These Award-Winning Images Are, Quite Literally, Out Of This World

Transport the Soul © Brad Goldpaint (USA) - 'People and Space' Winner & Overall Winner

American photographer Brad Goldpaint has beaten thousands of amateur and professional photographers from around the globe to win the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s title of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018. 

Taken in Moab, Utah, the overall winning photograph depicts a majestic composition of immense red rock formations with the glorious Milky Way looming overhead on the right and the Andromeda galaxy on the left.

Commenting on the winning image, Competition judge Will Gater said: "For me, this superb image is emblematic of everything it means to be an astrophotographer; the balance between light and dark, the contrasting textures and tones of land and sky and the photographer alone under a starry canopy of breathtaking scale and beauty."

Galaxy Curtain Call Performance © Tianhong Li - 'Sir Patrick Moore Prize For Best Newcomer' - Winner 

Winning images of the other categories and special prizes include the breathtaking Aurora Borealis above the fjord in the gorgeous Lofoten archipelago, in Northern Norway by Mikkel Beiter (Denmark); the image taken by Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) showcases the August total solar eclipse surrounded by the blue star Regulus – the little King – and the red planet Mars; a remarkable parade of the planets in our Solar System, which photographer Martin Lewis (UK) managed to capture from his own back garden; and the captivating image by Mario Cogo (Italy) of the Witch Head Nebula, a very faint molecular gas cloud, which is illuminated by supergiant star Rigel. 

15-year-old Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy) is taking home the top prize in the 'Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year' category for his incredible photograph of a meteor passing over the magnificent autumnal landscape of the Alpe di Siusi.

Great Autumn Morning © Fabian Dalpiaz - 'Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year' Winner

Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with Insight Investment and BBC Sky at Night Magazine. Now in its tenth year, the competition received over 4,200 entries from over 91 countries across the globe. The best of these exceptional photographs - winners, runners-up or highly commended - are showcased alongside a remarkable selection of 69 of the best photographs from previous years, in the major special exhibition Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year, 10 years of the world’s best space photography exhibition at the National Maritime Museum that celebrates ten years of outstanding astrophotography, open to the public now. 

This year’s winners, shortlisted entries and a selection of previous winners will also be published in the competition’s official book by Collins, available exclusively at Royal Museums Greenwich shops and online from 24 October and on sale across all bookstores from 1 November, £25.

For information about entering next year's competition, visit the Royal Museums Greenwich website. 

Corona Australis Dust Complex © Mario Cogo - 'Stars and Nebulae' Winner

Circumpolar © Ferenc Szémár - 'Skyscapes' Winner

Inverted Colours of the boundary between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis © Jordi Delpeix Borrell - 'Our Moon' Winner  

NGC 3521, Mysterious Galaxy © Steven Mohr - 'Galaxies' Winner

Speeding on the Aurora lane © Nicolas Lefaudeux - 'Aurorae' Winner

Sun King, Little King, and God of War © Nicolas Lefaudeux - 'Our Sun' winner

The Grace of Venus © Martin Lewis - 'Planets, Comets and Asteroids' Winner 

Two Comets with the Pleiades © Damian Peach - 'Robotic Scope' Winner