Close
RAStroPhoto is open to everyone – entry is free, and no purchase is necessary. In the spirit of the competition, all skill levels are welcome, professional equipment is not required, and the competition is open to entrants worldwide.
Please note that all entries must be submitted via the competition website. To do this, visit the Enter page.
Entries submitted outside this period or outside of the competition website will not be accepted. The winners of RAStroPhoto will be announced at the National Astronomy Meeting in July 2027 (NAM 2027) and on this website.
Entries are limited to 5 photographs per person, and each photograph can only be submitted to one category. The competition consists of the following categories:
This category welcomes photographs of everything in our solar system, including the Sun, the Moon, the planets of the solar system and their satellites, and comets and asteroids.
This category welcomes photographs of deep-space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters and stellar associations.
This category welcomes photographs of objects inside the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, nebulae, star clusters and supernovae remnants.
This category welcomes photographs which feature both the Earth and the night sky, including landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes. Photographs of aurora are welcome in this category, as well as photographs of the Milky Way as seen from Earth, star trails and meteors.
This category welcomes photographs which celebrate astronomers in action, and the process of observing the night sky. Photographs of the equipment, observatories and events which bring astronomers together are welcome.
Please note that the judges may move your photo into a more suitable category at their discretion.
All entries must have been taken within five years of the competition opening date and must not have previously been awarded at any other competition prior to the opening date. This includes such awards as ‘winner’, ‘runner-up’, ‘commended’, ‘honourable mention’ etc.
All photographs must have a maximum file size of 10MB, with a minimum resolution of 300dpi, and submitted in JPEG, PNG or TIFF formats only. Please note that no watermarks, borders or signatures should be present, and that if your photograph is shortlisted for the final round of judging, you will be required to provide the RAW files or original untouched JPEG/TIFF files.
While we allow entries to undergo processing, and permit the use of some processing via machine learning tools, AI-generated images are not permitted. Images must be constructed from real astronomical light captured using photographic equipment. Please note that upon submission, you will be asked to confirm that no AI tools have been used in the creation of your images. Additionally, should your photograph be listed for the final round of judging, it will be inspected for AI manipulation. For information about permitted processing, please visit our Terms and Conditions.
For each photograph, you will be required to provide a caption which explains the astronomy phenomena depicted, and provides technical details on how the image was captured and processed. Please ensure that you provide details of the year the photo was taken, as well as the location, and the details of any equipment/software used.
In order to ensure that the judging process is as fair as possible, please do not include your name in the photograph caption or any file data.
Entries will be judged by our panel of five experts based on technique, composition, aesthetics and storytelling. From those entries selected by the judges, the following awards will be given: one overall winner, five category winners and five runners-up. Some exceptional images may also receive an honourable mention, at the discretion of the judging panel.
Each category winner will receive £500, with the overall winner receiving £2000 worth of equipment from our sponsor, First Light Optics. Each winner will also receive a 1-year membership to the Royal Astronomical Society.
Winners will be announced in July 2027 and will be notified in confidence ahead of this date.
If your photograph is shortlisted, you will be contacted via the email address you have provided. The judges reserve the right to remove your photograph from the shortlist if your image does not comply with the competition’s Terms and Conditions. Only those who have been shortlisted will be contacted by the organiser, and we ask that those shortlisted keep this information confidential.