The shortlist for the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 competition has been unveiled. From a blood moon hanging over Shanghai to a family portrait of the Solar System and a close-up of a comet's streaming tails, distant astronomical wonders are photographed in magnificent detail for all to admire. Now in its 17th year, in 2025 the competition received a record number of entries, with just over 5,880 photographs submitted from 68 different countries.
Pictured above: NGC 6164 and NGC 6165 (The Dragon's Egg) Image credit: Charles Pevsner
ZWO Astronomy photographer of the year 2025 shortlist
See a small selection of shortlisted images highlighted in the list below. These entries offer a glimpse into the creativity, patience, and technical mastery behind this year’s competition. From remote deserts and icy forests to distant galaxies and fiery solar eruptions, these images represent just a glimpse of the incredible talent and dedication on display in this year’s competition.
ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 awards: Online ceremony details
- Type: Events and festivals
- Location: Online
- Date and Times: Thursday 11 September 2025
- Price: Free
Watch the the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 awards ceremony online.
The full shortlist, including winners and runners-up, will be revealed during a special online awards ceremony on 11 September. With over 5,800 entries submitted from 68 countries, the 2025 edition promises to be the most diverse and visually stunning yet. Stay tuned to witness which images rise to the top in the world’s most prestigious astrophotography showcase.
- Blood Moon Rising Behind the City Skyscrapers - Tianyao Yang: This photograph captures a red Full Moon rising beside Shanghai’s tallest skyscrapers in Lujiazui, taken from 26.5 km away in a single exposure after five years of planning.
- The Arctic Flower - Vincent Beudez: Captured in Tromsø, Norway, the photo shows unusually blue Northern Lights shaped like a flower due to the absence of true night in April.
- Gateway to the Galaxy - Yujie Zhang: Taken in Songyang County, China, the photo shows geometric black buildings reflected in water beneath the Milky Way, resembling a portal to the stars.
- 500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption - PengFei Chou: This stacked image documents a massive solar prominence eruption over 500,000 km long, captured from Guangdong province on 7 November 2024.
- Eight-Panel Mosaic of M31 - Chuhong Yu, Jingyao Hong, Xi Zhu, Yaguang Wan: A detailed composite of the Andromeda Galaxy showing stars, emission nebulae, and a mist-like bulge made up of tiny yellow stars.
- Into the Past - Jim Hildreth: A 23,000-pixel-wide panorama from Utah's Moonscape Overlook, showing a rugged desert landscape under a Milky Way sky.
- Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites - Fabian Dalpiaz: The full Moon rises above the Dolomites at sunset, captured in South Tyrol, Italy, with warm golden light and no clouds.
- Dragon Tree Trails - Benjamin Barakat: A composite of 300 exposures shows a lone dragon tree under star trails in the alien-like Firmihin Forest of Socotra, Yemen.
- Total Solar Eclipse - Louis Egan: A 22-megapixel HDR panorama from Quebec showing various eclipse phases with high detail, shortlisted in the Young Astronomy category.
- Comet Over Waikiki - Ran Shen: Captured from Honolulu on 12 October 2024, this photo shows Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) as it passes over the city skyline.
- Fireworks - Bence Tóth, Péter Feltóti, Bertalan Kecskés: An image of M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) with glowing emission nebulae processed using both SHO and LRGB blends for structural depth.
- Solar System Portrait - Sophie Paulin: A detailed lineup of all planets except Earth, showing their unique features, from Mercury’s craters to Neptune’s blue methane-rich atmosphere.
- Aurora Over Mono Lake - Daniel Zafra: Captures the rare appearance of Northern Lights in California, reflected in the still waters of Mono Lake among rock formations.
- NGC 6164 and NGC 6165: The Dragon's Egg - Charles Pevsner: A vibrant symmetrical image of the Dragon’s Egg Nebula featuring bright magenta lobes and a luminous triple-star system.
- Moonrise Over Villebois-Lavalette - Flavien Beauvais: Taken 4 miles from a château near Bordeaux, this photo shows a distorted Moon affected by distance and atmospheric turbulence.
- Close-up of a Comet - Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger: Shot from Namibia, this image of Comet C/2023 A3 displays overlapping dust and ion tails with visible kinks from solar wind.
- Cave of Stars - Yoshiki Abe: A composite image from a remote cave in Yamaguchi, Japan, combining a blue-hour foreground with a Milky Way sky taken on the same night.
- Lunar Occultation of Saturn - Chayaphon Phanitloet: A composite image from Thailand showing Saturn briefly hidden behind the Moon during a rare occultation event.
- Progression of Baily's Beads - Damien Cannane: Captured in Missouri, this sequence shows Baily’s Beads and the diamond ring effect during a solar eclipse from start to finish.
- Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula - Shaoyu Zhang: A full-spectrum image of the Spaghetti Nebula blending enhanced OIII, SII, and H-alpha emissions for color and depth.
- Neon Sun - Peter Ward: Using NASA SDO data from 1 June 2024, this remapped image inverts the Sun’s ultraviolet corona to resemble glowing neon tubing, shortlisted in the Annie Maunder category.