The Shortlisted Photographs For The 2020 Astronomy Photographer Of The Year Award Have Been Revealed And Are Absolutely Out Of This World!

We don’t have any idea how the judges are supposed to pick a winner when they are all so good, instead, we reckon they should all just be enjoyed on their own merits. We are sure you will agree, these are some of the finest photographs you have ever seen!

The shortlist was released on the website of Royal Museums Greenwich:

The Green Lady

- NICHOLAS ROEMMELT

This image shows the northern lights, aurora borealis, in their full splendour above an icy-lake. The colours are fantastic and you can even make out a small human habitation in the distance.

The Many Jets and Shells of Centaurus A

- CONNOR MATHERNE

This amazing image captured though a telescope shows the galaxy cluster Centaurus A in all its galactic majesty. The galaxy sits more than 13 million light years from Earth.

The Moon And the Shard

- MATHEW BROWNE

This image, taken in London, shows our own moon sitting bright and high in the sky behind London’s iconic Shard building. The juxtaposition between man-mad human structure and heavenly body gives this image something completely different.

Iceland

- KRISTINA MAKEEVA

Another image showing the aurora borealis. This one was taken in Iceland and shows the beautiful colours reflected off blocks of ice. It really goes to show where Iceland gets its name from.

Ineffable

- ALYN WALLACE

This photo of an eclipse and another photographer is powerful yet clam, with the dulled colours giving the landscape a spooky glow.

Sunspots AR 2741 and AR 2740

- RUSLAN ILNITSKY

Another telescope image, this one showing two giant sunspots, which are extra-hot flare ups on the Sun’s surface.

Desert Magic

- STEFAN LIEBERMANN
This image of the desert at night was shot on Earth, but it could most definitely be mistaken for Venus, Mars or another far-off undiscovered planet.

Dance Over the Swamp

- KAMIL NUREEV

So clear are the reflections in this image that it almost looks like it has been photoshopped, or it could be turned 180 degrees and appear no different.

Galactic Portal

- MARCIN ZAJAC

Now is this from Earth, or is it from a 1980s sci-fi movie?

Painting the Sky

- THOMAS KAST

More somber and less vivid than the other entries, this image could have been created by a 19th century impressionist painter, such is the pastel coloured sky.

Jupiter Rising

- STACEY DOWNTON

Our solar system’s biggest planet is shown in its full tumultuous glory here. A true god of the sky.

Moonshot

- ETHAN ROBERTS

A whispy cloud across the moon gives this shot a real spooky vibe. This is the moon you would see when approaching a dark castle in Transylvania.

Graded

- NGUYỄN HOÀNG LINH

Shot with a time-lapse camera it shows the trajectory of the stars across the night-sky reflected on the specially carved farmland below. A masterpiece.

Milky Way and meteor at Porthgwarra

- JEN ROGERS

This is our personal favourite. A perfectly framed shot showing a little boat between two rock faces and an absolutely spectacular night-sky. The image really asks you if you wish to get in the boat and travel to new galactic lands off the horizon.

Trixy

- KIRK PATON

It may at first look like a wolf against the moon, but it is in fact the photographer’s dog 'Trixy', a superb picture!