The Royal Observatory in Greenwich England announced the winners of the 6th “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” competition. Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, one of the judges, said that the competition is becoming “more and more challenging to judge” with images that “are almost on par with those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.” Entrants from around the world, including Greece, sent photos of exceptional celestial beauty.

Here are the winners –

The winning entry by James Woodend from the UK

About the winner –

The runner-up was Alexandra Hart, also from the UK, with her “Ripples in Pond”

The Deep Space Winner was US Bill Snyder’s “Horsehead Crop”

Young winners Shishir and Shashank “Horsehead Nebula”

The shortlisted photos –

The judges give their advice –

And because they were all stunning, here are some more photo submissions –

A Giant’s star trail – Rob Oliver UK

Cave with aurora skylight – Ingolfur Bjargmundsson – Iceland

Celestial Dance – Claus Possberg – Germany

Center of the Heart Nebula – Ivan Eder – Hungary

Craeture – Ole Christian Salomonsen – Norway

Eclipse and Old Faithful – Robert Howell – U.S.

Eta Aquarid Meteor Shoe over Mount Bromo – Justin Ng – Singapore

Father and Son Observe Comet PanSTARRS – Chris Cook – U.S.

Greminid Fireball – Patrick Cullis – U.S.

In-flight Entertainment – Paul Williams – U.K.

NGC 6888 – Mark Hanson – U.S.

Occultation of Jupiter – Sebastian Guillermaz – Argentina

Orion Nebula – Anna Morris – U.S.

Oxbow Bend Reflections – David Kingham – U.S.

Star Trails on the Beach – Sebastian Guillermaz – Argentina

The Great Orion Nebula – Gray Olson – U.S.

Three Planets in Conjunction – Lorand Fenyes – Hungary

The Turbulent Heart of Scorpion – Rolf Wahl Olsen – New Zealand

What the…! – Tommy Richardsen – Norway