In astronomical photography competitions, what are the award-winning works of Chinese female photographers who took aurora shots from airplanes?
"Ophiuchus Clouds" is the champion work in the "Stars and Nebulas" category. This cloud, which hides dark emission and reflection nebulae, spans about 14 light-years and is about 460 light-years from Earth. It is one of the closest star-forming regions to the solar system. Photographed by Artem Mironov of Russia on August 6, 2016.
"Stellar Day" won the runner-up in the "Stars and Nebulas" category. As we all know, the Earth’s rotation period is 24 hours. In fact, the Earth's rotation only takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds, which is called a sidereal day. This photograph captures the movement of stars above Earth during a sidereal day - showing beautiful concentric star trails. Photographed by Andras Papp of Hungary on November 2, 2016.
"Pac-Man Nebula" won the Highly Commended Award in the "Stars and Nebulas" category. NGC 281 is named after its resemblance to the video game character Pac-Man. Viewed by the normal colors of the visible light spectrum, this nebula is rather boring. The nebula's bright blue central region and surrounding rust-colored bands are vividly displayed in this image using the Hubble Color Palette feature. Andriy Borovkov of Ukraine took this photo in August 2016.
Winner of the "Aurora" category: "Ghost World". Danish photographer Mikkel Beiter is standing on the beach observing the waves. The waves slowly wash over the beach, soaking the sand, which creates great conditions for reflected light. Suddenly, clouds emerge from nearby mountains and spread over the sea, creating a ghostly dark green aurora across the night sky. Taken on October 5, 2016, in Skoksk, Iceland.
Runner up in the "Aurora" category. A green aurora arc cuts through the frozen night sky of a Siberian forest. The photographer captured eight vertical frames. During the shooting process, every second is precious, because the aurora is dynamic, and the photographer needs to press the shutter as quickly as possible to truly capture the scene. Kamil Nureev of Russia took this picture on September 28, 2016.
Chinese female photographer Ye Ziyi’s aurora pictures also stand out. While filming, she was on a plane flying from Amsterdam to Beijing when she saw through the window a green aurora hovering above the deep blue sky and orange twilight. Ye Ziyi expected to observe the aurora during the flight and chose the seat that was most suitable for observation. In addition to the strong aurora activity, Ye Ziyi was lucky enough to capture the twilight appearing on the horizon during the white night. Taken above Novosibirsk, Russia, on August 24, 2016. White Night is a unique phenomenon visible in high latitudes in summer, where the afterglow of dusk meets the twilight of dawn.
In "M63: Stellar Stream and Sunflower Galaxy", the winner of the "Galaxy" category, a bright spiral galaxy M63 is like a necklace scattered from the center to the periphery. Ghostly star trails have always been a difficult subject for photographers to capture. Oleg Bryzgalov of Ukraine took this photo on April 6, 2016, at the Rozhen Observatory in Bulgaria, one of the least light-polluted places in Europe.
The runner-up in the "Galaxy" category is "NGC7331: Deer Lick Galaxy Cluster". This spiral galaxy is about 40 million light-years away from Earth and is located in the constellation Pegasus. Among this group of galaxies, the Lulicking Galaxy Cluster is the largest and occupies the main body of this image. Several smaller galaxies NGC 7335, NGC 7336, NGC 7337, NGC 7338 and NGC 7340 lie above it. On October 30, 2016, American photographer Bernard Miller took the photo in New Mexico.
In the "Galaxy" category, "NGC 4565: Needle Galaxy" was highly praised by the judges. This galaxy is located in the constellation Coma Berenices, about 40 million light-years away from the Earth, and is brighter than Andromeda. When we view the galaxy from Earth's side, its spiral arms appear like a beam of light. Photographed by Andriy Borovkov of Ukraine on March 14, 2016.
The winner of the "Moon" category, "Blue Tycho" shows us the lunar surface from a new angle. This image is extremely saturated. Tycho crater and nearby areas, which have a bluish hue, are the youngest craters on the moon. Photo taken on December 12, 2016 by László Francsics, Hungary.
The runner-up of the "Moon" category is "Ptolemaic Crater and Rupes Recta Night". Compared with the side facing the Earth, the side of the moon facing away from the Earth has more craters. This photo is a close-up of the far side, showing the spectacular landforms of the central and southern parts of the moon: mainly composed of Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel craters. Photographed by Spanish photographer Jordi Delpeix Borrell on August 25, 2016.
