Want to See Some Pretty Pictures? Here are the Winners of the 2014 Photo Nightscape Awards

By Nancy Atkinson - October 16, 2014 02:27 PM UTC | Observing

We told you earlier this year about an astrophotography contest held by Ciel et Espace Photos in France, called the Photo Nightscape Awards. This is the first year of the competition and the winners have now been announced -- and they are gorgeous!

They had two categories: pro and 'espoir' (amateur, or literally, 'hope,') and more than 100 photographers from around the world participated. Above is the winning entry for the pro category, a wonderful shot of a geyser field located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile with a beautiful night sky overhead, taken by Jean-Marc Lecleire.

See a video compilation of the winners and other submissions, below, along with more beautiful images:

[caption id="attachment_115344" align="aligncenter" width="429"]

PNA 2014 - First in the 'Espoir' (hope) category: ‘Milky way over Baobabs.’ Credit and copyright: Mohammad Taha Ghouckkanly/PNA.

PNA 2014 - First in the 'Espoir' (hope) category: 'Milky way over Baobabs.' Credit and copyright: Mohammad Taha Ghouckkanly/PNA.[/caption]

The organizers of the contest said they are looking for "astrophotography that mixes photographic art and poetry. The judge for the contest was

Miguel Claro

, whose astrophotography we feature often here on Universe Today.

Other winners were 1st prize 'Pro': Tommy Eliassen; 2nd prize 'Pro': Mohammad Taha Ghouchkanlu for the "Baobabs" image, below; 1st prize 'Espoir': Pascal Colas; 2nd prize 'Espoir': Jérémy Gachon; 1st prize in young astronomers 9-12 group was Louis-Hadrien Gros and 2nd 9-12 was Justin Galant. 1st prize in the young astronomers 13-17 group was Tess Gautier, 2nd prize '13-17.

You can see all the winning photos at the website here, where you can also learn about next year's competition.

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PNA 'Pro' Category 2014: ‘Still Untouched’ Credit and copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo/PNA.

PNA 'Pro' Category 2014: 'Still Untouched' Credit and copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo/PNA.[/caption]

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com