Submission for the Astrophotography Contest 2026 was closed on 30 September 2026.
This year, we received a total of 105 submissions from 35 participants, out of which 78 entries from 27 participants were shortlisted. We are happy to see many new faces as well as some familiar names.
Thirteen best images were decided by a panel of three judges for the First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize, and ten Consolation Prizes. The winning photos will be featured in the Astronomical Calendar 2027 to be published by the Astronomical Society of Penang.
A big thank you to our sponsors Cyclops Optics Limited, Perseid Telescope and MT Studio for their support in making this contest a success.
The winners were announced on 10 October 2026 on our YouTube channel.
Congratulations to all our winners!
Check out all the winning photos below!
First Prize
Title: M96 Group
Photographer: Ngan Joon Ren
Date & Location: 27 April 2025, Kampung Landai, Pekan, Pahang
Description: The M96 Group is a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo. Its three largest members are Messier objects M95 & M96, both spiral galaxies as well as M105, an elliptical galaxy that looks like a diffused star. Other smaller galaxies belonging to the group are also visible throughout the image.
Equipment: Askar FRA400 telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6R mount, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, ZWO ASI120MM Mini guidescope, ZWO ASIAIR Plus controller, ZWO OAG-L guider.
Camera Settings: Gain 0, temp -5 °C, 180 sec exposure.
Post Processing: Stacked (with darks/flats/bias), processed via Pixinsight and RC Astro Tools.
Second Prize
Title: IC2944, The Running Chicken Nebula
Photographer: Ravinder Krishnan
Date & Location: 04 February 2026, Chepor, Perak.
Description: This southern nebula is located at the foot of the mythical Centaur. This dense star forming region is ~6,500 light years away. The star cluster at the heart of the nebula, Collinder 249, is the powerhouse of this nebula. Dark structures, also known as Thackeray’s Globules, were first discovered in this nebula. They are carbon-rich dense matter which seems to evaporate away due to the fierce UV rays from nearby giant stars. To the far right is the open star cluster, i.e. The Pearl Cluster, NGC3766. This image was taken using 2 filter sets, namely the Ha/03 and Si2/03 filters, to produce the final SHO image.
Equipment: Svbony SV550 80 APO telescope, Juwei 17 mount, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, Svbony SV220 (Ha/O3) & SV220 (S2/O3) filters.
Camera Settings: Gain 100, temp 0 °C, total integration time ~16 hr.
Post Processing: PixInsight, BlurXterminator, NoiseXterminator, Photoshop.
Third Prize
Title: Shadow Fall
Photographer: Muhammad Ashraf bin Azwadi
Date & Location: 05 March 2026, Batu Rakit, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu.
Description: How does it feels witnessing solar eclipse frequently, but on another world? Galilean moons can cast a shadow on its planet and its easily observable using a telescope. Top left of this image is Callisto’s shadow, with the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The Second image shows that there is small shadow cast by Europa. Double solar eclipse happens rarely. Fortunately, our country can witness two double solar eclipse on March 2026. On 5th of March, the large shadow is from Ganymede. Near the shadow, there’s Io transiting, with its shadow cast near Jupiter’s limb. On the 12th of March, Io and its shadow can be seen. Ganymede’s shadow is visible on Jupiter’s limb.
Equipment: Sky-Watcher Flextube 200P telescope, Player One Uranus-C camera, Svbony 3x Telecentric Barlow lens, Svbony UV/IR Cut filter.
Camera Settings: Gain 413, 10 ms exposure.
Post Processing: PIPP, AutoStakkert!4, AstroSurface, WinJUPOS, Photoshop
Ten Consolation Prizes
Title: Omega Centauri: A Million Sunshines
Photographer: Muhammad Najmi bin Tajudin
Date & Location: 22 May 2026, Sungai Petani, Kedah.
Description: A million suns gathered in the darkness of space – Omega Centauri, captured through more than two hours of total exposure with a UV/IR-cut filter, revealing a timeless ocean of stars, each carrying its own ancient light across the cosmos. No star removal was performed during processing.
Equipment: Askar 107PHQ telescope, ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera, ZWO AM3 mount, 120mm guide set, UV/IR Cut filter.
Camera Settings: Gain 0, 120 sec exposure, total integration time ~2.2 hr.
Post Processing: Siril, RC Astro
Title: Active Region of Chromosphere
Photographer: Mahamarowi Omar
Date & Location: 14 May 2026, Balai Cerap Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
Description: With sunspot, filament, plague and solar flare.
Equipment: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED telescope, Astro-Physics Mach1GTO mount, Daystar Quark Chromosphere filter, ZWO ASI174MM camera.
Camera Settings: Gain 320, 2000 frames x 8 ms exposure.
Post Processing: AutoStakkert!3, RegiStax 6, Photoshop.
Title: Under the Milky Way, at Muji
Photographer: Chooi Chai Ling
Date & Location: 12 July 2026, Muji Crater, Xinjiang, China.
Description: A bitterly cold and windy night at the volcanic crater, beneath an immense Milky Way stretching across the sky. The still waters of the crater quietly mirror the stars, while the distant mountains disappear into the darkness – a wild, silent landscape at the edge of the night.
