Photographing the night sky is about so much more than just capturing stars. Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has officially released the highly anticipated 9th edition of its annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition, and the results are absolutely mesmerizing.

A Record-Breaking Competition
This year’s spectacular event received over 6,500 submissions, making it the highest number of entries in the project’s entire history. From this massive pool of talent, a curated collection of 25 inspiring images was carefully selected to showcase the most breathtaking views of our galaxy. The winning photographers represent 15 different nationalities, proving that the love for the night sky is truly a global passion.

“Fireball in Paradise” - Jason Rice. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)

Breathtaking Global Destinations
The 2026 collection takes viewers on an incredible journey across 12 different countries and regions. Photographers ventured far from light pollution to capture the galaxy shining with extraordinary clarity over coastlines, deserts, and mountains. The diverse locations include:

  • The Southern Alps of New Zealand
  • The vast Australian Outback
  • Remote landscapes in Botswana
  • Other stunning sites in Argentina, Spain, Chile, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, and Mexico
“Night at the Remarkables” – Tom Rae. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Lost in the Ripples of Space and Time” – Leonel Padrón. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Botswana Baobabs by Night” – Stefano Pellegrini. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)

Rare and Shocking Captures
This year's collection is particularly special because it features several rare and difficult-to-capture scenes. Some of these incredible achievements include:

  • A stunning view of the Milky Way directly above the working telescopes of the Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile.
  • A photograph taken from within the restricted Valle de la Luna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Argentina.
  • A gorgeous capture from the Sierra of Baja California in Mexico.
“Sodium Milky Way” – Julien Looten. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Valle de la Luna, Universo Triasico Ischigualasto” – Gonzalo Javier Santile. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” – Nacho Peláez. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)

Protecting Our Night Skies
Beyond their artistic and technical brilliance, these 25 photographs serve as a powerful reminder of how rare truly dark skies are becoming due to increasing light pollution.

Capture the Atlas editor Dan Zafra hopes these images will inspire people to value and protect these fading environments. "This collection reminds us that photographing the Milky Way is not only about technique or planning," Zafra explains. "It is about curiosity, patience, and the desire to experience the night sky in places where it still feels wild".

MORE PHOTOS

“Aoraki Mt Cook” – Owain Scullion. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Caldera Galaxy Panorama” – Max Terwindt. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Celestial Light Over Sea Cliffs” – Anthony Lopez. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Divinity” – Kavan Chay. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Double Milky Way Over Monfragüe National Park” – Luis Cajete. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Firewater” – Baillie Farley. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Galactic Gandalf” – Evan McKay. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Galaxy on the Rise” – Anastasia Gulova. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Galactic Spine” – Andrew Imhoff. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Geminid Symphony Over La Palma’s Guardian of the Sky” – Uroš Fink. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“The Garden of Stars” – Luca Fornaciari. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Milky Way Over Syme Hut and Mt Taranaki” – Brendan Larsen. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Milky Way Over the Tatra Mountains” – Łukasz Remkowicz. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“My Perfect Night” – Daniel Viñé Garcia. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Perseid Meteors Over Durdle Door” – Josh Dury. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Salto de Agrio” – Alejandra Heis. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“The Milky Way Over a Field of Lupines” – Alvin Wu. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)
“Where Earth Meets the Cosmos” – Andrea Curzi. (Courtesy via Capture the Atlas)

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