Best astronomy photographer - 2025: twenty photos that are contenders for the win this year (22 photos)
The Royal Observatory Greenwich and ZWO have released the shortlisted images for the world's largest astrophotography competition, ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025. 
From a blood moon over Shanghai to a family portrait of the solar system and detailed images of a comet's tail, these images capture distant astronomical wonders in all their majestic beauty.
In 2025, the competition, which is being held for the 17th time, broke the record for the number of entries: more than 5,880 photographs from 68 countries were submitted.
Below is a small selection of works from the shortlist. The full list of finalists, winners and runners-up will be announced at a special online awards ceremony on September 11.
1. Blood Moon over City Skyscrapers 
Author: Tianyao Yang. Jiading District, Shanghai, China
This photo captures the moment a red full moon rises next to Shanghai's tallest skyscrapers in the Lujiazui district. The photo was taken 26.5 kilometers away from the skyscrapers, and it took five years of planning to get the composition perfectly aligned.
The full moon was perfectly positioned next to the illuminated cityscape, creating a stunning contrast between the natural phenomenon and the urban panorama.
2. Arctic Flower 
Author: Vincent Beudet. Sjursnes, Tromsø, Norway
In April, there are no truly dark nights in northern Norway, which is why the northern lights take on an unusual bluish tint. In this photo, Vincent Beudet captured the aesthetically perfect form of the aurora borealis shimmering over a typical Norwegian landscape.
3. Gateway to the Galaxy 
Author: Yujie Zhang. Songyang County, China
Under the night sky, several black geometric buildings seem to float above the water, creating the illusion of portals to other galaxies. Behind them lies the bright strip of the Milky Way, strewn with twinkling stars. The reflections of the buildings shimmer in the water, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
4. A Giant Solar Prominence Erupts Over 500,000 Kilometers 
Author: Pengfei Zhou, East New Area, Xinxing County, Guangdong Province
On November 7, 2024, the Sun erupted over 500,000 kilometers in length. This spectacular event lasted for about an hour from start to finish.
The final image was created by combining more than 20 data sets, allowing for detailed capture of all phases of this massive solar event. The image clearly shows the dynamics of the plasma ejection, demonstrating the power and scale of the processes occurring on our star.
5. Eight-panel mosaic of the galaxy M31: stars, nebulae, and the central bulge 
Authors: Chuhong Yu, Jingyao Hong, Xi Zhu, Yaguang Wang. Daocheng County, Gardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China
This stunning image shows countless individual stars, bright emission nebulae, and the galaxy's mysterious central bulge.
The photograph is stunning in its detail: what appears to be a haze around the galaxy is actually made up of tens of thousands of yellowish stars. The image was created by stacking eight separate panels, which allowed us to capture both the fine structure of the spiral arms and the features of the central part of the galaxy.
6. Travel to the Past 
Author: Jim Hildreth. Moonscape Overlook, Wayne County, Utah, USA
This impressive panorama, 23,000 pixels wide, transports the viewer to the desert expanses of Utah. Beneath the starry canopy of the Milky Way lies a rugged landscape of bizarre rock formations, ancient geological layers and traces of erosion that create a unique relief.
7. A Perfect Moonrise over the Dolomites 
Author: Fabian Dalpiaz. Sanctuary of Pietralba, Deutschnofen, South Tyrol, Italy
This mesmerizing shot captures the moment the full moon rises over the jagged peaks of the Dolomites. In completely cloudless conditions, the last rays of the setting sun lit up the mountain peaks, creating a stunning harmony between the earthly and the celestial.
8. Dragon Tree Trails 
Author: Benjamin Barakat. Firmikhin Forest, Hidaybu District, Yemen
In the heart of the Dragon Tree Forest on the island of Socotra, a lone tree rises, creating a surreal landscape unlike any other on the planet. This final image is the result of painstaking work. It is composed of 300 individual exposures, which allowed to convey in incredible detail the bizarre shape of the ancient Dragon Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), the unique ecosystem of Socotra, isolated for millions of years, and the Milky Way shimmering through the thin island air.
9. Total Solar Eclipse 
Author: Louis Egan. ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year Finalist Quaticook, Quebec, Canada
This stunning 22-megapixel panorama captures the various phases of a total solar eclipse, with the high dynamic range (HDR) image of the total phase at the center of the composition.
10. Comet over Waikiki 
Author: Ran Shen. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
On the evening of October 12, 2024, in Puu O Kaimuki Park, a photographer managed to capture a rare astronomical phenomenon - the flyby of comet C/2023 A3 (Zijinshan-ATLAS), which became one of the most anticipated space events of the year.
11. Fireworks of a cosmic scale: the Triangulum Galaxy in a new light 
Authors: Bence Toth, Peter Feltoti and Bertalan Kecces. Szödliget (Pest) and Törökkoppány (Somogy), Hungary
This groundbreaking image of the M33 (Triangulum) galaxy reveals a side of the galaxy never seen before. Thanks to its tidal interaction with Andromeda (M31), the galaxy is extremely active in star formation, creating a spectacular structure of emission nebulae.
12. Portrait of the Solar System 
Author: Sophie Paulin. Bobingen, Bavaria, Germany
This unique image shows all the planets in the solar system (except Earth) in one frame, showing off their distinctive features.
13. Aurora over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light 
Author: Daniel Zafra. Mono Lake, California, USA
This stunning image captures an extremely rare phenomenon for California - the Northern Lights, painting the sky in magical hues.
14. NGC 6164 and NGC 6165: The Dragon's Egg 
Credit: Charles Pevsner. Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile
At the center of this mesmerizing image shines the star HD 148937, a key component of a triple star system that illuminates the Dragon's Egg Nebula.
15. Moonrise over Villebois-Lavalette 
Author: Flavian Beauvois. La Font-Aride, Saint-Amand-de-Montmorand, France
This unusual photo was taken 6.4 kilometers from the castle of Villebois-Lavalette, north of Bordeaux. The photo demonstrates a rare optical phenomenon. Atmospheric distortions create wave-like deformations of the lunar disk. The "flattened Moon" effect is caused by refraction in atmospheric layers of different densities. The golden hue is the result of light passing through dense layers of the atmosphere near the horizon.
16. Close-up of a comet: the dancing trail of the solar wind 
Authors: Gerald Rehmann and Michael Jaeger. Tivoli Astrofarm, Windhoek, Namibia
This unique image of comet C/2023 A3 (Zijinshan-ATLAS) reveals the dynamics of the space wanderer's interaction with the solar wind.
17. Cave of Stars 
Author: Yoshiki Abe. Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
This stunning shot reveals the magical combination of earthly and cosmic beauty in one frame.
18. Lunar Occultation of Saturn 
Author: Chayaphon Panitloet. Bua Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand
This cleverly crafted composite image captures a rare astronomical event when the Moon passes in front of Saturn, temporarily eclipsing the planet as seen from Earth.
19. Baily's Beads Progression 
Author: Damien Cannan. Dexter, Missouri, USA
Baily's Beads are bright spots around the Moon during a solar eclipse, caused by sunlight passing through lunar valleys.
20. Electrical Filaments in the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula 
Author: Shaoyu Zhang. Chile Deep Sky Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China
This full-spectrum image of the Spaghetti Nebula reveals the faint and elusive nature of this supernova remnant (SNR), hidden behind a vast cloud of dust that prevents it from emitting light. To enhance its visual appeal, the author spent considerable time processing the data, enhancing blue and green hues.
