Admiring the magical beauty of the Milky Way captivates people's hearts

Buckle up because this journey will take you from the remote deserts of Socotra, Madagascar, Atacama and Namibia to the lost landscapes of Patagonia, Australia and New Zealand, passing glaciers, volcanoes, mountains, breathtaking beaches along the way and, most importantly, we will see the Milky Way shining magically in the sky.

Let's admire the magical beauty of the 25 best photos in the Milky Way photographer of the year 2023 contest:

Photo: "Gate of the Bottle Trees" taken in Socotra, Yemen. Author Benjamin Barakat shares: Nights on the mystical island of Socotra are unforgettable, especially under the cover of the most beautiful and strange-looking trees I have ever seen. Their gnarled and twisted trunks seem to tell stories of ancient times while the blooming pink flowers add to the ethereal beauty. However, what really took my breath away was the darkness. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and turned off all the lights in the world . The stars shone so brightly I felt like I could touch them. The horizon was so dark it looked like the zenith.

The photo “Cafayate Star Factory” was taken in Cafayate Salta, Argentina by Gonzalo Santile. In the photo, you can see the rocks and “windows” of the Cafayate Desert area called Las Ventanas (The Windows) and small cacti are the only vegetation here.

Photo "Valley of Cactus" by Pablo Ruiz García taken in Atacama, Chile

Photo "The Eye of the Universe" by Mihail Minkov taken in Bulgaria

“Alien Forest” by Marcin Zając, Mono Lake, California. These strange cream-colored rock towers near Mono Lake are called “tufas.” They form when calcium-rich underwater streams mix with carbonate-rich lake water. The reaction forms limestone. Over time, the limestone builds up to form towers, and when the lake level drops, the towers are revealed.

“Night Under the Baobabs” by Steffi Lieberman was taken at Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar. We get a panoramic view of the astronomical landscape from Madagascar. Here, you can see the Milky Way in its entirety above the towering baobab trees.

Roksolyana Hilevych took this photo of “Cathedral Lights” in Tenerife, Spain. The photo shows a bright shooting star streaking across the sky above blooming tajinastes flowers. The photo also includes a distinctive mountain in the background that resembles a cathedral.

Mitsuhiro Okabe’s “Landscape I Want to See” was taken in Yamagashi Prefecture, Japan. Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji dominates the background of this photo, which is set during cherry blossom season. A shrine dedicated to the souls of the departed can be seen in the middle of the scene. And there, against the black background of the night sky, the ethereal beauty of the Milky Way comes into view.

“South of Home” by Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti, taken in Namibia, Africa. The panoramic image captures the breathtaking scene in the Gross Spitzkoppe Nature Reserve, where the southern end of the Milky Way gracefully stretches across a remarkable formation of smooth granite boulders. The area has a unique charm, with the Spitzkoppe Mountains the only prominent feature for miles, towering majestically 700 meters above the endless steppe.

“Between the Stars” by Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia was taken in the Pinnacles Desert, WA, Australia. The area is sacred to the Noongar people, the traditional owners of the land, and in the past, only women were allowed access. Legend has it that these limestone boulders are nothing but the petrified ghosts of men who dared to enter and were subsequently punished by the gods for all eternity. These timeless guardians stand tall and proud, reaching for the starry sky above. As the summer Milky Way stretches across the night sky, these ancient ghosts seem to bridge the earthly world with the interstellar realm beyond.

“Milky Way Rising Over Stony River & Mt Taranaki” by Brendan Larsen taken in Taranaki, New Zealand.

The photo “Shapes of Nature” by Uroš Fink was taken in the Julian Mountains, Slovenia

“Lut Glow” – Isabella Tabacchi, Lut Desert, Iran. This is a rock formation in the Lut Desert, Iran, under the Milky Way. We spent the entire night, from dusk to dawn, taking pictures of this incredible sky. I was able to capture the green glow under the Milky Way, behind these impressive rocks in the warmest place on Earth.

“Astrophotography Experience La Palma” by Jakob Sahner, taken in Palma, Spain. La Palma and the Canary Islands are ideal for astrophotography due to the clouds at around 1,000 meters.

The photo “Gigi Hiu Shines in the Dark” by Gary Bhaztara was taken in Sumatra, Indonesia. The rock formation looks like a row of shark teeth, which is why it is called “Shark Tooth Beach” (Pantai Gigi Hiu in Indonesian). The sharp-looking rocks on this beach make this stretch of coastline one of the most unique in the world. Water has shaped these rocks over millions of years.

“Milky Way Over the Hoodoos of Cuenca” by Luis Cajete, taken in Cuenca, Spain. Witnessing the arc of the Milky Way is an awe-inspiring experience. Some of Spain’s darkest skies can be found in the Serrania de Cuenca, an area of ​​remarkable geological beauty. In the southern region is a place where water has carved the landscape, creating fascinating formations and limestone chimneys.

“Winter Glow” by Larryn Rae, taken in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. The author shares: This is one of the craziest airglows I have ever seen! Airglow is when atoms are charged and excited by the sun in the upper atmosphere and emit these amazing colors and cloud-like patterns.

“Starry Sky in Patagonia” by Burak Esenbey was taken in Torres del Paine, Chile. In this frame, you can see Los Cuernos mountain, the namesake of the Torres del Paine National Park, the most famous and beautiful mountain in Chile’s Patagonia region.

“Night of Huayhuash” by Jose D. Riquelme, Huayhuash, PeruThe Huayhuash Mountains, located in the Andean region of Peru, are home to a stunning landscape of mountains and lakes that offer unique opportunities to capture the Milky Way in all its glory. In this image, the mountain and lake below serve as the perfect frame to highlight the Milky Way streaking across the night sky. The reflection of the starry sky in the lake creates a captivating symmetry, while the silhouette of the mountain adds depth and contrast.

“Wind River Nights” by Brandt Ryder, taken in Wind River, USA. The Wind River Range, unlike the Tetons, is one of Wyoming’s hidden gems. This image was taken at a sheltered lake deep in the wilderness, where the reflection is so pristine it’s almost impossible to separate sky from earth.

Tom Rae’s “Celestial Radiance” was taken at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. The image also shows aurora, a red and green wave pattern created by ionized particles in our atmosphere. But the real focus is the Milky Way, which gracefully stretches across the sky, with its smaller satellite galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, hovering above the aurora.

“Awakening the Senses” by Violeta Lazareva, Socotra, Yemen. This photo was taken in one of the darkest places on earth: Socotra, a mystical island located in the Indian Ocean between the mainlands of Yemen and Somalia. The combination of the endemic dragon blood tree and the striking Milky Way simply awes you as you stand there. The beauty of this place awakens all your deepest senses. You instantly fall in love with the synergy of the light inside and the darkness outside.

Photo “Celestial Shield” by Iván Ferrero taken in Ávila, Spain

The photo “Shaking Dreams” by Peter Hoszang was taken in Keetmanshoop, Namibia.

Photo "Night Train" by Alexander Forst taken in Graubünden, Switzerland

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