Key points
- The David Malin Awards celebrate some of the finest astrophotography images in the world and the dedicated people behind the camera.
- The 2024 David Malin judging panel sifted through 339 entries to identify winners across eight categories.
- You can see the winning images at our Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre.
Astrophotography offers a stunning window into the cosmos. Through the lenses of passionate photographers, we can marvel at the intricate dance of stars, planets, and celestial phenomena.
This year’s 2024 David Malin Awards showcases some of the finest examples of this art form, with 339 entries received across eight categories. From smartphone-savvy photographers to seasoned astrophotography veterans, each entry reveals a unique approach and vision. Join us as we meet the people behind the lens and explore the inspiration behind their award-winning images.
Kaleidoscope, Ed Hurst
It wouldn’t be unusual to find Ed Hurst sitting on a rock somewhere at 2am taking photos.
“It’s where I find my peace,” he says.
He is passionate about photographing the night sky in urban contexts. His images capture the passage of time, illustrating how all human existence is just a tiny fraction of the universe’s vast timeline. For Ed, his winning image tells a lot of stories, including a personal story.
Ed’s grandfather worked for Dorman Long, the company that built the Sydney Harbour Bridge. His grandfather could never have imagined his grandson living in Australia, sitting on a rock at 2am taking an award-winning photo of that very same Bridge!
Skógafoss disco, Alex van Harmelen
Alex was inspired to pursue astrophotography when he met David Malin (yes, the man himself!) as a teenager.
“Preparation is the key to a successful night of astrophotography,” he says.
From planning your location and checking the weather conditions using a range of apps, to practicing using your camera in the dark, every detail matters.
“Don’t forget to dress warm and take snacks!”
Very important advice, particularly if, like Alex, you find yourself in Iceland hunting the Northern Lights!
Detachment, Andy Casely
The Sun is a dynamic body, particularly during this solar maximum. Andy Casely captured this solar filament alongside timelapse images of the Sun’s surface showing solar prominences and flares. These structures are made up of hot, electrically charged gas called plasma flowing along magnetic field lines.
Andy finds celestial objects that experience weather especially interesting. Unsurprising, given his day job is monitoring extreme weather and climate on Earth.
"Watching the ever-changing extreme weather on Jupiter, dust storms on Mars, the more subtle weather of Saturn, and the cool weird ‘weather’ of the Sun is lots of fun,” Andy says.
“I love seeing how they [prominences] move, often in weird and wonderful directions thanks to the Sun’s magnetic fields."
NGC 6729, Anne Maree McComb
Anne Maree is rather fond of reflection or emission nebulae like this one. She captured it over four nights of observing with her telescope. Not only does it take a lot of time to capture an image like this, it also takes a lot of time to learn how to do it.
“There will be hiccups along the way and lots of learning. However, the outcome is very enjoyable and there are always many people available to help,” Anne Maree says.
Andromeda galaxy, Michelle Bennett
By daylight, Michelle looks at scans of human bodies (nothing creepy, we promise – she’s a radiologist). But after dark, she’s taking pictures of the sky. Michelle has been fascinated by astronomy since a young age, exploring the universe with her telescope and the local astronomy club. However, she only came to astrophotography about five years ago.
“We live out in the country under dark skies, so it’s been a perfect location to develop this interest. My husband has offered to build me an observatory one day!” Michelle says.
Rainbow prawn, Lachlan Wilson
Lachlan Wilson started astrophotography about five years ago. His Rainbow prawn image took special equipment and around three hours of exposure time! Still, he says budding astrophotographers can start small and still enjoy impressive results.
“Using a modern mobile phone can get you a long way. The Milky Way in winter is a great target and a great photo of it can be captured in minutes,” Lachlan says.
Rho Ophiuchi, Kelvin Hennessy
Rho Ophiuchi is a star-forming region around 460 light years from Earth. However, it was still in reach of Kelvin Hennessy's smartphone. To take the picture he mounted his brand-new Xiaomi Smartphone on a star tracker.
"Using its zoom lens, I took hundreds of 30 second exposures over several nights from very dark sky locations. Then I processed the resultant images together using special astrophotography software," Kelvin says.
The region around Rho Ophiuchi, Jarrod Koh
Rho Ophiuchi was a very popular subject in this year’s entries and winning images. And with this year’s overall winning image it’s easy to see why.
The judges noted that the colourful and deep exposure of the Rho Ophiuchi region invited the viewer to take a closer look. Taken together, the highly resolved stars with beautiful colour variation and the bright and dark nebulae with excellent contrast, detail and colour balance were simply outstanding.
Jarrod may have also employed a clever strategy here, as this particular region of space is a favourite of David Malin’s.
David Malin Awards
The David Malin astrophotography awards are sponsored by us and run by the Central West Astronomical Society. This year’s judging panel included Dr David Malin, Alex Cherney, Peter Ward and Selena Simpson.
You can view all the winning photos on the David Malin Awards website or on display at our Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre.