The best photos were selected from 731 entries. AstroCamera Contest Results

Photographers from New Zealand, Hungary, and France took first place in three categories of the AstroCamera competition. A total of 731 photos were submitted, taken by 203 photographers from 42 countries. Selecting nine winners was almost a miracle, commented jury chairwoman Magdalena Więcek-Olszewska.

AstroCamera is an annual international photography competition focused on astrophotography, dedicated to astronomy enthusiasts and photography enthusiasts.

"Astrophotography requires not only knowledge and passion, but also immense patience. Capturing colorful nebulae, galaxies, and even clusters millions of light-years away often requires hours-long sessions in the dark, far from city lights. After capturing the images, the photographers spend dozens of hours precisely processing the material, sometimes collected over months or even years – all in order to capture the beauty of the Universe in the smallest detail," we read in a press release from the organizers.

The competition is organized by Hevelianum and the city of Gdańsk. Prizes are awarded in three categories: deep sky objects, solar system objects, and astrolandscape.

"This year, we were once again surprised – not only by the number of submitted works, but above all by their very high standard. Selecting nine winners bordered on a miracle. One of the photos presented the results of 10 years of observations of the Centaurus A galaxy, conducted using a hand-built telescope, while in another, the author captured a rare atmospheric phenomenon never before seen in the history of the competition," said Magdalena Więcek-Olszewska, quoted in the press release.

The competition participants come not only from Europe, but also from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, the United States and Uruguay.

Here is the list of awarded authors:

Deep Sky Objects Category

Place 1: Rolf Olsen (New Zealand), Centaurus A: Extreme Deep Field – 321 Hours

Place 2. Hugo Landolfi (Argentina), A dolphin peeking into the cosmic ocean

3rd place: Ireneusz Nowak (Poland) , a series of two images showing Rho and Zeta Ophiuchi and the Large Magellanic Cloud

Category "Solar System Objects"

1st place: András Papp (Hungary), series of two photos: Plasma in movement and Moving masses

2nd place: Robert Barsa (Slovakia), Mexican Baily's Beads

Place 3. Lóránd Fényes (Hungary), a series of three photos: South Pole, Rimae Ariadeus and Rimae Hyginus and Montes Apenninus

Astrolandscape category

Place 1. Louis Leroux-Gere (France), A rare phenomenon: Full STEVE panorama

Place 2: Ondrej Kralik (Slovakia), The Sky that Speaks Light

3rd Place Wael Omar (Egypt), The Egyptian Analemma

The full gallery of photos awarded and commended in the competition is available on the competition website www.astrocamera.pl.

Traditionally, the competition is announced on the birthday of the patron of the Hevelianum science center, Jan Heweliusz, i.e. January 28 (the famous Gdańsk astronomer was born on January 28, 1611; he died on his 76th birthday in 1687).

This year the competition was held for the 13th time. (PAP)

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