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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
2025 Milky Way photo contest features its first winning image taken from space
The winners of the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest have been announced, highlighting epic imagery of the Milky Way from around the world, and even from above it. The contest, hosted by travel photography blog Capture the Atlas, is in its eighth year. This year, the contest received 6,000 entries from photographers of 16 different nationalities. Images spanned 25 locations around the globe, including Chile, the United States, Greece, Switzerland, Guatemala, New Zealand, Taiwan, Yemen, Chad, India, Namibia, Spain and more. Plus, an image taken from space was included in the collection for the first time. Some photos captured celestial events like a comet, a meteor shower and a lunar eclipse. Dan Zafra, the editor of Capture the Atlas, curates the annual list based on image quality, the story behind the shot and the overall inspiration it provides. Zafra says the project's goal is to inspire people to connect with the night sky and "to encourage photographers to explore and photograph the Milky Way from new angles." You can see all of the winning images at Capture the Atlas, along with tips on how and where to photograph the Milky Way. Photographer: Don Pettit Image title: One in a Billion Image location: ISS (International Space Station) Camera settings: 8 sec, F1.4, ISO 6400 Gear: Nikon Z9, Sigma 14mm F1.4. Sky Watcher modified tracker Caption: I float in the Cupola, looking out the seven windows composing this faceted transparent jewel. While my mind is submerged in contemplation, my eyes gorge on the dim reflections from a nighttime Earth. There are over eight billion people that call this planet home. There are seven of us that can say the same for Space Station. What a privilege it is to be here. I used an orbital star tracker to take out the star streak motion from orbit. Photographer: Petr Horálek Image title: Tololo Lunar Eclipse Image location: Cerro Tololo Observatory, Chile Camera settings: ISO 8000, 81 x 10 sec (single exposures stitched to panorama). Moon is result of HDR work. Gear: Canon Ra, Sigma Art 35mm F1.8 Caption: On March 14, 2025, a total lunar eclipse occurred, especially visible over the Americas and the Pacific Ocean. I was fortunate to observe this particular eclipse from the NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. You can see how epic the sky was during totality, as the Moon darkened enough for the majestic Milky Way, the faint belt of Zodiacal Light, and prominent airglow to stand out. Photographer: Mike Abramyan Image title: Boot Arch Perseids Image location: Alabama Hills, CA, USA Camera settings: Sky: Mosaic of 9 images at 50mm, 92 sec, F2, ISO 400; Foreground: Mosaic of 4 images at 50mm, 92 sec, F2.8, ISO 400; Meteors: 14mm, 15 sec, F1.8, ISO 400 Gear: Sony A7IV Astromodified, Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM, Benro Polaris, Leofoto LS-324C, Sony A7IV, Sony 14mm 1.8 GM Caption: The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs every August, raining down hundreds of meteors over a few nights. In 2024, I had planned to photograph it from the Canadian Rockies, but wildfires forced me to change my plans at the last minute. After checking wildfire maps, I found a safe haven in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. After three full nights of capturing meteors, I created this image. Sitting on the rock is my friend Arne, who often joins me on these adventures, gazing up at the magnificent core of our galaxy. Each meteor is painstakingly aligned to its true location in the night sky. The final depiction shows all the meteors I captured, combined into one frame—as if the Earth hadn't been rotating and all the meteors had fallen at once. Photographer: Benjamin Barakat Image title: Bottle Tree Paradise Image location: Socotra, Yemen Camera settings: Foreground (blue hour): 10 sec, F8, ISO 400; Sky: 5x 120 sec, F2.0, ISO 400 Gear: Sony A7IV, Sony 14mm F1.8, Sunwayfoto T2840CK, MSM Nomad Caption: Socotra is one of my favorite places on Earth, but when it comes to a specific location, this one stands out. It doesn't have an official name, as it's not a destination for the few fortunate tourists who visit Socotra. After shooting there for the past four years and scouting the island, I've