DarkSky International’s fifth annual Capture the Dark photography contest drew a record 2,284 submissions from 22 countries, making it the largest yet. The competition has become a global showcase of the beauty of natural darkness and the creativity of photographers who bring the night to life.
This year’s entries were judged across eight categories: Capture the Dark, International Dark Sky Places, Dark Sky Friendly Lighting and Design, The Impact of Light Pollution, Creatures of the Night, Deep Sky Observations, Mobile Nighttime Photography, and Young Astrophotographers. Each winning image revealed a unique perspective on the night sky and the world that awakens beneath it.
Capture the Dark: The Watchers by JJ Rao
“Rare red sprites dancing over the tidal flats of Western Australia. A large sprite like this exists for 10 milliseconds — up to 40 times faster than an eye blink. This makes photographing them challenging and requires very dark skies. The central sprite is unusual. It’s known as a ‘jellyfish’ sprite, the largest and fastest of all sprites,” Rao said.
His fleeting subject — a red sprite lightning phenomenon — was captured above the tidal flats of Derby, Australia. Rao’s image was named the overall first-place winner of the 2025 Capture the Dark contest.
International Dark Sky Places: Starlight Highway by Tom Rae
“The Starlight Highway sign is definitely one of the cooler signs to find on the road, and there is a good reason for it, as you can see! The sign marks the entrance to the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve — one of the most significant dark sky reserves on Earth,” Rae said.
Shot in New Zealand’s South Island, Rae’s Starlight Highway won first place in the International Dark Sky Places category.
Dark Sky Friendly Lighting and Design: Paris, Asleep in the Pre-Dawn Hours by Gwenael Blanck
“Paris is known as the ‘City of Lights,’ but after midnight, many iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur are turned off to save energy and reduce light pollution. I took advantage of the darker, less light-polluted sky to capture the Pleiades above the city, from a beautiful viewpoint in Sèvres, just 5 miles from the Eiffel Tower,” Blanck said.
His photograph shows that even in the heart of a metropolis, thoughtful lighting choices can reveal the stars once again.
The Impact of Light Pollution: Requiem for a Dream by Ambre de l’AlPe
“January, a few years ago, in the northern Alps, France. The tent is pitched in the snow, and a sea of clouds filters the light from the town of Chamonix. An incredible atmosphere… and it’s even more incredible to realize that the town, despite the clouds obscuring the light, shines right up to the summit of Mont Blanc (on the far right of the photo)!” Ambre de l’AlPe said.
Her haunting image illustrates how the glow of human settlements reaches even the highest alpine summits.
Creatures of the Night: Scorpion and Scorpio by Oscar Leonardo Chavez Torres
“Scorpions use the darkness to hunt in the desert. These organisms thrive in the dark nights of the desert, and even the moon can be enough light to drop their activity,” Torres said.
Shot in Sonora, Mexico, his photograph unites a desert scorpion with the constellation Scorpius overhead, a perfect pairing of Earth and sky.
Deep Sky Observations: Breathing Vela Supernova Remnant Mosaic by Alpha Zhang
“This is the most breathtaking nebula I’ve ever captured. The Vela Supernova Remnant is a target that no astrophotographer should miss in a lifetime. A four-panel mosaic covers the primary emission signals of the nebula. The OIII outer shell wraps around the ionized Ha and SII, forming a complex, layered structure that is beyond words,” Zhang said.
His four-panel mosaic earned first place in the Deep Sky Observations category, revealing stellar death transformed into cosmic beauty.
Mobile Nighttime Photography: A Gateway to the Universe by Sadeq Hayati
“On my last trip to Iceland, we followed the northern lights. There was a huge storm of aurora and I decided to record it with my phone for the first time! It was interesting that, with a small device in my hand, I could see the beauty happening in the sky in more detail,” Hayati said.
His image, taken in Iceland, shows that even a phone can capture the majesty of the night sky.
Young Astrophotographers: Gems of Jizerka by Oldřich Špůrek
“In May, I visited Jizerka, which is located in a dark Bortle 4 zone (and sometimes even reaching Bortle 3). This valley transforms completely after sunset. A few scattered huts, fleeting fog, and a lively yet peaceful atmosphere under the stars made this night unforgettable,” Špůrek, 17, said.
His serene photograph of Jizerka Valley in the Czech Republic earned first place in the Young Astrophotographers category.
Additional Awards
The People’s Choice Award went to 12-year-old Siddharth Patel, who captured a comet and the Milky Way with his mother’s smartphone. “Under the darker Fingal sky, the comet and the Milky Way were both visible to the naked eye, and seeing them together blew my mind,” he said.
In Utah, Carly Stocks won the Visit Utah Location Award for Kids and Comets. “Chasing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) with these two is one of my favorite memories of 2024. While it makes photography tricky, I love sharing moments under the stars with my children. They patiently waited for me to capture this comet for three consecutive nights. They asked questions, watched the comet through binoculars, and even posed for pictures.”
A Shared Heritage of Darkness
From sprites flashing in milliseconds above Australia to nebulae thousands of years in the making, from Paris under the stars to children chasing comets in Utah, the winners of Capture the Dark 2025 prove that the night is never empty. It is filled with life, memory, and mystery.
Their images are more than photographs; they are reminders of the timeless skies that connect us all.
Scroll down to see more of the breathtaking winning photos from the Capture the Dark 2025 contest
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