The best astronomical photos of the year

At the end of September 2014, the best astronomical photographs of the year will be selected in London. A similar competition is held by the Greenwich Observatory in conjunction with the BBC. The contestants sent over 2.5 thousand pictures, and then the jury made a short list. We offer to get acquainted with the most beautiful photographs included in it.

(Total 12 photos)

1. This aurora was filmed on a beach in Norway. The phenomenon lasted for almost 10 minutes, but the photographer was not immediately able to capture it. It is noteworthy that the picture is a panorama and allows you to enjoy this phenomenon in all its glory.

2. This shot was taken while walking through an Icelandic cave 1.3 km high. In some places, the “roof” of this cave crumbled, and snow fell into it through the holes formed. In addition, through this hole you can see the northern lights, which is the main subject of this photo.

3. At 7.5 thousand light-years from Earth, the constellation Cassiopeia is located, resembling the letter W with its outlines. And already in this constellation there is the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). It is formed by the stellar wind.

4. In this image taken in the USA, a father and son are watching comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS). This happened on March 5, 2013. The next time to see this comet from Earth with the naked eye will be possible only after 110 thousand years.

5. Passengers flying over the Atlantic Ocean from London to New York were lucky enough to see the aurora from the porthole. One of the passengers even took a picture of him.

6. In this picture, it was possible to capture the classic connection of the luminaries. The Earth's satellite - the Moon - in this case acts as an object, to the right of which Jupiter is located.

7. This star-filled photo was taken in Grand Teton National Park in the United States. In addition, this landscape was photographed in a landmark for tourists and simply a picturesque place - on the so-called Oxbow Bend of the Snake River flowing through the park.

8. This photograph, taken in the suburbs of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, again demonstrates the rotation of the Earth through the movement of stars. This picture was also taken using time-lapse photography.

9. This is a rare picture of the double star ρ-Ophiuchus, which is located in the constellation Ophiuchus. The long exposure of the image allows you to see multi-colored clouds of gas that would not be visible to the naked eye.

10. In this photo taken in the African savannah, you can see an imaginary line formed by three planets - Jupiter, Venus and Mercury - in June 2013. Another feature of this photograph is the sunset captured in it.

11. This image captures the Crescent Nebula, located in the constellation Cygnus. And this nebula, in turn, is a collection of gas from stellar winds emanating from the Wolf-Rayet star.

12. Another shot showing the northern lights. And it was also made in Norway. Its blue part is the radiation of nitrogen, the green part is oxygen, and the red part is the mixing of two gases.