discovered hidden gems like this one, which I call Bottle Tree Paradise. Bottle trees are unique to Socotra, a result of the island's long isolation from the mainland. This separation allowed them to evolve distinctive features, such as their water-storing, bottle-shaped trunks, which help them survive Socotra's harsh, dry climate. They are believed to have originated from ancient plant species that adapted to the island's unique environment over millions of years. Photographer: Angel Fux Image title: Double Milky Way Arch Over Matterhorn Image location: Zermatt, Switzerland Camera settings: Both arches share the same Exif: 20mm, F5.6, 127 sec, ISO 2500; Foreground / Landscape: 15.5mm, F5, 1/5 sec, ISO 800 Gear: Nikon Z6 Astromodified (for the sky part), NIKKOR Z 20mm F1.8, Nikon Z8 (for the landscape part), NIKKOR Z 14-24mm F2.8, Benro Polaris Astro Kit, Peak Design travel tripod Caption: This image captures the rare Double Arch Milky Way, where both the Winter Milky Way (with Orion rising) and the Summer Milky Way (with the Galactic Center) appear in the same night—a seamless transition between seasons. Taken at 3,200 meters in the heart of winter, the night was brutally cold, testing both my endurance and equipment. This is a time blend, preserving the real positions of both arches by combining frames taken hours apart, with the foreground captured at dawn for the best detail. Zermatt and the Matterhorn have been photographed countless times, but I aimed to create something truly unique—an image captured under conditions few would attempt. I'm incredibly proud of the effort and patience it took to bring this vision to life. Photographer: Pablo Ruiz Image title: Valle de los Cactus Image location: San Pedro de Atacama, Chile Camera settings: Sky: 9 x 240 sec, F2.8, ISO 800, 14mm; Foreground: 9 x 120 sec, F2.8, ISO 2500, 14mm Gear: Nikon D810, Nikon Z6 A, Nikkor 14-24 F2.8 ,Rollei Gamma, Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Caption: A panoramic shot of the Milky Way in a remote area of the Atacama Cactus Valley, known for its large concentration of cactus plants. I love this place with its countless possibilities. The panorama was taken just as the galactic center began to rise, with the spectacular Gum Nebula visible on the right. It was an especially bright night with a breathtaking sky. The valley isn't easy to navigate, but it's always worth trying to find new compositions in such stunning locations beneath the night sky. Photographer: Sergio Montúfar Image title: Cosmic Fire Image location: Volcán Acatenango, Guatemala Camera settings: 10 sec, F2.8, ISO 3200 Gear: Canon 6d Astromodified, Samyang 24mm F1.4, Sirui tripod Caption: On the early morning of June 2, 2024, I summited Acatenango Volcano for the first time, hoping to witness the fiery beauty of the neighboring Volcan de Fuego against the Milky Way's backdrop. That night, the volcano was incredibly active—each thunderous explosion reverberated in my chest, while glowing lava illuminated the dark slopes. Above, the Milky Way stretched diagonally across the sky, a mesmerizing band of stars contrasting with the chaos below. As the volcano erupted, the ash plume rose vertically, forming an acute angle of about 45 degrees with the galaxy's diagonal path, creating a stunning visual contrast between Earth's fury and the cosmos' serenity. Capturing this required a fast, wide-angle lens (f/2.8), an ISO of 3200, and a 10-second exposure to balance the volcanic glow with the starlight. The challenge was timing the shot during a new moon and aligning the right moment for the Milky Way to cross the frame next to the volcano. I used Lightroom as the editor. This image is special for its storytelling—the raw power of Volcan de Fuego meeting the tranquil expanse of the galaxy. Photographer: Max Inwood Image title: A Sea of Lupines Image location: Lake Tekapo, New Zealand Camera settings: Sky: 30 sec, F2.0, ISO 3200; Foreground: 30 sec, F2.4, ISO 6400 Gear: Canon 6D Astromodified, Sigma 28mm F1.4 Art, Samyang 14mm F1.4 XP, iOption SkyGuider Pro Caption: The annual lupine bloom in New Zealand is spectacular, with fields of colorful flowers stretching across the Mackenzie Basin. This region, located in the heart of the South Island, is renowned for its dark skies, making the scene even more surreal at night. I had to wait until the early hours of the morning for the wind to calm down, but eventually