The 2026 Astrophotography Prize Winners Show Just How Incredible Our Universe Is (20 Pics)

Finalist in the Astro Landscape Category

Location: Mount Taranaki New Zealand

Photographer's statement: “This is a multilayer 2 panel mosaic in full colour and duoband data of the Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS with Orion above Mount Taranaki. All was shot with 135mm lens on location.”

Finalist in the Astro Landscape Category

Location: Rub' al-Khali Desert

Photographer's statement: “Panorama of the Milky Way captured in Rub' al-Khali desert, in the UAE. A solitary figure is framed between two elements, the cosmos and the dunes, both immutable but in constant evolution.”

Finalist in the Aurora Category

Location: Waipapa Point, New Zealand

Photographer's statement: “This Aurora Australis display was so expansive, it needed a 12 frame panorama to capture the full display, with another 6 to capture the lighthouse in the foreground.”

Finalist in the Astro Landscape Category

Location: Betlejemka, Poland

Photographer's statement: “Betlejemka, the Polish Alpine Association’s training center in Hala Gąsienicowa, beneath the winter Milky Way and Orion, photographed at the peak of the Geminids.”

Finalist in the Aurora Category

Location: Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photographer's statement: “A single ribbon of the Aurora Borealis rises above the moonlit mountains of Norway's Lofoten Islands, reflected in the calm waters below.”

Finalist in the Aurora Category

Location: Senja Island, Norway

Photographer's statement: “In this panorama the Northern Lights dance above the peaks of Senja, reflected in a calm river. A flash of light brightens the already lit sky, a fireball with a trail that lasts few seconds.”

Finalist in the Deep Space Category

Location: Hohe Dirn, Reichraming, Austria

Photographer's statement: “LRGB study of LDN 1295, a dark molecular cloud in Cassiopeia whose dusty silhouette traces a giraffe against the Milky Way.”

Finalist in the Deep Space Category

Location: Southeast Queensland, Australia

Photographer's statement: “A multi panel mosaic of the iconic Orion constellation, which is a stellar birth powerhouse. With an abundance of nebulae and stars of all types, it was a challenge to balance everything in this image.”

Finalist in the Remote Imaging Category

Location: HCRO New Mexico, USA

Photographer's statement: “Instead of treating bright Alnilam as an obstacle, I made it the subject. It is neatly placed in a void between many details in emission, reflection and dark nebulae.”

Finalist in the Remote Imaging Category

Location: El Sauce Observatory, Chile

Photographer's statement: “As this complex is in the distant LMC, it is really a collection of many objects. I wanted to highlight the similarity with the Rosette. Massive young stars carving out the central cavity.”

Finalist in the Remote Imaging Category

Location: El Sauce Observatory, Chile

Photographer's statement: “The orangish reflection nebula is unusual but the full Ha shell was a surprise. I like how the local dust appears both in front of and behind the shell, telling us it is part of the scene.”

Astrophotographer of the Year Award
Winner of the Astro Landscape Category

Location: Cathedral Cove, New Zealand

Photographer's statement: “This is a multilayer 24 panel mosaic taken from Cathedral Cove before and during a moonrise. I timed it in such a way that I was able to finish capturing the sky just before the moon started to rise.”

Winner of the Aurora Category

Location: Å, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photographer's statement: “The Aurora Borealis dances above the mountains of Å in Norway's Lofoten Islands, its vibrant green light reflected across the calm waters below.”

Finalist in the Aurora Category

Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

Photographer's statement: “Wings of the Night: Emerald aurora wings cradle a vibrant core, framing the seven stars of the Big Dipper as quiet sentinels in the deep sky. taken in 3/22/26 at Fairbanks, Alaska.”

Winner of the Deep Space Category

Location: Hakos, Namibia

Photographer's statement: “The Chameleon Dark Clouds in the constellation Chamaeleon, captured from Namibia. The image reveals intricate streams of interstellar dust illuminated by delicate blue reflection nebulae.”

Finalist in the Deep Space Category

Location: Czarne, Poland

Photographer's statement: “G156.2+5.7 is one of the largest and most faint supernova remnants in our sky. Located on the border of Auriga and Perseus. Spans nearly 3 degrees—six times the diameter of the full Moon.”

Winner of the Remote Imaging Category

Location: Sichuan, China

Photographer's statement: “Galileo’s Finger Through a Faint Hα Veil: A near-threshold Hα veil rather than a bright red sea: dust sets the direction, Ha builds the depth, and distant galaxies still thread through the field.”

Finalist in the Remote Imaging Category

Location: El Sauce Observatory, Chile

Photographer's statement: “With a globular; reflection, dark and emission nebulae, and HH objects, this target has it all. I felt the Ha was critical to add dynamic color and fully represent the glow of HH objects in the dust.”

Finalist in the Astro Landscape Category

Location: Coyote Buttes North, Paria-Canyon Wilderness, Arizona, USA

Photographer's statement: “The Milky Way arches above the Wave in Arizona, where sculpted sandstone curves surround the night sky in one of the most remarkable landscapes on Earth.”

Getaway Award Winner

Location: North Carolina

Photographer's statement: “LDN 1251, the Rotten Fish Nebula. A dark nebula of rich brown dust in Cepheus. A little over 19 hours of LRGB from my North Carolina back yard.”