Impressive results from the astrophotography contest in its 5th edition

Over a hundred works have been presented to the Calar Alto 5^th international contest of astrophotography, astronomical drawing and timelapse. After five years, the contest consolidated itself as one of the most prestigious on the national and international scene. The works received until May 31^st (deadline extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic) came from all over Spain and even the United States.

The contest, organized by the Calar Alto observatory as well as the “Orion” and “Friends of Calar Alto” associations, includes five categories. Deep sky, showing us the beautiful nebulae and galaxies in the Universe. Planetary, with the Solar System objects as protagonists. Nightscape, where Earth and sky merge in an image, or as a timelapse, another category. The night sky becomes pure art with the astronomical drawing category.

The five winners this year are Spanish men, but the growing number of female participants has to be emphasized. They will be awarded with a 3-night full-board stay at the observatory, using the 1.23-m telescope to take photographs or to do drawings from the best sky in Europe. This prize is highly valued within the amateur astronomer community.

The winners are:

• Deep sky, Roberto Ferrero from Agrupación Astronómica Madrid Sur.
• Planetary, Rafael Segura Rius from Tarragona.
• In nightscape, Oscar Blanco Varela de A Coruña.
• In astronomical drawing, Jesús Salado Castro from Cádiz.
• And in timelapse, José Manuel Gallego Reina, from Sevilla.

 Enjoy attached winners’ photographies and videos.

CATEGORY: DEEP SKY PHOTOGRAPHY
First Prize Dark Nebula in Cygnus constellation Roberto Ferrero
First Mention Sadr y la Nebulosa Crescent Guadalupe Fernández Vega	Second Mention Andrés Jobacho Sánchez Trompa del elefante en IC 1396	Third Mention Los renacuajos del sur Josep Drudis

CATEGORY: PLANETARY PHOTOGRAPHY
First Prize Venus multicolor Rafael Segura Rius
First Mention Eclipse Lunar Juan Luis Cánovas Pérez	Second Mention Conjunción Luna y Saturno Miguel García Novalbos	Third Mention Moon, cráter Copernicus Alfredo Vidal Pérez

CATEGORY: NIGHT LANDSCAPE
First Prize Reflejos en el Salar Oscar Blanco Varela
First Mention The Cristal Dome Antonio Martín Carrillo	Second Mention Calar Alto y la Vía Láctea, dos maravillas frente a frente Diego Gómez Rodríguez	Third Mention Castillo de Zafra bajo nuestra galaxia David Fernández Sánchez

CATEGORY: ASTRONOMICAL DRAWING
First Prize Aristóteles, Euxodus y Montes Caucasus en creciente Jesús Salado Castro
First Mention Eclipse Lunar Maritxu Poyal Viúdez

Calar Alto Observatory is one of the infrastructures that belong to the national map of Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructures (Spanish acronym: ICTS), approved on November 6th, 2018, by the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Council

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