everything became still, and I was able to capture this image. Above the flowers, you can see the band of the outer Milky Way, alongside the constellations Orion, Gemini, and the Pleiades. Joining them are the bright planets Jupiter and Mars, with a strong display of green airglow visible along the horizon. Photographer: Brent Martin Image title: Diamond Beach Emerald Sky Image location: Great Ocean Road, Australia Camera settings: Sky: 13 frames x 3 rows, @ 20mm, F3.5, ISO 1600, 60 sec tracked exposures; Foreground: 13 frames x 2 rows, @ 20mm, F2.5, ISO 1600, 60 sec exposures. Gear: Sony A7III Astromodified, Sony 20mm F1.8 G, Sky-watcher Star Adventurer 2i Caption: With a clear night forecast and the Milky Way core returning for 2025, I set out to explore the Great Ocean Road. After a few setbacks—such as a failed composition and getting the car stuck on a sandy track—I almost gave up. However, I pushed on and found a great spot above the beach to capture the scene. The night was full of color, with Comet C/2024 G3 Atlas and a pink aurora in the early hours, followed by the Milky Way rising amid intense green airglow near dawn. Despite the challenges, the reward of this stunning image and the memory of the view made it all worthwhile. Photographer: Ethan Su Image title: Blossom Image location: Hehuan Mountain Dark Sky Park, Taiwan Camera settings: Sky: 1 row tracked panorama at F2, 90sec, ISO 800; Foreground: 2 row panorama and focus stack, F2.8, 60 sec, ISO 6400; 65 images in total. Gear: Caption: After three years of waiting, the Yushan alpine rhododendrons are finally in bloom once again on Taiwan's 3,000-meter-high Hehuan Mountain. On this special night, distant clouds helped block city light pollution, revealing an exceptionally clear view of the Milky Way. A solar flare from active region AR3664 reached Earth that evening, intensifying the airglow and adding an otherworldly touch to the sky. Together, these rare natural events created a breathtaking scene—vivid blooms glowing softly beneath a star-filled sky. Photographer: Rositsa Dimitrova Image title: The Night Guardians Image location: Easter Island, Chile Camera settings: Blend of 2 shots: foreground: 88 sec, F3.5, ISO 3200; sky: 20 sec, F2.0, ISO 2000 Gear: Sony A7iii Astromodified, Sony GM 14mm F1.8 Caption: Easter Island had been on my bucket list for a long time, and it once seemed almost impossible to reach. On our first night there, the weather forecast looked promising, so we decided to go ahead with the tour our group had booked 4–5 months earlier. However, Rapa Nui sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where the weather is notoriously unpredictable. When we woke up at 3 a.m. in our hotel, the sky was completely covered in clouds. Still, we decided to take the risk, knowing the forecast for the next few nights was even worse. An hour later, we were frantically photographing the statues at Rano Raraku—the quarry where nearly all of the island's 900 statues were carved—when the sky suddenly began to clear. By 5 a.m., it was completely clear, and we had less than two hours to capture all the shots we wanted. We felt incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Photographer: Kavan Chay Image title: Evolution of Stars Image location: Otago, New Zealand Camera settings: Sky RGB: 4 frames x 3 rows, each shot at 40mm, F1.8, ISO 1250, 50 second exposures; Sky (Rho region): Stack of 10 frames, each shot at 40mm, F1.8, ISO 1250, 60 second exposures; Foreground: 4 frames x 3 rows, each shot at 40mm, F4, ISO 2000, 60 second exposures. Gear: Nikon Z7 (astromodified), Sigma Art 40mm F1.4, Benro GX-35 ballhead, Sirui AM-254 tripod legs, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro 2i Caption: The first image I captured from this spot is the one I feel truly kickstarted my astrophotography journey years ago. It was the first time I shot a tracked panorama using a 'longer' focal length lens (50mm). The set of sea stacks provided a prominent foreground subject facing the right direction, and being a local spot relatively free of light pollution, it was the perfect location to capture the Milky Way core. It felt fitting to try again with a few extra years of experience and an astro-modified camera, which allows for easier capture of hydrogen-alpha-rich regions of the sky (like the reddish nebulae around Zeta Ophiuchi, as seen in the image). The years of experience certainly made panoramic