Best Astronomy Pictures of 2012

Aurora Over Norway

Photograph courtesy Arild Heitmann, APOY/Royal Observatory

In Norway's Nordland Fylke, the aurora borealis lights up a midwinter sky.

The colorful phenomenon, also known as the northern lights, occurs when gusts of solar wind hit the Earth's magnetic field.

Fast-moving electrons collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth's upper atmosphere, unleashing light whose color depends on the type of gas. Oxygen emits red or greenish-yellow light—nitrogen usually appears blue.

Photographer Arild Heitmann, a runner-up in the Earth and Space picture category, said, "This shot captures for me the intense feeling of standing deep in the mountains, far away from light pollution, and watching the finest light show on the planet."

(See "New Aurora Pictures: Solar Flare Sparks 'Snakes,' 'Spears.'")

Published September 25, 2012

Star Fields

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal Observatory

One August evening, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon and evening planets, then take in the Perseids meteor shower.

He came away with this image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light.

"We live in a spiral arm of the Milky Way, so when we gaze through the thickness of our galaxy, we see it as a band of dense star fields encircling the sky," said Kukula, the Royal Observatory's public astronomer.

"The galaxy's central region contains a vast bulge of ancient stars, so when we look in this direction, the Milky Way band appears to swell and thicken."

(See more Milky Way pictures in National Geographic magazine.)

Published September 25, 2012

Witch's Broom

Photograph courtesy Robert Franke, APOY/Royal Observatory

This image of a supernova remnant called the Witch's Broom received high commendation in the Deep Space category.

Taken by American Robert Franke, it shows scattering debris from a Milky Way star that exploded several thousand years ago. These cosmic filaments are part of the Veil Nebula, one of the largest supernova remnants in the sky. It lies some 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

Franke noted that narrowband filters greatly increased the detail in his image while giving a reasonable representation of the nebula's color.

(See more nebula pictures.)

Published September 25, 2012

Milky Way Reflections

Photograph courtesy Luc Perrot, APOY/Royal Observatory

It took two years of waiting before conditions were right for Luc Perrot to create this image of Piton de l'Eau, a volcanic crater lake on Réunion Island (map), a part of France.

He needed clear, cloudless skies; stable atmospheric conditions; and an absence of wind to keep the surface of the lake mirror-smooth.

The Milky Way arches over the lake, making the site seem even more otherworldly.

At center in the distance stands Piton des Neiges, Réunion's highest peak at more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters).

This picture was highly commended in the Earth and Space category.

(See the best night-sky pictures of 2012.)

Published September 25, 2012

Venus Transit

Photograph courtesy Paul Haese, APOY/Royal Observatory

One of the biggest astronomical events of 2012 occurred in June, when Venus passed directly between the Earth and sun, inspiring photographers around the world. The transit phenomenon won't happen again until 2117.

Here, Venus appears like a dark speck against the blotched face of the sun.

"I remember this particular morning quite well," said Paul Haese, an Australian whose photograph was highly commended in the Our Solar System category.

"I went out to observe the sun and saw this massive prominence. I just had to image it."

A solar prominence is a large projection from the sun's surface. Each one can loop hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Haese's photo captures the barefaced sun, streaked and spotted with filaments, sunspots, and prominences.

(See "11,000 Super-Tornadoes Storm the Sun's Surface?")

Published September 25, 2012

Spaghetti Nebula

Photograph courtesy Rogelio Bernal Andreo, APOY/Royal Observatory

Between the constellations of Auriga and Taurus lies Simeis 147, a vast supernova remnant nicknamed the Spaghetti Nebula.

It consists of debris from a star that exploded around 40,000 years ago. As the wreckage spreads apart, it collides with dust and gas between stars, creating the spaghetti strands we see here.

Kukula called this a "true color" image in which "the photographer is trying to be faithful to the wavelengths of light being emitted." Hydrogen gas gives out red light, which can be brought out through a long telescope exposure, then digitally processed and enhanced.

Said photographer Rogelio Bernal Andreo, a runner-up in the Deep Space category: "Most images I've seen of [Simeis 147] deprive us from viewing the many other things happening around it. My goal was producing an image that documents not only the main object but also what's around it."

(See "'Soccer Ball' Nebula Discovered by Amateur Astronomer.")

Published September 25, 2012

Eyes to the Heavens

Photograph courtesy Laurent Laveder, APOY/Royal Observatory

This nightscape featuring the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter took top prize in the People and Space category.

Though millions of miles apart, the two planets make photogenic partners above a beach in northwestern France. Venus appears brighter because of its proximity to Earth and the sun. And although Jupiter is much bigger, it appears smaller than Venus because it was roughly ten times farther away that evening.

"Both planets are very bright because they're covered in clouds, which reflect sunlight," Kukula noted. "They're not exactly like clouds on Earth, but similar."

French photographer Laurent Laveder appears in the bottom corner of the picture.

"I took my place in the corner of the frame to complete the diagonal formed by me, the two planets, and the Pleiades and Taurus in the upper left," he said. The surreal glow on the beach? A red flashlight on his head created it.

(Test your solar system knowledge.)

Published September 25, 2012

Desert Sky

Photograph courtesy Thomas Sullivan, APOY/Royal Observatory

Thirteen-year-old Thomas Sullivan produced this vision of ancient land and sky in California—and was highly commended in the category of Young Astronomy Photographer.

Accompanied by his father, Sullivan captured a gnarled bristlecone pine—more than 4,000 years old—tilting in alignment with the central bulge of the Milky Way galaxy.

"My dad, sister, and I drove a thousand miles [1,600 kilometers] to take cool astronomy photos," said Sullivan, who titled this one "Origins of Life on Earth."

Contest judge Marek Kukula noted that astrophotographers sometimes shine a light toward the end of a long exposure. That lets them bring out the foreground without affecting how the sky looks.

In this case, Sullivan's father happened to be nearby, preparing to take a picture with his own camera. His flashlight provided the finishing effect.

(Also see "Night Sky to Turn Bluer?")

Published September 25, 2012

Seven Sisters

Photograph courtesy Jacob von Chorus, APOY/Royal Observatory

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars: The bright lights of the Pleiades, often called the Seven Sisters, dazzle in this closeup taken by 15-year-old Jacob von Chorus of Canada, who took top honors  in the category of Young Astronomy Photography.

"It was taken near dusk, with only two frames and an hour of exposure," said the teenager. "The image was a test to see what would happen with such a long exposure."

This shot reveals many of the hot, young stars that make up the Pleiades cluster, beyond the brightest ones that are normally visible to the naked eye during winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

Swirling wisps of a bluish gas cloud, which the cluster is passing through, are also visible in the picture.

(Also see "New Planets Found in Star Cluster—Would Have Dazzling Nights.")

Published September 25, 2012

Next: Best Amateur Astronomy Images of 2011

Image courtesy Igor Chekalin via ESO

Published September 25, 2012