Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 has nine main categories:
- Skyscapes sponsored by Insight Investment: Landscape and cityscape images of twilight and the night sky featuring the Milky Way, star trails, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, constellation rises, halos and noctilucent clouds alongside elements of earthly scenery.
- Aurorae: Photographs featuring auroral activity.
- People and Space: Photographs of the night sky including people or a human interest element.
- Our Sun: Solar images including solar eclipses and transits.
- Our Moon: Lunar images including lunar eclipses and occultation of planets.
- Planets, Comets and Asteroids: Everything else in our solar system, including planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and other forms of zodiacal debris.
- Stars and Nebulae: Deep space objects within the Milky Way galaxy, including stars, star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae and other intergalactic phenomena.
- Galaxies: Deep space objects beyond the Milky Way galaxy, including galaxies, galaxy clusters, and stellar associations.
- Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Pictures taken by budding astronomers under the age of 16 years old.
The winners of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 will be announced at an award ceremony at the Royal Observatory on 17 September 2015.
Entry to the exhibition is free.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich is hosting the 2015 Astronomy Photographer of the Year in association with Insight Investment and BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
The overall winner of the 2015 competition will receive £2,500 and prizes will be awarded to the winners of each of the competition categories.
There are also two special prizes: The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer is awarded to the best photo by an amateur astrophotographer who has taken up the hobby in the last year and who has not entered an image into the competition before, and Robotic Scope, acknowledges the best photo taken using one of the increasing number of computer-controlled telescopes at prime observing sites around the world which can be accessed over the internet by members of the public.
The winning photographs will be exhibited in the Astronomy Centre from 18 September 2015.
