From the western edge of Ireland, two Galway photographers have turned their lenses toward the heavens and been recognised for what they found there. In the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies' Reach for the Stars competition — drawing over 140 entries from across the country — Ekaterina Moskovskova of Renvyle claimed first place for an image that dissolves the boundary between earth and sky, while David Mackie of Athenry earned commendation for rendering a nebula 10,000 light-years away into something a human eye can hold. The competition reminds us that wonder is not reserved for scientist
Galway photographers shine in DIAS astrophotography competition
Moments of extraordinary beauty can be found both above our heads and in the landscapes around us.
Mark
What made Ekaterina's photograph stand out among 140 other entries?
Mimi
The judges said it was the storytelling. She didn't just photograph the aurora—she photographed two people standing on a beach beneath it, and then captured the reflection of that entire scene in the wet sand. It's a conversation between earth and sky, between the couple and the cosmos. That's what they meant by striking.
Mark
And David's image of the Bubble Nebula—is that something you can see with the naked eye?
Mimi
No, not at all. It's 10,000 light-years away. What he did was use photography to make visible something that exists but is hidden from us. That's part of what the judges were responding to—these photographs show us a universe we can't see on our own.
Mark
Why does DIAS run a competition like this?
Mimi
Because it matters. Dr. Meehan said it herself—these images spark wonder. They make people pause and look up. In a world where most of us are looking down at screens, a competition that celebrates the night sky and the people who photograph it is a way of saying: there's something extraordinary above your head.
Mark
Will the public get to see these winning photographs?
Mimi
Yes. There's an awards ceremony coming up in Dublin, and then the winning images plus a selection of shortlisted work will go on public display in an exhibition. So anyone interested can see them up close.
Mark
What struck the judges most about this year's submissions overall?
Mimi
Professor Gallagher said the technical standard was exceptional across the board. But what really distinguished the winners was that they didn't just show technical skill—they showed something that made you want to look, to wonder, to feel small and part of something larger.
Der Puls
- More than 140 photographers across Ireland competed for recognition, raising the standard of the contest to one of the most fiercely contested in the country's astrophotography calendar.
- Ekaterina Moskovskova's winning image, capturing aurora and starlight mirrored in the wet sand of a moonlit Galway beach, stopped judges with its rare visual symmetry between the terrestrial and the cosmic.
- David Mackie's rendering of the Bubble Nebula — a glowing shell of gas deep in the galaxy — earned a runner-up commendation, demonstrating the technical discipline required to make the invisible universe legible.
- A panel of judges spanning visual journalism, astronomy, and science communication unanimously emphasised that the strongest entries told stories, not just captured light.
- The winning and shortlisted images will move beyond the competition into a public exhibition at DIAS, carrying the night sky to audiences who may never have thought to look up.
From the western edge of Ireland, two Galway photographers have turned their lenses toward the heavens and been recognised for what they found there. In the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies' Reach for the Stars competition — drawing over 140 entries from across the country — Ekaterina Moskovskova of Renvyle claimed first place for an image that dissolves the boundary between earth and sky, while David Mackie of Athenry earned commendation for rendering a nebula 10,000 light-years away into something a human eye can hold. The competition reminds us that wonder is not reserved for scientists alone, but belongs to anyone willing to look up.
Two photographers from County Galway have earned national recognition in the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies' Reach for the Stars astrophotography competition, one of Ireland's most prestigious contests of its kind. This year's edition attracted more than 140 entries from photographers across the country, each offering their own vision of the night sky.
Ekaterina Moskovskova of Renvyle took first place in the Night Sky in Your Hand category with a photograph titled As Above, So Below. The image shows a couple on a moonlit beach beneath the aurora borealis, but its power lies in what the wet sand beneath them does: it mirrors the stars and Northern Lights above, creating a seamless dialogue between earth and sky that the judging panel found both technically accomplished and emotionally complete.
David Mackie from Athenry received a runner-up commendation in the Out of this World category for his image of the Bubble Nebula — a luminous shell of gas some 10,000 light-years from Earth — demonstrating the precision needed to render such remote cosmic structures into something a human eye can meaningfully encounter.
The panel of four judges — drawn from the Irish Times, the Irish Astronomical Society, DIAS, and the world of science communication — noted that the highest-scoring entries distinguished themselves not through technical merit alone, but through storytelling. Professor Peter Gallagher observed that the photographs offer glimpses of beauty most people will never witness directly, and that they invite viewers to pause, look upward, and feel the scale of the universe around them.
The winning photographers will be honoured at a ceremony at DIAS headquarters in Dublin, and their work will feature in a public exhibition alongside shortlisted images from the wider competition — an opportunity for audiences to encounter Ireland's night sky, as seen through the eyes of those who have learned to truly see it.
Two photographers from County Galway have won recognition in one of Ireland's most prestigious astrophotography competitions. The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies' Reach for the Stars competition drew more than 140 entries this year from photographers across the country, each submitting images of the night sky captured through their own lens and vision. Among the winners was Ekaterina Moskovskova of Renvyle, who took first place in the Night Sky in Your Hand category. Her photograph, titled As Above, So Below, shows a couple standing together on a beach under moonlight, with the aurora borealis glowing above them. What makes the image remarkable is the reflection: the wet sand beneath their feet mirrors the stars and Northern Lights overhead, creating a visual conversation between earth and sky that the judges found striking and complete.
David Mackie from Athenry also earned recognition in the competition, receiving a runner-up commendation in the Out of this World category. His image, A Bubble in Outer Space, captures the Bubble Nebula—a glowing shell of gas situated roughly 10,000 light-years from Earth. The photograph demonstrates the technical precision required to render such distant cosmic structures visible and comprehensible to the human eye.
The competition was judged by a panel of four experts drawn from different fields of visual and scientific expertise. Dan Dennison, Visual Editor of the Irish Times, sat alongside Dr. Donncha O'Driscoll, President of the Irish Astronomical Society. Professor Peter Gallagher, Senior Professor and Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics at DIAS, and Dr. Niamh Shaw, a scientist and prominent science communicator, rounded out the panel. Speaking for the judges, Professor Gallagher noted that what distinguished the winning entries was not merely technical excellence—though the standard across all submissions was exceptionally high—but rather the storytelling embedded in each photograph. The images capture moments most people will never witness directly: the glow of aurora reflected on a Galway beach, nebulae hidden deep within the galaxy, ancient monuments silhouetted against star-filled skies. These photographs, he said, remind viewers that extraordinary beauty exists both overhead and in the landscapes immediately around us, and they inspire a pause, a glance upward, and a sense of wonder at the universe we inhabit.
Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, praised the photographers for demonstrating not only technical skill but also curiosity and creativity. Whether the subject was the aurora, distant galaxies, or monuments beneath stars, she said, the submissions offered glimpses of a universe that is simultaneously vast and beautiful. The winning photographers will be formally recognized at an awards ceremony at DIAS headquarters on Burlington Road in Dublin 4 in the coming weeks. Beyond that ceremony, their work—along with a selection of shortlisted images from the broader competition—will be displayed in a public exhibition, giving visitors the opportunity to encounter some of Ireland's most accomplished night sky photography in person. The competition itself is run in partnership with The Irish Times and sponsored by MKC Communications and the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland, with the Irish Astronomical Society serving as an initiative supporter.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Whether capturing ancient monuments beneath the stars, the colours of the aurora or distant galaxies far beyond our solar system, these photographers have given us a glimpse of a universe that is both vast and beautiful.— Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS
What struck the judging panel this year was the storytelling behind the photographs. These images capture fleeting moments that most of us would never see with the naked eye.— Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics at DIAS
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