South Downs night sky snaps win photography awards

Photographs of a jellyfish-shaped supernova 5,000 lightyears away and the Milky Way lighting up an abandoned barn were among the winners of a competition organised by one of the UK's most picturesque national parks.

The shots - which were all of the night sky across the South Downs - were recognised in the park's annual astrophotography competition.

The contest, which attracted more than 130 entrants, marks the 10th anniversary of the park being named as an International Dark Sky Reserve.

Michael Harris, from Brighton, whose photo Ancient Light scooped the top award, said the site he photographed has a long history.

It was under Roman occupation, and then became a medieval hamlet, and was later used as accommodation during the Second World War, and for farming, he said.

"All of which have long since come and gone in the time it has taken for the light from the Milky Way above to reach us, which is approximately 26,000 years," Harris added.

Nigel Stanbury's photograph of the Jellyfish Nebula, two stars larger than the sun which exploded into a supernova 5,000 lightyears away, won in the South Downs to Deep Space category.

He said the image took three nights to capture and needed 22 hours of exposure to "bring out the colours and show the finer details of the faint structure".

Stanbury, from Haslemere, Surrey, added: "It has taken light 5,000 years to reach us so the image shows the object as it appeared 5,000 years ago."

Judge Dan Oakley, a dark skies expert and photographer, described the shot as "straight out of Star Trek".

Other winners include Richard Murray, whose image of a snail beneath The Plough asterism won in the Life At Night category.

Murray, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, said: "The shot took a lot of patience and a surprising amount of suspense, waiting for the exact moment when my tiny, mucus-powered model lifted both antennae toward the cosmos above.

"Eventually, the stars, the snail, and the timing all lined up and I got the shot I'd been hoping for."

Judge Elinor Newman, who organises the national park's Dark Skies Festival which runs until February 22, said: "This really does encapsulate life at night, with the snail, flora and lichen.

"The image has incredible detail, captures a moment and takes me to another place. A very inspiring image."

More winners can be found on the South Downs National Park Authority website.

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