See the dazzling images that won Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Stunning pictures of nebulae, stars, the moon and more took top prizes in this year's astrophotography competition, organised by the Royal Observatory in London
The Royal Observatory Greenwich, London, has announced the winners of the 2026 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The overall winner is "The Quiet Predator," captured by Ali Alobaidly from Kuwait. This stunning image showcases a dense nebula, known as the Shark nebula, located 650 light years away in the constellation Cepheus.
Alobaidly spent over 28 hours observing to create this image. The competition also awarded the runner-up to Kfir Simon from Israel for his photograph titled "Beyond the Wormhole." This image, while evoking a cosmic phenomenon, actually depicts the center of the Helix nebula, located about 650 light years away in the constellation Aquarius.
The nebula, situated behind a central star that once formed it, reveals distant galaxies shining through the dust and gas.
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