25 ethereal astronomy photos that literally light up the skies
25 ethereal astronomy photos that literally light up the skies



Not all of us have a billionaire brother who can let us hitch a ride into space, so we rely on talented photographers to give us a glimpse into the beyond.
London’s Royal Museums Greenwich has unveiled the finalists for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021. The astrophotography competition, which has been running for 13 years, received over 4,500 entries taken from 75 countries.
Below, you’ll find a collection of the incredible finalists, with the full shortlist available on the RMG website. The winners will be announced Sept. 16 before an exhibition of the images opens at London’s National Maritime Museum from Sept. 18.
From magical views of the Milky Way over French lavender fields to a truly hardcore looking sunspot, this year’s finalists literally light up the skies and space around our planet. There are nine categories including skyscapes, aurorae, people and space, our sun, our moon, stars and nebulae, galaxies, and planets, comets, and asteroids.
If you’re keen for more otherworldly looks into the stars, here are last year’s winners.



Credit:



Credit: Stefan Liebermann



Credit: Anthony Sullivan



Credit: Péter Feltóti



Credit: Kush Chandari



Credit: Yovin Yahathugoda



Credit: Steven Mohr









Credit: Wang Zheng



Credit: Markus van Hauten



Credit: Antoni Cladera Barceló



Credit: Steven Mohr



Credit: Zhang Xiao



Credit: Yang Sutie



Credit: Jashanpreet Singh Dingra



Credit: Gerald Rhemann



Credit: Anna Dobrovolskaya-Mints






Credit: Benjamin Barakat



Credit: Ivan Vuceti



Credit: Hassan Hatami



Credit: Josep Drudis



Credit: Andrew McCarthy



Credit: Jiajun Hua