Paul Haese, "The Halo" Image: Paul Haese

Amateur astrophotographers have shown off their spectacular images of space at the annual David Malin Awards.

The results of the 2015 competition, run by the Central West Astronomical Society in Australia, were presented Saturday. In his picture "Stellar Riches," the overall winner, Troy Casswell, shows off the colourful Milky Way.

"It reveals vast star clouds of Sagittarius, and the wispy dust and elusive nebulae and bright stars in Scorpius and Ophiuchus," the award's namesake, world-renowned astrophotographer, David Malin, wrote in his citation. "It is a four-panel, 20-degree wide, true-colour mosaic made from 64 separate exposures with an off-the-shelf (but modified) digital camera, and much care and patience."

The competition includes six photography sections: deep sky, wide-field, nightscapes, solar system, a themed section called "The Southern Cross," and junior for those 18 years old or younger, as well as awards for animated sequences.

The photos will tour Australia, beginning at the Sydney Observatory from August 14, 2015. Below are the winning images, along with a selection that received an honourable mention.