170247/SEI_211400859.jpg)
The winner of the competition, run by the Royal Observatory, will be announced on September 12th. The winning submission, along with the finalists’ works, will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London from September 14th.