Horsehead snap wins Observatory challenge
British photographer Martin Pugh is the Royal Observatory's first Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
Martin scoured the skies for two months to capture the Horsehead Nebula with a camera mounted in his garden shed in Canberra, Australia. His effort scooped the overall prize in a ceremony last night (September 9).
BBC Sky at Night presenter and competition judge Chris Lintott said: "The detail is absolutely stunning, whether it's the fine structure in the curtain behind the horse or the subtle details on the edge of the dark nebula itself".
Martin's shot also won the Deep Space category in the competition, while Australia's Ted Dobosz secured the Earth and Space category for his picture of star trails captured on a camping trip in Sydney's Blue Mountains.
Chris Lintott said: "It is the ghostly images of the Milky Way's two companion galaxies that make this image something very special. The trees give a sense of being rooted on Earth as the heavens turn above you."
Michael O'Connell won the Our Solar System category for his shot of the moon over the easter horizon, while Irish 14-year-old Paul Smith's shot of Venus appearing behind the moon earned him the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
The best of the competition's 540 entries will be showcased in an exhibition at Greenwich's Royal Observatory until January 10.
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