Our Solar System
Category winners – Our Solar System
Home of the competition’s most popular subject, the Moon, Our Solar System was for photos of our Sun and its family of planets, moons, asteroids and comets. Tell us what you think about the winners in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year group on Flickr.
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Our Solar System – winner
Blue Sky Moon by Michael O’Connell (Republic of Ireland)
A few words from the photographer: ‘I have been interested in astronomy since growing up as a child on our small farm in the west of Ireland. I distinctly remember seeing Venus high in the Winter sky and my fascination at this brilliant white diamond set against a jet black sky is an experience I will never forget! This image reminds me of mankind's voyage to the Moon four decades ago. Those astronauts devoted their lives to the interests of expanding the scientific knowledge and limits of humanity.’
What’s in the picture: The dark areas that can be seen clearly on the Moon’s surface in this photograph are vast plains of solidified lava. These are known as lunar seas (maria) because they were once believed to be filled with water. Unusually the Moon is shown here during the day, through the Earth’s dark blue sky, giving it the appearance of rising mysteriously from shadow.
Equipment: Canon 400D DSLR camera; TEC140 refractor
What competition judge Damian Peach thought: ‘It is a simple idea yet beautifully executed and processed. It is a great image to have as a reminder of the Apollo landings.’
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Our Solar System – runner-up
3.1 Day-old Moon by Nick Smith (UK)
A few words from the photographer: ‘My interest in astrophotography was fuelled by the “webcam revolution”. The use of these cheap devices along with modern digital image processing has enabled amateurs to produce amazing results from relatively modest equipment. This shot was taken against a darkening sky, while the Moon was at a relatively low altitude. I was very lucky that the conditions remained good enough to complete the shot.’
What’s in the picture: One half of the Moon is always illuminated by the Sun. However, the Moon’s appearance in the sky changes depending on its position in orbit around the Earth and the Earth’s position in orbit around the Sun. This photograph shows the Moon three days after a ‘New Moon’, when it is almost on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and only a small portion of the illuminated half can be seen. The oblique angle of the sunlight on this part of the Moon casts long shadows and throws the surface features into sharp relief.
Equipment: Lumenera Infinity 2-1M CCD camera; Celestron C14 14–inch Schmidt-Cassegrain with red filter
What competition judge Marek Kukula thought: ‘What I like about this image is the sense of mystery and drama in it. You can really understand why ancient people associated the Moon with magic and the occult. It is an incredibly detailed portrait of the lunar terrain.’
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Our Solar System – highly-commended
Clavius-Moretus Mosaic by Nick Smith (UK)
A few words from the photographer: ‘The inspiration and motivation to take this picture stems from a long-held fascination with the Moon. It would have been nice to fill in the gaps on either side of the Clavius-Moretus mosaic, but unfortunately the good seeing conditions were fairly fleeting that morning so I did not get the opportunity. This is very typical of imaging in the UK!’
What’s in the picture: The Moon’s many craters have been formed by the impact of meteorites, asteroids and comets, and range in size from a few centimetres to hundreds of kilometres across. With no atmosphere or weather to wear them away, the craters can remain unchanged for billions of years. This composite image, made up of two individual photographs, recalls the landscape seen by Apollo 11 as it approached the Moon’s surface 40 years ago.
Equipment: Lumenera Infinity 2-1M CCD camera; Celestron C11 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain, 2.5x Powermate with red filter
What competition judge Will Gater thought: ‘From the vast terraced walls of Moretus to the many small craterlets inside Clavius, this striking image reveals an interesting region of the Moon in absolutely superb detail. I particularly like the shadow cast by the central mountain rising from Moretus’s floor and the detail in the crater Rutherfurd.’
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Our Solar System – highly-commended
A few words from the photographer: ‘This image was taken with friends and neighbours in the garden, watching with binoculars as the laptop was providing a close-up view via my scope and camera. A nine-year-old-boy, whose grandparents live next door, looking in awe at the sky just reminded me of how I must have looked and felt at that age; and yet, over 30 years on, I still feel the same way.’
What's in the picture: The nucleus of a comet is a ‘dirty snowball’ just a few kilometres across and made of ice, rock and frozen gases. As the comet’s orbit approaches the Sun solar radiation heats the nucleus, evaporating the surface ices to produce a vast halo of gas and dust which streams off to form the distinctive tail. Comet Holmes (17P/Holmes) has an orbit between Mars and Jupiter and can be seen about every seven years as a very faint object in the sky.
Equipment: Atik 314L monochrome CCD camera; Orion ED80 refractor with RGB filters
What competition judge Patrick Moore thought: ‘This image has caught the interior detail so well. The photographer took good advantage of the conditions – the comet’s a one-off chance.’
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Our Solar System – highly-commended
A few words from the photographer: ‘Astrophotography is a natural offshoot of my lifelong photography passion. Light and optics have always fascinated me. When I discovered all of the amazing things to photograph floating over my head, there was no turning back! For this photograph I was finishing up a Mars imaging session when by chance, conditions dramatically improved and Saturn was well placed in the sky for this image.’
What’s in the picture: Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System. This image shows clearly the bands of coloured cloud that surround the planet, and its famous rings made up of ice and dust particles. Saturn also has over 60 moons or satellites and two of the largest, Tethys (bottom left) and Dione (top right), can clearly be seen here orbiting the planet. Both moons are just over 1000 km in diameter, which is about one third of the size of the Earth’s Moon.
Equipment: Lumenera Skynyx2-0M CCD camera; 305-mm Orion Newtonian reflector with RGB filters
What competition judge Marek Kukula thought: ‘This fine image of Saturn shows the magnificent spectacle of the ringed planet beautifully. Saturn is an especially difficult target for photographic work and the photographer has succeeded here in capturing and presenting an excellent image of this tough object.’
