The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the finalists for the 2026 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The competition drew nearly 4,000 submissions from 769 photographers in 66 countries, featuring photographs of auroras, galaxies, and landscapes of Earth’s moon.
Technical and Artistic Merit
Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory and a judge for the competition, noted that some images are impressive from a technical standpoint. Finalist Tom Williams created a composite image titled ‘Mars in 2025,’ highlighting several views of Mars within a year.
Another finalist, Rafael Schmall, photographed ‘The Savannah Tree’ from Hungary, capturing a solar prominence erupting in the shape of an acacia tree from the surface of the sun. Brown described the image as ‘very stunning’ and ‘striking,’ giving the viewer a ‘feeling of motion and movement of the active nature of the sun.’
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
