Deadline: 14 April 2016
Open to: astrophotographers of all skill levels, worldwide, and aged 16 or over
Award: £10,000 for winner, special prizes (exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, 1 year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine)
Description
The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the dates for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 competition – its annual global search for the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos. Whether striking pictures of vast galaxies millions of light years away, or dramatic images of the night sky much closer to home, the competition is open for entries in nine main categories. The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, exhibition and Flickr group are organised and owned by the Board of Trustees of the National Maritime Museum, Park Row, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF. The National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory Greenwich are part of Royal Museums Greenwich (‘RMG’).
Eligibility
The nine main competition categories of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 are as follows:
- Skyscapes: Landscape and cityscape images of twilight and the night sky featuring the Milky Way, star trails, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, constellation rises, halos and noctilucent clouds alongside elements of earthly scenery.
- Aurorae: Photographs featuring auroral activity.
- People and Space: Photographs of the night sky including people or a human interest element.
- Our Sun: Solar images including solar eclipses and transits.
- Our Moon: Lunar images including lunar eclipses and occultation of planets.
- Planets, Comets and Asteroids: Everything else in our solar system, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris.
- Stars and Nebulae: Deep space objects within the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other intergalactic phenomena.
- Galaxies: Deep space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters, and stellar associations.
- Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Pictures taken by budding astronomers under the age of 16 years old.
Award
Competition winners will be announced at an award ceremony at the Royal Observatory on 15 September 2016. The winning images will be showcased in the annual free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich from 17 September 2016.
The overall winner is chosen from amongst all the Adult competition category winners. This winner receives the prestigious title of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016.
- New bigger prize: £10,000
The competition includes these eight categories for you to enter and the judges will select a winner, runner-up and one highly commended entry from each category. These will receive the following prize money:
- Winner: £1500
- Runner-up: £500
- Highly commended: £250
Special Prizes
The judges award two Special Prizes, Sir Patrick Moore for Best Newcomer and Robotic Scope. These will receive the following prize money:
- Winner: £750
All winners will also receive:
- Their winning image displayed in an exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich
- 1 year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine
- A copy of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 publication.
How to apply?
Each entrant may submit up to five images to the competition. For further information and images please contact: Rhianon Davies, Royal Observatory Greenwich Press Office rdavies@rmg.co.uk For all competition enquiries, please contact email: astrophotocomp@gmail.com
Photographers can enter online by visiting the official web-page.