Stunning photos from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards

Perhaps more than any other type of photography, astronomical photography is just insanely impressive – the degree of patience and control required to get good photos of the night sky, let alone distant stars and planets, is hard to overstate. 

Incredible images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitionBest drone photos ever: Stunning images taken from the sky

That’s one of the reasons why there are awards dedicated entirely to astronomy photographs each year, and the current winners have just been revealed. We’ve collected some of the best images for you to enjoy but you can also see the full exhibit at the National Maritime Museum.