Astronomy Photographer of the Year is an annual competition featuring the world’s greatest space photography. Photographers from across the globe compete to take home the prestigious title.

Planets, Comets and Asteroids - winner
Overall competition winner

"Astronomy, myth and art come together beautifully in this shot. It holds great value to scientists, as it elegantly captures a disconnection event. Yet this photo, which was taken on Christmas Day, seems to tell an otherworldly story too - it could be the Star of Bethlehem, an angel, or a fairy, soaring through the night sky." Imad Ahmed, competition judge

"On December 25 a dramatic tail disconnection event happened. A piece of Comet Leonard's tail has been pinched off and is being carried away by the solar wind. I was very lucky that the weather in Namibia was still excellent after I opened the roof of the observatory. As I recognized that the tail looked dramatically in the image of the first field, I decided to extend the image with an additional field. This was fine, because that's where the disconnection happened." Gerald Rhemann

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