A view of bioluminescent plankton illuminates a beach on the island of Medhufaru in the Maldives, while the sparkling southern hemisphere night sky towers overhead.
This is 'Like Blue Lava' by Petr Horalek, which has been announced as the winner of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 People’s Choice Award.
The APY 2024 winners, as voted by the official judging panel, were announced back in September 2024, but this year's People's Choice Award winner has just been revealed by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
The People's Choice Award is voted for by the general public, and in 2024, 'Like Blue Lava' received the most votes.
It originally came Highly Commended in the Skyscapes category of the 2024 competition, as voted for by the judges.
Second place in the People's Choice Award for 2024 is 'Arctic Dragon', which depicts an awe-inspiring aurora display in the shape of a dragon.
It was captured by Carina Letelier Baeza at the Arctic Henge in Iceland.
And third place is 'A Night with the Valkyries' by Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis, which shows the Northern Lights over the Eystrahorn Mountain, Iceland.
About the 2025 competition
There's still time to enter your best astro images for the 2025 competition
Entries for the 2025 Astronomy Photographer of the Year close on 3 March 2025 at 12 noon UTC.
The overall winner will take home a top prize of £10,000 and each entrant can submit up to ten images to the competition
Winners will be announced at an award ceremony in September 2025, with the top images from the competition exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in London.
The competition's categories are:
- Planets, Comets and Asteroids
- Aurorae
- People and Space
- Stars and Nebulae
- Skyscapes
- Our Moon
- Our Sun
- Galaxies
- Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
- Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
- Special Prize: Annie Maunder Open Category
Enter online by visiting apy.rmg.co.uk.
