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The 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist is the 16th edition of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s competition. More than 3,500 entries from 58 countries were judged across eight adult categories, a Young category for photographers under 16, and two special prizes. Ryan Imperio’s composite of an annular eclipse won the overall title.
Who won Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024?
Ryan Imperio of the United States won overall with Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse. The work combines more than 30 photographs made in Texas during the 14 October 2023 annular eclipse. It maps the Moon’s irregular edge during the brief appearance of Baily’s beads at third contact.
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Judge Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn called it “an innovative way to map the Moon’s topography” and praised its dissection of the fleeting seconds when Baily’s beads are visible.
Shortlisted categories and representative winners
The shortlist spans wide landscape views, aurorae, human-scale encounters with the sky, solar and lunar imaging, planetary subjects, nebulae and galaxies. The representative winning images below show the range of approaches in the 2024 gallery.
#1 Best Overall
| Category | Representative winning image | Photographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Skyscapes | Tasman Gems | Tom Rae |
| Aurorae | Queenstown Aurora | Larryn Rae |
| People and Space | High-tech Silhouette | Tom Williams |
| Our Sun | Category included in the competition; the supplied gallery summary does not name its winning image | Not stated |
| Our Moon | Shadow Peaks of Sinus Iridum | Gábor Balázs |
| Planets, Comets and Asteroids | On Approach | Tom Williams |
| Stars and Nebulae | SNR G107.5-5.2, Unexpected Discovery (the Nereides Nebula in Cassiopeia) | Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino and Richard Galli |
| Galaxies | Echoes of the Past | Bence Tóth and Péter Feltóti |
Young and special prizes
- The Young category is for photographers under 16.
- The Sir Patrick Moore Prize recognises the Best Newcomer.
- The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation recognises processing based on pre-existing open-source data.
The scientific story behind the Nereides Nebula image
The Stars and Nebulae winning team describes a joint project involving 3,559 frames, 260 hours of exposure time and telescopes on three continents. Their target was a previously unknown gigantic supernova remnant in Cassiopeia, extending about three degrees—roughly the width of six full Moons placed side by side. The team presents the object as a new discovery made while pursuing the image.
This is a useful reminder that the shortlist includes more than visually attractive compositions: some entries also document observations that add to astronomical knowledge.
How shortlisted photographers made their images
Published equipment details are specific to individual images, not universal recipes. The following examples illustrate the different scales and capture methods represented on the shortlist.
| Image | Published setup and exposure | What the setup suits |
|---|---|---|
| International Space Station Daytime Moon Transit by Kelvin Hennessy | Saxon ED127 FCD100 Triplet Refractor; Baader IR/UV filter; Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount; ZWO 294MC Pro camera; 952 mm, f/7.5; 1 millisecond | Freezing a fast spacecraft transit across the bright lunar disk with a long-focus telescope and very short exposure |
| Arctic Dragon by Carina Letelier Baeza | Nikon D810A; 14 mm f/1.8; ISO 6,400; 2.5 seconds; Iceland | Capturing a broad aurora-and-landscape scene with a fast, ultra-wide lens |
| A Cosmic Firework: the Geminid Meteor Shower by Jakob Sahner | Sony ILCE-7M3; Sigma 28 mm f/1.4; Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount; multiple RGB, H-alpha and foreground panels | Building a composite meteor-shower scene from tracked sky exposures and separately captured foreground material |
What makes the overall winner different?
Imperio’s image is not a single instantaneous frame. Its more than 30 exposures are assembled to reveal changing lunar-edge silhouettes during an annular eclipse. That approach turns a short-lived event into a readable map of lunar relief, combining precise timing with deliberate composite construction.
Across the shortlist, comparisons are most useful when you ask four questions: what subject is being shown, how the foreground and sky are composed, whether the scene is a single capture or a composite, and how much processing or open data contributes to the final result.
Prizes and recognition
| Recognition | Prize reported by Royal Museums Greenwich |
|---|---|
| Overall winner | £10,000 |
| Category and Young winners | £1,500 |
| Runners-up | £500 |
| Highly commended entries | £250 |
| Special-prize winners | £750 |
Winners also receive a one-year subscription to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
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Where to see the 2024 shortlist
The winning and selected shortlisted images were displayed together at the National Maritime Museum in London from the exhibition opening on 13 September 2024. That exhibition date is historical, so current availability should be checked with Royal Museums Greenwich before planning a visit.
For a permanent reference, Royal Museums Greenwich and Collins published Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Collection 13 in September 2024. The organiser describes it as the official competition publication, with the 2024 images, photographer details, locations and technical specifications. Its listed recommended retail price was £30; check the current edition and price before buying.
Quick Recap
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How to explore the shortlist
- Start with a subject category—such as Aurorae, Our Moon or Galaxies—rather than comparing every image at once.
- Check whether each photograph is a single exposure, a multi-frame stack or a composite.
- Look for the balance between astronomical detail and terrestrial context.
- Read the location and technical notes alongside the image; focal length, tracking and exposure time change what is possible.
- Use the Collection 13 book when you want the complete shortlist and specifications in one physical volume.
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