Equipment: Fujifilm GFX100 II camera, Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 lens.
Camera Settings: f/4, 30 sec exposure.
Post Processing: Lightroom, Starry Landscape Stacker, Photoshop, blended the sky and foreground.
Title: IC 4628 The Prawn Nebula in Narrowband SHO
Photographer: Alfred Terrence
Date & Location: 13 June 2026, Bandar Putra, Kulai, Johor.
Description: IC 4628, The Prawn Nebula or GUM 56 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Scorpius around 6,000 light-years from Earth. It is a vast cloud of gas & dust illuminated by the intense radiation emitted by hot young stars. Spanning an impressive 250 lightyears across, it captivates astronomers and stargazers alike with its intriguing characteristics.
Equipment: William Optics GT-71 telescope with FLAT 6AIII 0.8x Reducer/Flattener @ 336mm f/4.7, ZWO ASI585MM Pro camera, William Optics UniGuide 50mm f/4.0 guidescope, ZWO ASI220MM Mini guide camera, Antlia Edge 4.5nm SHO narrowband filters, ZWO AM5 mount.
Camera Settings: Gain 101, 300 sec exposure. Integration time: [Ha] 4h 10m [SII] 3h 0m [OIII] 4h 0m.
Post Processing: PixInsight.
Title: Fuji Winter Wonderland
Photographer: Chan Mun Chung
Date & Location: 25 February 2026, Fuji Kawaguchiko, Japan
Description: Milky Way rising behind Mount Fuji. It was a freezing cold night and I wasn’t too happy with the light pollution over the horizon when I arrived but hey…. it’s still an opportunity to scratch this off my bucket list. The lake was mostly calm throughout the whole night with just a light breeze occasionally. Luckily, I went and set up early… the area was surrounded by astro shooters by 3 am.
Equipment: Nikon Z6II (astro-modded) camera, Sigma 35mm F1.4 Art lens, iOptron SkyGuider Pro tracker.
Camera Settings: Sky: ISO 800, f/2.2, 5 frames x 3 rows, 3 x 60 sec exposure; Foreground: ISO 3200, f/1.8, 5 frames x 4 rows, 5 x 10 sec exposure.
Post Processing: PTGui, Sequator, Photoshop
Title: Where Dragon Guards the Milky Way
Photographer: Wong Pok Ying
Date & Location: 20 April 2026, Pulau Kepri, Batam, Indonesia.
Description: Beneath the endless night, an ancient dragon rests upon the shore, as if guarding the secrets of the universe. Above it, the Milky Way rises in a magnificent river of stars, stretching across the darkness. Earth and cosmos meet in one quiet moment – a mythical guardian beneath an infinite sky.
Equipment: Sony a7S (astro-modded) camera, Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 lens.
Camera Settings: Sky: ISO 8000, f/2.2, 15 sec exposure; Foreground: ISO 2500, f/2.2, 20 x 30 sec exposure.
Post Processing: Sequator, PixInsight, Photoshop, blend with a single frame foreground.
Title: Winter Milky Way
Photographer: Wong Wei Fu
Date & Location: 12 January 2026, Bera, Pahang.
Description: Winter Milky Way.
Equipment: Sony a7S camera, AstrHori 6mm F2.8 lens.
Camera Settings: –
Post Processing: Stacked, blended, Photoshop.
Title: Dancing Lights
Photographer: Lee Tze Ian
Date & Location: 28 September 2026, Murmansk, Russia.
Description: This photo was taken during an aurora hunt in Murmansk, Russia. The previous night’s outing was a whitewash, so on the second night we were not particularly optimistic. We were driving around when the guide suddenly pulled over the road to reveal the aurora lights dancing in the background.
Equipment: Sony a7 III camera, 20mm F1.8G lens.
Camera Settings: ISO 1000, f/1.8, 13 sec exposure.
Post Processing: Lightroom, Sequator.
Title: The Cosmic Bond
Photographer: Amir Hafidz bin Mohd Idris
Date & Location: 10 September 2026, Thirsty Point Beach, Western Australia.
Description: This is a photo of me and my eldest son in Thirsty Point Beach, Cervantes, Western Australia on our second night exploring WA’s darkest sky. I was introducing him to the Milky Way core, Magellanic Clouds and some other galaxies and constellations on a cloudless, moonless sky in September.
Equipment: Sony a6400 camera, Sony 11mm F1.8 lens.
Camera Settings: ISO 4000, f/1.8, 20 sec exposure.
Post Processing: Lightroom.
Title: Solar Eclipse Totality
Photographer: Sunyit Singh Gurdial Singh
Date & Location: 12 August 2026, Monte Valonsadero, Spain.
Description: This photograph captures the breathtaking highlight of the total solar eclipse: totality. The pitch-black moon completely obscures the sun, as its corona radiates outwards, presenting a halo of glowing white light rays that stretches into the dark daytime sky.
Equipment: Canon EOS 700D camera, Canon EF 70-300mm @ 300mm, f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.
Camera Settings: ISO 400, f/5.6, multiple exposures at 1/250 sec, 1/125 sec, 1/50 sec, 1/10 sec, 1/2 sec and 1 sec.
Post Processing: Photoshop.
