Spectacular new photos of the moon have been shortlisted for the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London—the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian—attracted 4,000 entries this year from amateur and professional photographers in 64 countries.
They’re vying for a prize of $12,600 (£10,000), with the winner due to be announced on September 14, 2023. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at London’s National Maritime Museum a couple of days later.
One of the most impressive shortlists is for the “Our Moon” category, which emcompasses the lunar surface, the moon’s conjunction with planets and lunar eclipses and transits.
Ball of Rock
The above image—called “Ball of Rock” was taken by Rich Addis from Wallasey on the Wirral in Merseyside, UK.
A composite of close-up images of the moon taken through a telescope when 78% illuminated and during a full moon, it was assembled to create a mosaic of the entire disk.
Crescent Moon in a Magical Sunset
Another shortlisted in “Our Moon” is this fabulous image, above, of the moon as a crescent. Called “Crescent Moon in a Magical Sunset,” it was shot by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau from Rafaela in Santa Fe, Argentina.
A composite image of three exposures, it shows the scene in the western sky during sunset on August 1, 2022 as the moon was a 16%-lit crescent. It was taken with a relatively affordable Canon EOS 90D camera.
From Light to Dark
Lastly in “Our Moon” comes a stunning close-up image of Mare Crisium, a lunar sea in the moon’s Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis where Apollo 11 landed on July 20, 1969.
Called “From Light to Dark,” it was shot by Andrea Vanoni from Porto Mantovano, Mantua, Lombardy, Italy. It’s a mosaic photograph made of two high-resolution images shot using a Newton Ares 405 mm telescope.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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