THESE incredible photographs were taken by the winners of an astrophotography competition.
More than 100 entries were received for the South Downs National Park’s cosmic photography contest.
On the judging panel were Dan Oakley, dark skies ranger for the National Park, Graham Bryant, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Tiffany Francis-Baker, author of Dark Skies.
Taking the top spot in the South Downs Dark Skyscapes category was “Snow In Springtime” by Neil Jones.
The photograph shows the Milky Way arching above St Mary’s Church, near Upwaltham, north of Fontwell.
The runner-up was “Valley of Stars”, taken by Michael Harris, a stunning night-time view of Devil’s Dyke, near Brighton.
In the Living Dark Skies category, the judges crowned “Stargazing” by Pablo Rodriguez as the winner.
The image shows a walker gazing in awe at the star-studded sky at Seven Sisters.
Runner-up in the category, which had no geographical limit, was “White Sands” by Jeff Pfaller.
The photograph was taken at White Sands National Park in New Mexico on a cross-country road trip to visit 14 National Park sites in the US.
The final category had to capture the moon, or the Milky Way, and it was shots of our closest celestial neighbour that captured the imaginations of the judges.
The winner was “Towering Super Moon”, by Richard Murray. It shows the moon rising behind the Vandalian Tower near South Harting, a village north of Chichester.
Coming in second was a picture called “Moon and Cloudscape over South Downs” by Graham Devenish, who captured the amazing image of a moon surrounded by swirling clouds from his back garden at Findon Valley.
Two images were also highly commended – “Night at Lord’s Piece” by Alan Crossland, showing a misty night-time view of a South Downs heathland, and “Confectionary Giant” by Michael Harris, which was taken at Whataroa, South Island, New Zealand.
The winners pick up a prize of £100, while the runners-up get £75.
The People’s Choice vote for the competition will launch on March 1 and the public will have two weeks to vote for their favourite shot out of a choice of shortlisted images, with a prize of £50 going to the winner - see www.southdowns.gov.uk for more details.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here