Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners revel in the beauty of space
It looks like you could hold the Andromeda Galaxy in the palm of your hand.
If you want a reminder of just how gorgeous our universe is, then take some time to browse the winners of the 2020 Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
From an artful aurora to the surface of the sun, these images capture the enduring beauty of the cosmos.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich in the UK runs the competition and announced the overall winners on Thursday.
French photographer Nicolas Lefaudeux took the top prize with a tilt-shift perspective on the Andromeda Galaxy. "An intriguing, highly original shot that captured the imagination of many of the judges right from the start," said judge Jon Culshaw, a UK comedian.
The full gallery of category winners contains a bounty of visual wonders.
The winning images are part of an exhibition opening on Oct. 23 at the National Maritime Museum in London and have been collected into a book.
This has been a grand week for photography as the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced its finalists. The two competitions couldn't be more different in focus, but they'e both a source of joy during a challenging year.
