Pictures: Best Astronomy Photos of the Year Named

Young Astronomy Winner: "A Perfect Circle"

Photograph courtesy Dhruv Arvind Paranjpye

An annular eclipse over India on January 15, 2010, offered the perfect opportunity for Dhruv Arvind Paranjpye, 14, to try out a new telescope and digital camera. Paranjpye's result became the winning shot in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year category for photographers under 16.

Sometimes called a ring of fire, an annular eclipse happens when the moon is too far from Earth to completely block the sun's disk. In this shot, the dark clouds acted as a filter, allowing the photographer to create the unusual frame. (See more annular eclipse pictures.)

Contest judge Rebekah Higgitt of the Royal Observatory commented: "I loved how the perfect geometry of the eclipsed sun contrasts with the chaotic shapes of the clouds."

Published September 13, 2010

Deep Space Winner: "Orion Deep Wide Field"

Photograph courtesy Rogelio Bernal Andreo

A familiar sight even in light-polluted skies, the three bright stars of Orion's belt cascade across the left side of this June 2010 picture by Rogelio Bernal Andreo.

The frame also reveals what can't be seen with the naked eye: a "landscape" of dark dust and pink hydrogen gas, including the Orion and Horsehead nebulae. The long-exposure shot earned top honors in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year category for pictures of objects beyond our solar system.

"This alien skyscape really captivates my imagination, and I could look at it for hours on end!" contest judge and astrophotographer Pete Lawrence said in a press statement.

Published September 13, 2010

Our Solar System Winner: "Siberian Totality"

Photograph courtesy Anthony Ayiomamitis

The moon blots out the sun during a total solar eclipse on August 1, 2008, as seen from the roof of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk, Russia. Solar eclipses offer a rare opportunity for observers on the ground to see magnetic activity in the sun's faint upper atmosphere, called the corona.

(Find out about a NASA probe that will fly through the sun's corona.)

"On eclipse day, the clouds were present everywhere, and only one hour before first contact (partial phase) did the skies clear ... and they cleared beautifully and with pristine transparency," photographer Anthony Ayiomamitis said in a press statement. (See more pictures of the August 1 solar eclipse.)

Published September 13, 2010

People and Space Winner: "Photon Worshipers"

Photograph courtesy Steve Christenson

Plenty of Californians could be accused of being sun worshipers—but this group at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California, might take the cake. The gathering celebrates the few days each year when the sun is in the right position to shine through a natural arch in a hard-to-reach rock formation nicknamed the Solar Keyhole.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest managers introduced this new category in 2010 "for photos that include people in a creative and original way." The winning picture—shot by Steve Christenson on December 23, 2009—calls to mind the ancient tradition of finding significance in astronomical alignments, according to the judges.

(See related Stonehenge pictures.)

Published September 13, 2010

Best Newcomer: "The Whirlpool Galaxy"

Photograph courtesy Ken Mackintosh

An April 2010 shot of the colorful spiral of the Whirlpool galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, earned photographer Ken Mackintosh the title of "best newcomer" for 2010 in the Royal Observatory's astrophotography contest. The category was open to "people who have taken up the hobby in the last year and have not entered the competition before."

(See related pictures of spiral galaxies caught eating their smaller neighbors.)

"I have been interested in astronomy since I was very young and took it as an option at university," Mackintosh said in a press statement.

"My interest was very much rekindled recently when I realized ... how much more accessible the photography side of the hobby had become and what good results could be achieved at not such a great cost or effort."

Published September 13, 2010