The photo of Leonard’s comet with a lush tail, scattered by the solar wind, received a prestigious award at the international competition in the nomination “Once in a Lifetime”. This comet was discovered in 2021, it could be observed for a short time, but now it has disappeared from view and is rapidly moving away to the edge of the Solar System.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, which is hosting this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 competition, called this image amazing. The picture is now on display at the National Maritime Museum in London from September 15. The judges reviewed more than 3,000 works around the world, some of them are on display.
“Comets are very amazing objects. I am happy to take a picture — it is the culmination of my photo career,” explained the winning photographer Gerald Rhemann from Vienna, Austria.
The picture was taken on Christmas Day 2021 from an observatory in Namibia, where one of the darkest areas of the sky on our planet is observed. Astronomer Dr. Ed Bloomer, who was one of the judges of the competition, said that this image was one of the best pictures of the comet in history.
“The ideal astrophotography is a collision of science and art. It is not only technically complex and projects the viewer into deep dark space, but also visually fascinating and emotional,” explained Hannah Lyons, assistant chief Art Historian at the Royal Greenwich Museum.
Below we show other equally impressive works of astrophotographers who have received awards in their nominations.
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