The Milky Way has long fascinated mankind, covering the night sky with its familiar constellations and dense streams of stars. The full beauty of our galaxy is difficult to see with the naked eye, but with the help of modern cameras, photographers can capture it in brilliant detail.
Annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year the contest presents amazing images that approximate the size of our heavenly home. Here, we explore our breathtaking galaxy through the lens of this year’s winners.
“Lightning Lake” – Tom Rae
A distinctive ribbon of the Milky Way splits the sky as it hits the summit of Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain. Tom Rae traveled through a glacial valley to capture the glowing sky against the azure blue lake and icy terrain of a winter night.
“The Lion’s Den” – Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti
Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti captured this breathtaking image of the multicolored hues of the Milky Way in the night sky. This image was taken at the Mountain Lion Reserve in Chile’s Atacama Desert—home to several astronomical telescopes, including the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, as well as puma (Puma concolor).
“Atmospheric fireworks” – Julien Looten
As if taken at the center of the bubble, this panoramic image captures the entire arc of the Milky Way along with the stunning air that illuminates the night sky in southwestern France.
Julien Looten took and merged panoramic photos of 40 different exposures to capture the multicolored streaks. “This natural phenomenon occurs as a result of a chemical reaction in the upper atmosphere that emits a faint light known as chemiluminescence,” Looten said in the paper. declaration.
Related: Some of the oldest stars in the universe lurk near the edge of the Milky Way—and they may not be alone
“Flowering bottle tree” – Rositsa Dimitrova
This amazing photo captures the Milky Way over a flowering bottle tree (Adenium socotranum) — a tree endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen.
Rositsa Dimitrová they took advantage of the island’s complete lack of light pollution to capture this spectacular photo. “The night sky in Socotra is categorized as Bortle 1 on the dark sky scale – the darkest you can get,” Dimitrova said in a statement.
“The Vanity of Life” – Mihail Minkov
In Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert, also known as the Valley of the Moon, Mihal Minkov captured a solitary figure in an otherworldly landscape. The bright stars of the Milky Way twinkle overhead.
“Starry hoodoo Wonderland” – Stephanie Thi
Photographed above Kanab, Utah, the Milky Way covers the sky above a picturesque landscape of balanced rock formations known as hoodoos. These toadstool formations are shaped by millions of years of erosion.
“Star Therapy” – Kavan Chay
In this amazing photo, the Milky Way gracefully arches over some campers on rugged Aoraki / Mount Cook. Kavan Chai made the ascent to the camp under the ethereal glow of the night sky – a scene he described in a statement as “breathtaking”.
“The Journey to a Winter Paradise” — Andrea Curzi
Above the high mountain pass of Passo Giau in Italy, the band of light of the Milky Way shines on the pristine snow-covered land. Andrea Curzi captured this approximately 300-degree field of view of the galaxy while temperatures were a frigid 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8 degrees Celsius).
“Heavenly Symphony Above a High Desert Lagoon” – Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn
In this image taken about 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) above sea level, a tranquil lagoon glows beneath a tapestry of Milky Way stars in the Atacama Desert. Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn noticed that during the day the sun’s rays bounced off a pool of water and replicated this using a flashlight to capture the magical scene at night.
“Milky Way in Morning Glory Pond” – Jerry Zhang
In this image, dense stars reflect off the famous Morning Glory Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park. The pool mirrors the constellations of Scorpio and Antares.
The hot spring was named for its resemblance to a colorful flower. But its famous crystal blue waters have turned bright green due to pollution, Zhang said in a statement.
To see the full list of winners, check out the official Milky Way Photographer of the Year website.