Chinese astrophotographers star in top contest

Dong, Li and Wang were among seven shortlisted Chinese photographers, who all impressed the judges with images of the moon, meteor showers, the Northern Lights and the Milky Way. 

Wang claimed 1,500 pounds and top prize in the Skyscapes category for her image Across the Sky of History. 

The shot – which was taken in the Gobi Desert inside China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – displays a meteor streaking through the sky above a sparse forest of withered poplar trees.  

Wang, who works for a pharmaceutical company in Beijing, said she travelled to the desert with a group of friends in search of meteor showers. The group waited out three days of stormy weather, before the skies cleared to provide pristine conditions for the capture. 

"I am glad that we did not give up in the face of challenges and were rewarded in the end, it was the greatest pleasure," Wang said. 

Li's photograph Seven-Color Feather of the Moon captured the optical phenomenon known as the lunar corona, and placed third in the category dedicated to the Earth's moon. Judges praised the composition of Li's image, and said the rings of light resemble the colorful brush strokes of a painting.  

Dong Shuchang was jointly awarded the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer, which is named after the noted English amateur astronomer and television presenter. Dong's image Sky and Ground, Stars and Sand depicts a starry sky above the sand dunes in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China. 

Last year Chinese amateur photographer Li Tianhong won the award for best newcomer, and in 2016 Chinese photographer Yu Jun won the overall competition with the image Baily's Beads, which used multiple exposures to capture the Sun during different stages of a total solar eclipse.