Judging the Royal Observatory Astronomy Photographer of the Year – and the Story Behind “Black Saturn”
I was honoured to be part of the judging team for this year’s Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
An impressive exhibition of the shortlisted and winning images is currently on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, showcasing some of the most extraordinary astrophotography captured from around the world.
Winner of Astronomy Photographer of the Year
The overall winner of this prestigious competition was Hungarian photographer László Francsics, who took home the £10,000 top prize with his image “Into the Shadow.” The photograph was widely featured in national newspapers and demonstrates the remarkable precision now possible in modern astrophotography.
Each year the competition highlights how rapidly photographic technology continues to evolve, enabling photographers to capture increasingly detailed images of the night sky.
“Black Saturn” – A Remarkable Planetary Image
Among the images on display was a striking photograph titled “Black Saturn.” The image was captured by amateur astronomer Martin Lewis and received Highly Commended in the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category.
While viewing the exhibition I had the opportunity to meet Martin, who kindly explained the advanced imaging technique used to capture such extraordinary detail.
How Lucky Imaging Changed Astrophotography
Martin explained that highly detailed planetary images like this are now possible thanks to a technique known as Lucky Imaging.
Developed over the last two decades, this method allows amateur astronomers using relatively modest telescopes from their back gardens to capture images with remarkable clarity.
In the past, such detail was almost impossible to achieve using film cameras, even when mounted on the largest professional telescopes.
The Challenge of Photographing Planets
Capturing detailed images of planets such as Saturn or Jupiter presents several challenges:
The planetary discs are relatively dim.
Surface details are extremely small.
Earth’s atmosphere is constantly moving and distorting the view.
To capture fine detail, astronomers must magnify the image until the smallest visible features match the resolving power of the telescope. Traditionally, exposure times of one or two seconds were required to capture planets like Jupiter or Saturn.
However, during those seconds the atmosphere is constantly shifting. Observing through turbulent air at high magnification is often compared to looking at the bottom of a swimming pool just after someone has dived in. The turbulence blurs the image and softens the fine detail.
Why Lucky Imaging Works
Lucky Imaging changed everything.
Instead of taking a single long exposure, astronomers use a high-speed digital video camera to capture thousands of very short exposures over several minutes. Each frame may last only a few milliseconds.
Specialised software then analyses every frame, selecting only the sharpest images—those least affected by atmospheric distortion. Typically 70% to 99% of frames are discarded, leaving only the “lucky” ones.
These selected frames are then aligned and stacked together to produce a single, highly detailed final image.
The Making of “Black Saturn”
In the case of Martin Lewis’s remarkable image:
Over 600,000 individual frames were captured.
Around 7,000 of the sharpest images were selected.
These frames were then stacked to produce the final image.
The result is an incredibly detailed portrait of one of our nearest neighbours in space.
The Growing Art of Astrophotography
Fellow competition judge Tom Kerss from the Royal Observatory commented on the rising standards of the competition:
“Every year the standard rises, and entrants continue to find creative new ways to express their artistry. This year’s selection contains so many unique approaches to astrophotography – real love letters to the art form, which stay with you long after you’ve seen them. I’m looking forward to the discussions these images will inspire about our shared sky and the ever-expanding field of capturing images.”
Where to See the Exhibition
To see all the winning images from the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year, visit:
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where the exhibition will be on display until 26 April 2020
The official gallery at the Royal Museums Greenwich website
Buy the “Black Saturn” Image
Copies of Martin Lewis’s Saturn image can be purchased via Fleet Street’s Finest.
For more of Martin’s work visit:
www.skyinspector.co.uk