American photographer Brad Goldpaint beat thousands of amateur and professional photographers from around the globe to win the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s title of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018.

As well as securing the 10,000 pound top prize (roughly $12,780), his image takes pride of place in the exhibition of winning photographs opening at the National Maritime Museum on October 24.

The judges were captivated by Goldpaint’s awe-inspiring image. Taken in Moab, Utah, the photograph depicts a majestic composition of immense red-rock formations with the glorious Milky Way looming overhead on the right, and the Andromeda galaxy on the left.

Competition judge Will Gater said: “For me this superb image is emblematic of everything it means to be an astrophotographer; the balance between light and dark, the contrasting textures and tones of land and sky and the photographer alone under a starry canopy of breathtaking scale and beauty.”

Winning images of the other categories and special prizes include the breathtaking Aurora Borealis above the fjord in the gorgeous Lofoten archipelago, in Northern Norway by Mikkel Beiter (Denmark); the image taken by Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) showcases the August total solar eclipse surrounded by the blue star Regulus – the little King – and the red planet Mars; a remarkable parade of the planets in our solar system, which photographer Martin Lewis (UK) managed to capture from his own back garden; and the captivating image by Mario Cogo (Italy) of the Witch Head Nebula, a very faint molecular gas cloud, which is illuminated by supergiant star Rigel.

After a phenomenal increase in entries from our aspiring young astrophotographers in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category, 15-year-old Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy) is taking home the top prize for his incredible photograph of a meteor passing over the magnificent autumnal landscape of the Alpe di Siusi.

This photo gallery was provided by Royal Museums Greenwich