Astrophotographer Marcin Rosadziński has been awarded the title of Milky Way Photographer of the Year 2025 for his breathtaking image of the Milky Way arching over a rocky ridge in Madeira. His photo was chosen from over 6,000 submissions from around the world.
The award-winning shot was captured during a family trip to Madeira, on one of the island’s most challenging mountain trails—between its highest peaks, Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo. ‘The photo shows the arc of our galaxy, the Milky Way, above a rocky peak that looks as if it were suspended in the air’, Marcin Rosadziński explained for PAP.
The image required two night-time hikes with over 10 kilograms of equipment. The first attempt was unsuccessful due to unexpected cloud cover. “The idea seemed so attractive to me that I decided to try again the next night. This time everything worked out. The photo session itself took about an hour’, he describes.
No one had ever taken a similar photo from that spot before. ‘That is why I love landscape astrophotography, because by combining the treasures of the night sky with what we see on our planet we can create absolutely unique images’, Rosadziński added
He hopes his work inspires others: ‘In today’s times of enormous artificial light pollution, even stars in the sky cannot be seen, especially from large urban agglomerations, let alone the structures of our galaxy. I hope that at least some of the people who see my photos will be interested in the subject. And maybe they will try their hand at taking similar photos themselves, or at least look at the sky and try to see the beauty of our galaxy’, he says.
Marcin Rosadziński have already been selected NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day three times (September 11 and May 29, 2024, and July 18, 2023). He is also a laureate of the international AstroCamera competition in the Astrolandscape category.
The Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest is organized by a global collective of astrophotographers that runs workshops and training programs worldwide.
You can view more of Marcin Rosadziński’s images on his official website.
Creedit: Marcin Rosadziński
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