Our galaxy stretches across 100,000 light-years and contains somewhere between 100 to 400 billion stars. It appears in our night skies as a long, hazy strip of light littered with celestial objects. Photographers worldwide have been captivated by the sight of the Milky Way from Earth, capturing its incredible details in stunning high-contrast images.
Capture the Atlas, a travel photography blog, the seventh edition of its Milky Way Photographer of the Year, a collection of the best 25 photographs of the galaxy that were captured over the past year. The 2024 collection features photographs taken from 15 different countries, including Australia, Spain, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Chile, and by photographers of 19 different nationalities. The photos combine color and light to inspire wonder about the Milky Way—the galaxy that houses our star system near the edge of its spiral arms.
Here are the 25 photographs for your viewing pleasure. The Milky Way arching majestically above a plateau of the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Milky Way shines over a hut nestled in the Southern Alps on New Zealand’s South Island, one of the darkest places on the planet.
The the Milky Way’s winter arc creates a magical spectacle of light above a medieval castle in France. The galactic center shines above a remote site in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Milky Way provides a dazzling backdrop to wildflowers growing at the Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.
The Milky Way’s winter arch over Vršič Pass.