Eclipse shot by US-based photographer wins 'Astronomy Photographer of the Year' contest

Ryan Imperio’s eclipse photo won top prize in a contest featuring over 3,500 entries from 58 countries.

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Ryan Imperio has been crowned the overall winner of the prestigious Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for his captivating image of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich, which organises the annual competition, announced the winners on Thursday, recognising Imperio’s technical achievement in capturing this rare phenomenon.

Baily’s beads occur when sunlight shines through the Moon's valleys and craters during an eclipse, creating a broken ring of light. “These are a challenge to capture due to their brevity and the precise timing needed,” said the Royal Observatory in a statement.

“I am both thrilled and honoured to have my photo among such incredible work,” said Imperio, who admitted he hadn’t expected to win the competition.

This year's contest saw more than 3,500 entries from 58 countries, with other category winners featuring awe-inspiring images of the Aurora Australis and the International Space Station transiting the Sun. The winners’ photographs will be displayed in an exhibition at London’s National Maritime Museum, starting Friday.

(Williams also won the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category with this false-colour composite showing the phases of Venus)

(Larryn Rae of New Zealand won the Aurorae category with this photo of the Aurora Australis above the mountains in Queenstown)

(Spanish photographer Sergio Díaz Ruiz won the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation for this photograph, which shows our Earth as a seemingly alien world)

(Hungarian photographers Bence Tóth and Péter Feltóti won the Galaxies category with this picture of the galaxy NGC 5128, which was taken from Namibia)

(British photographer Tom Williams won the People and Space category with this image showing the silhouette of the International Space Station (ISS) against the sun)

(Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino, Richard Galli (from Germany, US, France, France and France) collaborated on this image, which comprises 3,559 frames from 260 hours of exposure time taken by telescopes on three continents, which won the Stars and Nebulae category)

(Hungarian photographer Gábor Balázs won the Our Moon category with this image of Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, on the lunar surface)

(Chinese photographers Xin Feng and Miao Gong won the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer with this image of the Dolphin Head Nebula, produced after 10 days of shooting)

(Tom Rae of New Zealand was named winner of the Skyscapes category with this photo of the peaks of the Tasman Valley under a night sky, featuring the hydrogen clouds of the Gum Nebula, which can be seen in red in the center)

(Italian Daniele Borsari was named Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year for this image of the California Nebula, NGC 1499 in the constellation of Perseus. It’s located at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth)

Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich and one of the judges, praised the high calibre of submissions, calling them "astonishing works.” Victoria Lane, senior curator at Royal Museums Greenwich, echoed his sentiments, noting the “astounding” range and skill demonstrated in this year's entries.