Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 overall winner: Luc Jamet

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015

18 September 2015 Astronomy Now

What the photographer says: "This is a picture of the 2015 solar eclipse as seen from Svalbard. Totality had begun 16 seconds before this picture was taken, about 100 metres above Sassendalen, Spitsbergen. The photo is an HDR [High Dynamic Range] composition made from three takes. We can see clearly the lunar shadow’s edge in the sky. The bright spot in the upper left of the photo is Venus." Image credit: © Luc Jamet / Royal Museums Greenwich.
What the photographer says: “This is a picture of the 2015 solar eclipse as seen from Svalbard, Norway. Totality had begun 16 seconds before this picture was taken, about 100 metres above Sassendalen, Spitsbergen. The photo is an HDR [High Dynamic Range] composition made from three takes (Canon EOS 7D camera, 16mm f/5 lens, ISO 200, 1/6-, 1/2- and 1.6-second exposures). We can see clearly the lunar shadow’s edge in the sky. The bright spot in the upper left of the photo is Venus.” Image credit: © Luc Jamet / Royal Museums Greenwich.
This year the annual Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition received a record 2700 entries by astrophotographers from 59 countries around the world. These astonishing pictures reveal fresh perspectives on astrophotography favourites alongside some of the great astronomical events of the last year.

The prize-winning images combine art and science, passion and dedication. They remind us that the more we learn about our universe, the more beautiful it becomes.

Over the coming weeks we will feature each of the winners in the following 11 categories:

  • Aurorae
  • Galaxies
  • Our Moon
  • Our Sun
  • People & Space
  • Planets, Comets & Asteroids
  • Robotic Scope
  • Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
  • Skyscapes
  • Stars & Nebulae
  • Young Competition

that were announced by Royal Museums Greenwich on 17 September.

The winning images are showcased at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in an exhibition opening today, 18 September.

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13 August 2015 Astronomy Now

In 1884, a delegation of international representatives convened in Washington, D.C. to recommend that Earth’s prime meridian marking zero degrees longitude should pass through the Airy Transit Circle (ATC) at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. But according to the GPS receivers of surveyors and smartphones of London tourists today, why does the line of zero longitude run 102 metres east of the ATC?

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“M33 Core” by Michael van Doorn

25 September 2015 Astronomy Now

This glorious image of the core of Local Group galaxy Messier 33 (NGC 598) in the constellation Triangulum was captured from Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands by astrophotographer Michael van Doorn — winning image of the Galaxies category in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2015.