Nebula image wins Royal Observatory competition

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the winner of its Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for an image of the Shark Nebula. The dark nebula is made from interstellar dust dense enough to block starlight and is 650 light years away.

Steve Marsh, one of the judges and art editor at BBC Sky at Night Magazine, said the image by Ali Alobaidly showed "flawless presentation, pin-sharp details and dynamic contrast".

He added: "The Shark Nebula is already a striking object, but when it is resolved to the point where even detail-rich distant galaxies can be seen through it, you know you're looking at something very special."

Alobaidly, who won £10,000 for winning the competition overall, said he hoped to use his photographs "to make astronomy more accessible, engaging and meaningful through science communication and education", and described the award as a "tremendous honour".

For the 2026 competition there were almost 4,000 entries from 66 countries. Alobaidly's entry, taken in Kuwait, was entered in the Stars and Nebulae category. Nikolaos Strimpoulis, 15, won for ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year for his image Mineral Moon, taken in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece.

The close-up image of the Moon's surface includes dark areas known as maria and bright areas known as the highlands. The orange and blue colours on the lunar surface are caused by iron and titanium deposits and it was for that reason that the image was given its title.

Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the entries from the 18th year of the competition demonstrated "skill and innovation" coupled with improvements in technology.

An exhibition of the winning and highly commended images will be on display at the National Maritime Museum, London from 18 September. Check out some award-winning space snaps that are out of this world! Royal Observatory's photographer of the year won with eclipse image