The Royal Observatory Greenwich has revealed the winner of its annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Ali Alobaidly captured the winning photograph, which depicts the Shark Nebula, a dark nebula composed of interstellar dust dense enough to obstruct starlight and located approximately 650 light years from Earth. The image was taken in Kuwait and entered in the Stars and Nebulae category. Alobaidly received a prize of £10,000 for the overall competition victory.
Steve Marsh, one of the competition judges and art editor at BBC Sky at Night Magazine, praised the image for its technical excellence and aesthetic qualities. He noted that the photograph demonstrated exceptional clarity and contrast, with details so refined that distant galaxies are visible through the nebula itself. Alobaidly expressed his intention to leverage his photographic work to advance public understanding of astronomy through science communication and educational initiatives, describing the recognition as a significant honor.
The 2026 competition attracted nearly 4,000 entries from photographers across 66 countries. In a separate category, Nikolaos Strimpoulis, age 15, won the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award for his photograph titled “Mineral Moon.” The image, captured in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece, presents a detailed view of the lunar surface featuring the Moon’s dark maria and bright highlands. The photograph showcases the distinctive orange and blue coloration present on the lunar surface, resulting from iron and titanium mineral deposits. Marsh commended the young photographer for achieving precise color development in the image.
Dr. Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, characterized the competition entries as reflective of growing skill and innovation among photographers, supported by advances in photographic technology. An exhibition featuring the winning and highly commended photographs will be displayed at the National Maritime Museum in London starting 18 September.
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