Cavan photographer’s image is ‘Out of This World’

The exhibition will hang at the railings of DIAS's premises at 10 Burlington Road, Dublin and is free to attend.

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Cavan-based photographer, Aaron Kelly, has been declared runner up in the ‘Out of This World’ category in the 2022 Reach for the Stars astrophotography competition.

The Ballyjamesduff man was awarded for his image ‘The Heart Nebula’, which depicts the Heart Nebula, 7,500 light-years away from Earth.

The Heart Nebula, 7,500 light-years away from Earth, captured from Co. Cavan. Nebulae are giant clouds of dust and gas in space. This was the photographer’s first ever narrowband image. Shooting narrowband is when you use professional camera filters that isolate very specific spectrums of light to capture specific gasses from space that radiate light at different wavelengths. Runner-up in the ‘Out of this World’ category. The ‘Reach for the Stars’ astrophotography competition is run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). The competition aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. All shortlisted and winning images can now be viewed on www.reachforthestars.ie. Photo by Aaron Kelly

This was Aaron’s first ever narrowband image, a tactic using professional camera filters that isolate very specific spectrums of light, to capture specific gasses from space that radiate light at different wavelengths.

Another Cavan photographer, Dara Callinan from Virginia, saw his image make it into the top 20 highest rated images. His entry ‘Andromeda’ showed the Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest large galaxy, from a distance of 2.5 million light-years away.

The Andromeda Galaxy, photographed from Co. Cavan. This spiral galaxy is located in the Andromeda constellation and is our nearest large galaxy, lying at a distance of 2.5 million light-years away. The photographer wanted to capture its imposing figure in the sky, including the dusty bands which encircle it. The ‘Reach for the Stars’ astrophotography competition is run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). The competition aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. All shortlisted and winning images can now be viewed on www.reachforthestars.ie. Photo by Dara Callinan

Both images will be showcased in an outdoor exhibition at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies from Friday, August 12.

The exhibition will hang at the railings of DIAS's premises at 10 Burlington Road, Dublin and is free to attend.

Other Winning Images

Tom Dineen and Raluca Dana Lica claimed first prize in the ‘Out of this World’ category. Their winning image ‘A Fiery Rosette’ captured the Rosette Nebula – an emission nebula in the constellation of Monoceros, located about 5,200 light-years away from Earth. The image data was captured by Raluca in her backyard in Naas town, Co. Kildare, over 11 nights, with Tom completing the image processing.

The Rosette Nebula (Caldwell 49) is an emission nebula in the constellation of Monoceros. It is 5,200 light-years away from Earth and its radius is 65 light-years. The data was captured by Raluca Dana Lica in her backyard in Naas town, Co. Kildare, over 11 nights in March 2022. The image was processed by Tom Dinneen. Winner of the ‘Out of this World’ category. The ‘Reach for the Stars’ astrophotography competition is run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). The competition aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. All shortlisted and winning images can now be viewed on www.reachforthestars.ie. Photo by Raluca Dana Lica, Tom Dinneen

The other runner up in the ‘Out of this World’ category was Richard Sweeney from Co. Cork, for his entry ‘The Jewel of Orion’.

Taking the first prize in the ‘Back on Earth’ category, was an image capturing the Milky Way in a clear night sky over Pine Island at Derryclare Lough in Connemara, Co. Galway. The image was taken by Felix Sproll, from Galway City.

The two runners up in this category were: Adrian Hendroff, from Stepaside, Dublin, for his image ‘Copper Coast Fireball; and Aisling McGuire from Moyard, Co. Galway for her submission, ‘The Bens Under the Milky Way’.

In addition to the ‘Back on Earth’ and ‘Out of this World’ categories, Anthony Lynch from Dublin scooped the top prize in the Public Choice category. His image ‘Space station sun’ which captured the International Space Station flying past the sun received the most votes in the online public vote.

This image captured the International Space Station (ISS) flying past the sun. Moving at eight kilometres per second, the ISS circles our planet every 90 minutes. In a 24-hour period, crew members on the ISS experience 16 sunrises and sunsets. The photographer used the ISS transit finder website to see when the space station would fly past the sun. The station cannot be seen with the naked eye, and it takes approx. 1.4 seconds to cross the disk of the sun, so timing had to be perfect to capture the shot. Winner of the Public Choice category. The ‘Reach for the Stars’ astrophotography competition is run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). The competition aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. All shortlisted and winning images can now be viewed on www.reachforthestars.ie. Photo by Anthony Lynch

A special School of Cosmic Physics 75th Anniversary Prize was also awarded to Sean O’Riordan from Kilmallock, Limerick, for his image ‘Zodiacal Light above Cliffs of Moher’. This prize was included this year to celebrate DIAS’s School of Cosmic Physics 75th anniversary, and was awarded to an image that captured the areas of study of the School. The winner was chosen by Prof. Tom Ray, Director of the DIAS School of Cosmic Physics.

Judges’ Feedback

The winners were selected by a judging panel following a rigorous judging process of over 180 entries.

In addition to Prof. Peter Gallagher, the judging panel included Brenda Fitzsimons, Picture Editor, The Irish Times; John Flannery, Vice-President, Irish Astronomical Society; and Niamh Breathnach, Director, Alice PR & Events.

Commenting on the competition, John Flannery, Vice-President of the Irish Astronomical Society and member of the judging panel, said: “The second year of the Reach for the Stars competition continues to see photographers raise the bar in showcasing their talents. Much hard work has been put into composing and taking the wide range of entries covering nightscapes and other celestial sights, but all capture the essence of amateur astronomy – a shared appreciation for the beauty of the Universe. All of the participants in the competition are to be congratulated.”

The winning images are all available to view now online on www.reachforthestars.ie.

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