A dark, shark-shaped cloud of interstellar dust has taken the top prize in the Royal Observatory Greenwich's 18th ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, announced on Thursday, September 17. The winning image, The Quiet Predator, was captured by astrophotographer Ali Alobaidly from the Jahra governorate in Kuwait.

The overall winner and 10 category winners went on display at the National Maritime Museum in London beginning September 18, according to Live Science. Alobaidly received a prize of 10,000 British pounds, or about $13,300.

Beyond their beauty, the winning images are small science lessons. Each captures a real process, from starlight glinting off dust to the moon sliding in front of a planet.

The Space Shark Explained

The overall winner shows the Shark Nebula, cataloged as LDN 1235, a cloud of gas and dust roughly 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus. For comparison, the nearest star system to Earth is only about 4 light-years away.

The "LDN" stands for the Lynds Catalog of Dark Nebulae. Dark nebulae are dense clouds of dust that block light from the stars behind them. In long exposures, faint light from surrounding stars reveals their shapes, which is why this one appears as a brown silhouette with a snout and fins.

Alobaidly photographed the nebula over two days in August 2025 using an Askar 140 APO telescope, a Sky-Watcher EQ8-R mount, and a ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera. Faint objects like this require long total exposure times under very dark skies, which is part of why desert locations far from city lights are prized by astrophotographers.

In a statement, Alobaidly said he found the image of "an oceanic predator, prowling the skies above the Kuwaiti desert"deeply poetic.

A Venusian Pearl and Saturn's Vanishing Rings

In the Our Moon category, Czech photographer Petr Horalek won with Venusian Pearl on the Moon. The image records the moon passing in front of Venus on September 19, 2025, an event called a lunar occultation that was visible only from certain places on Earth. Judges said the most beautiful moment came just as Venus began to slip behind the crescent, when it looked like a bright pearl on the moon's edge.

Occultations happen because the moon moves eastward against the background stars by roughly its own width every hour. When a bright planet lies on that path, observers in the right location can watch it disappear and reappear.

British photographer Tom Williams won the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category with Saturnian Equinox. His 2025 image shows Saturn's rings nearly edge-on from Earth, a view that recurs roughly every 13 to 16 years as Saturn completes its nearly 30-year orbit of the sun. Organizers said the image marks the start of local spring in Saturn's southern hemisphere. Because the rings are extremely thin compared with their width, they nearly vanish when seen edge-on.

Auroras, the Sun, and Ancient Rock Art

The Aurorae category went to Bulgarian photographer Radoslav Sviretsov for The Crown, which shows a strong display of northern lights over a small church between Keflavík and Reykjavík, Iceland. Auroras form when charged particles from the Sun, guided by Earth's magnetic field, collide with oxygen and nitrogen high in the atmosphere, as described in this Live Science explainer on how the northern lights form.

Portuguese photographer Miguel Claro won Our Sun with Active Region 4122, a close-up of the sun's visible surface, or photosphere, made with a dual-band solar telescope. The image shows convection cells, where hot plasma rises and cooler plasma sinks, along with bright spots between them. Solar photography requires specialized filters, because looking at the sun without proper protection can cause permanent eye damage.

The People and Space award went to Max Inwood of New Zealand for A Message from the Ancients, which frames the Milky Way above petroglyphs in California's desert. The rock art is believed to depict 13 full moons, a count that occurs in some years. Other category winners included Italian photographer Stefano Pellegrini's star trails over baobab trees in Botswana's Nxai Pan and a portrait of the dusty galaxy NGC 4753 in Virgo, about 60 million light-years away, by Yan Zhipeng and Xinran Li of China, taken from Chile.

Dark Skies Behind Many Winning Frames

A common thread runs through many of the winning images: darkness. Photographers traveled to deserts, remote churches, and parks to escape light pollution, which washes out faint nebulae and weak auroras. Organizers described the Aurorae winner's location as far from light pollution.

That makes the contest a useful reminder for U.S. skywatchers. Many of the darkest places in the lower 48 states are on public lands in the West. Autumn's longer nights and the weeks around the equinox, when auroras tend to be more frequent, make this a good season to try.

Beginners can start with a camera on a tripod, a wide lens, and exposures of several seconds on a clear, moonless night. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center publishes aurora forecasts that help skywatchers in northern states time their outings.

The full list of 2026 winners, runners-up, and judges' comments is on the Royal Museums Greenwich contest website, and the exhibition continues at the National Maritime Museum in London.

What Readers Want to Know

Who won Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026?

Ali Alobaidly of Kuwait won the overall prize for The Quiet Predator, an image of the Shark Nebula.

What is the Shark Nebula?

It is a dark nebula, LDN 1235, a cloud of gas and dust roughly 650 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus.

What is the Venusian Pearl image?

It shows Venus disappearing behind the crescent moon during a lunar occultation on September 19, 2025, photographed by Petr Horalek.

Why do Saturn's rings seem to disappear?

When Earth passes through the plane of Saturn's rings, they appear edge-on and nearly vanish because they are extremely thin.

Where can I see the winning photos?

They are on display at the National Maritime Museum in London, and the full list is posted on the Royal Museums Greenwich website.

How can I start photographing the night sky?

Use a camera on a tripod with a wide lens, find a dark location away from city lights, and take exposures of several seconds on a clear, moonless night.