Universe: These are the most beautiful images of the night sky and its galaxies

23 hours exposure time: That’s how long it took to create this spectacular picture. It is one of the shots shortlisted by the Royal Greenwich Observatory for Astronomy Photographers of the Year. Every year the London astronomers are looking for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Now they have published the photos they are considering for the award in 2022. They are impressive pictures that were taken under extraordinary circumstances and with a lot of photographic know-how. Carl Gallagha’s “An Icelandic Saga” shows an aurora over the wreck of the Gardur. The photographer traveled Iceland for nine days and covered 2500 kilometers in search of the most beautiful celestial phenomena of the Aurora Boralis. Lionel Majzik’s Comet C/2021 A1 image shows Comet Leonard, visible only from the southern hemisphere. The Hungarian photographer took this picture in December 2021 using the telescope at the Skygem Remote Observatory in Namibia. This photo shows the so-called Soul and Heart Nebulae in the constellation of Cassiopaia. Chinese photographer Binju Wang aptly calls it: “A little devil riding on a dragon’s head.” This picture was taken in one of the most unlikely places on earth: the Bad Water Basin, the lowest point in North America. In summer, temperatures can exceed 40 degrees Celsius during the day. Photographer Abhjiit Patil took advantage of the cooler night hours in September 2021 and took the photo of the encrusted salt flats and the Milky Way. Jason Guenzel’s Edge photo shows the spiral galaxy NGC 891, 30 million light-years away. The photographer exposed this exposure for almost 23 hours to create this image. Many other impressive submissions can be seen on the Greenwich Observatory website. The astronomers received a total of 3,000 submissions from 67 countries. On September 15, 2022, they will choose the winners.