Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025: Check out these images capturing the wonders of space

Here's one for all you stargazers, budding space scientists and lovers of all things out of this world.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has revealed the shortlist for its annual ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

There were over 5,500 entries for the contest, which is now in its 17th year, from nearly 70 countries worldwide.

Photos were submitted from both amateur and professional photographers who were all keen to impress the judges with their outer space shots.

But which ones made the cut this year? Read on to take a look at some of the images on the 2025 shortlist.

This incredible photo shows an event known as a solar prominence eruption.

This is when gas extends outwards from the Sun's surface and this can create some pretty impressive shapes.

This eruption, snapped on 7 November 2024, lasted about one hour from the initial burst to its end.

This photo is of a supernova remnant called Abell 85.

Supernova remnants are formed after a star explodes.

This one is shaped a bit like a pomegranate and the photographer, Deqian Li, spent six days camping in the Hongyuan County in China to capture it.

This image beautifully captures the Cygnus region of the Milky Way from Gerakies, Cyprus.

The part of the photo closest to the camera was captured during blue hour, which is the time just before the sun rises or just after it sets, to achieve greater detail of the distant mountains and the trees directly in front of the camera.

How cool is this photo!

It shows a dragon tree standing tall in the heart of Socotra's Dragon Blood Tree forest in Yemen.

The final image is actually made up of 300 individual shots.

This picture really captures the spectacular wonders of space.

It shows lots of stars, a glowing cloud of gas known as an emission nebula and a mysterious central bulge.

Did you know the mist surrounding the galaxy is actually tens of thousands of yellowish tiny stars?

This photograph is of M33, a huge galaxy three million light-years away from Earth.

It's also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and has around 40 billion stars.

This impressive panorama is a view from the Utah desert.

It captures the mysterious landscape below a starry Milky Way.

This magical looking image was taken in a location on Senja island in Norway.

It shows the mesmerising colours of the aurora in the sky.

Snapped on the evening of 12 October 2024 at Pu'u O Kaimukī Park in Hawaii, this photo shows the passage of Comet C/2023 A3.

It was one of the most anticipated astronomical events of the year.

How amazing does the Moon look here?

It was snapped above the peaks of the Dolomite mountains in Italy.

With no clouds in sight, the golden light of sunset can be seen right across the mountains.

The winners of each of the competition's nine categories, two other special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 11 September 2025.

Those looking to catch a glimpse of the photos up close will be able to do so at a special exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Friday 12 September.

"...we believe that astrophotography is not only a way to record the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, foster education and build communities that transcend borders," said Sam Wen the founder and CEO of ZWO.

"Everyone deserves a chance to connect with the Universe — and through our support, we hope to bring that experience to more people."

What of the shortlisted images is your favourite and why? You can let us know in the comments below.