In the "Moon" category, "Moonset on Mauna Kea" won high praise. The huge moon is transformed into a huge background picture. Compared with the moon, the Mauna Kea Observatory looks very petite. Although the dormant volcano Mauna Kea is located in Hawaii, it reaches an altitude of 4,200 meters, so the top of the mountain is covered with snow in winter. From left to right, the telescopes in the picture are the British Infrared Telescope, the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter Aperture Telescope, the Gemini North Telescope, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The picture was taken by Sean Goebel of the United States on January 13, 2017.
The winner of the "Sun" category was "Mercury Rising". On May 9, 2016, people on Earth were able to see the transit of Mercury. Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system, passes by the face of the sun for 7.5 hours. Mercury's transits occur 13 or 14 times per century. This is the longest one this century. In the picture, Mercury is just a small black spot on the Sun's disk. Photographed by Alexandra Hart in the UK on May 9, 2016.
The runner-up in the "Sun" category is "Prominences and Sunspots at the Edge of the Sun". Using a custom telescope and a Lunt H-alpha filter, American photographer Eric Toops captured the details of solar activity at high magnification. Because the Earth's atmosphere blurred the view, he stacked several photos to stabilize the image and improve the "visibility conditions." Taken on April 19, 2016.
The masterpiece "Ghost Sun" in the "Sun" category shows us the chromosphere of the sun. After color processing, the surface of the sun is dark and the sunspots appear as bright spots. However, the contrast in areas outside the edge of the sun is increased, highlighting several prominences on the western edge of the sun. Photographed by British photographer Michael Wilkinson on April 4, 2017.
Winner of the "Man and Space" category: "Stargazers in Patagonia". A stargazer gazes at the stars in the Milky Way on the white rock glacier in Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. Yuri Zvezdny of Russia took this photo on September 27, 2016.
Second runner-up in the "Man and Space" category: "Half Dome: Trail of Night". August 29, 2016, photographed by Kurt Lawson of the United States in Yosemite National Park, California. Half Dome is the highest peak of the park and has become an important symbol. Kurt Lawson and shooting partner Sean Goebel climbed the Cable Route at night. The nearly clear sky creates excellent conditions for photographing star trails. Shooting at night allowed the photographer to capture the light trails that appear along the Cable Route.
Chinese photographer Fu Dingyan's "Interstellar Travel" won the Highly Commended Award in the "Man and Space" category. In order to recreate the atmosphere of space travel, Fu Dingyan stayed away from the city lights and came to Reunion Island near the coast of Madagascar. Wearing a spacesuit, he stood under the Milky Way and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, realistically simulating the image of an interstellar traveler. Taken on September 3, 2016.
"Venus Phase Evolution" won the championship in the "Planet, Comet and Asteroid" category. On September 25, 2016, the proportion of Venus illuminated by the sun was 86.6%. Six months later, this proportion dropped to 1%. British photographer Roger Hutchinson took a series of photos using the same camera settings, so the size of Venus changes clearly in the same image as the planet's position changes.
"Retrograde Mars and Saturn" won the runner-up in the "Planet, Comet and Asteroid" category. During 11 months in 2016, the paths of Mars and Saturn through dark space are clearly recorded in this image. Last year was a special year for both planets. Because during this year, the two have been getting closer to each other. In 11 months, Turkish photographer Tun? Tezel shot about once a week and took 46 photos.
The champion of the "Skyscapes" category was won by Chinese photographer Yu Haitong (transliterated by Haitong Yu). This work is called "Road to the Galaxy". This photo was taken at the National Astronomical Observatory of China where the LAMOST telescope is installed. Through this simple outdoor passage, the photos record the quiet scene of the Milky Way. Taken on April 9, 2016.
The runner-up in the "Sky Realm" category, "Star Trails over Kawagebo Peak", was shot by Chinese photographer Wu Zhong (transliterated by Zhong Wu). Kawagebo Peak is the main peak of Meili Snow Mountain and the highest peak in Yunnan Province. Its beauty is world-famous and it is one of the holiest mountains in Tibetan Buddhism. The moonlight falling on the top of the mountain casts an ethereal veil on the mountain. Taken on January 16, 2017.
The winner of the "Robot Photography Category" is titled "Encounters between Comet and Planetary Nebula". The works in this category are all shot with remote-controlled robot telescopes and processed by the contestants later. Here, green comet C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) passes through the spiral nebula with pink outer layers and blue inner core. Photographed by Gerald Rhemann of Austria on June 5, 2016. (Xichen)