The spectacular winning images of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020

The Moon, the Andromeda galaxy, the Dolphin Nebula… the snapshots submitted to the competition are astonishing in their beauty.

We are stardust thinking about stars... said astrophysicist and populariser Carl Sagan. Without a shadow of a doubt, if he could see the winning images from the 12th edition of the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in 2020, where more than 5,000 photos were submitted, he would know that his statement was absolutely correct.

Nicolas Lefaudeux, winner of the prestigious competition.

The winner was French photographer Nicolas Lefaudeux, who will also be exhibiting his work at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Greater London, from 23 October, for his unique perspective of our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, which, by using the tilt-shift effect, creates the illusion “that it is within our reach” – something “truly magical”, in the words of competition judge Ed Robinson.

A very competitive edition with great photographs

But Lefaudeux's photograph is not the only one that is a visual delight: the signs that warn of the future explosion of the Dolphin Nebula (whose technical name is Sh2-308); the incredible skies full of northern lights or polar stratospheric clouds in Germany or Lapland; the distance between the Moon and Jupiter; different eclipses; the centers of the California nebulas and NGC 3576; the galaxy NGC 3628 and its spectacular "dust lane"; the double star Albireo "imprisoned" by the trails of moving satellites... A real pleasure to look at.