shooting and editing easier, though the shoot wasn't without its challenges. I managed to drop a tiny screw adapter in the dark, so I had to improvise a quick solution to make use of the star tracker. With a dying headlamp and the mysteries of wildlife lurking in the dark, all while the tide rapidly rose, it felt like enough adventure for a weekday night. Photographer: Uroš Fink Image title: Winter Fairy Tale Image location: Dobratsch Nature Park, Austria Camera settings: Sky: ISO 800, F1.8, 90 sec, 8 panels, low exposure frames for brighter sky parts (30 sec) + lee soft 5 for stars (ISO 3200, F1.8, 20 sec); Foreground: ISO 1250, F2.2, 80s, 8 panels + multi exposure frames for lightning the hut (80 sec, 20 sec,10 sec,5 sec,2 sec,1 sec) Gear: Nikon Z, Sigma 20mm 1.4 Dg Dn, Megadap tze21, Fornax Lightrack 2i, Sunwayfoto t3240ck, Lee soft 5 filter for stars, Focus on star mask Caption: Undoubtedly my wildest location this winter: Austria's Dobratsch mountain! If I had to describe it in two words, it would be a 'Winter Fairytale'! Despite a 5 a.m. work shift, I drove to Austria by 1 p.m., worried about my fitness and lack of sleep. After a 2-hour hike through the snow with a 22kg backpack and sled, the stunning views kept me energized. Arriving at the cabin (where I had planned my winter panorama two years ago), I was greeted by untouched snow, completely free of footprints. I spent the evening exploring compositions, and this is my favorite: a panorama of the winter Milky Way with reddish nebulae, stretching above Dobratsch Mountain. I captured the Zodiacal light and even the Gegenschein glow! The sky was magnificent, with Jupiter and Mars shining brightly. In the foreground is the cabin, where I spent 3 freezing hours (-12°C), waiting for the perfect shot of the Milky Way's core. It turned out exactly as I envisioned—a true winter fairytale. Photographer: Vikas Chander Image title: Echiwile Arch Image location: Ennedi, Chad Camera settings: Sky Exposure: 300 sec, F2.8, ISO 800, stack of 6; Foreground exposure: 480 sec, F2.8, ISO 800, LENR, LLL; Software: Pixinsight and Photoshop Gear: Sony A7rV Ha modded, Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM, Rainbow Astro RST 135e Caption: When one first Googles information about visiting Chad, the results aren't very encouraging from a safety perspective. Nevertheless, the intrepid astrophotographer in me decided to take the chance and visit this landlocked country, specifically the Ennedi Massif in the north. Sparsely populated and completely devoid of light pollution, the three-day drive from the capital, N'Djamena, was well worth the troubles and risks involved. The region is filled with numerous rock formations, shapes, and arches, offering an abundance of options for foreground elements to frame the dramatic night skies. Seen here is a small arch in the shape of a hoof in the Ennedi region. Photographer: Xingyang Cai Image title: Starlit Ocean: A Comet, the setting Venus, the Milky Way, and McWay Falls Image location: California, USA Camera settings: Sky: Stack of 20 images, each at ISO 1600, F1.4, 4 sec; Foreground: Stack of 10 images, each at ISO 3200, F1.4, 20 sec Gear: Sony A7 III (astro-modified), Sony 14mm F1.4 Caption: Capturing this image was a race against time, light, and distance. With Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS (C/2023 A3) making its approach, I knew I had a rare opportunity to see it with the naked eye before it faded into the cosmos. I embarked on a five-hour round trip to McWay Falls in Big Sur, one of the few Bortle 2 locations accessible along California's coast. My window was narrow—just six precious minutes of true darkness before the Moon rose and washed out the night sky. But those six minutes were unforgettable. In that brief span, the Milky Way arched high above the Pacific, Venus shimmered as it set over the ocean, and the comet streaked quietly across the sky—a celestial visitor gracing this iconic coastal cove. The soft cascade of McWay Falls and the stillness of the starlit ocean created a surreal harmony between Earth and sky. It was one of the most vivid and humbling naked-eye comet sightings I've ever experienced—an alignment of cosmic elements that felt both fleeting and eternal.
Fashion United
13-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Jacquemus opens summer with pop-up and ‘beach club' in Ibiza
Madrid – The French fashion house Jacquemus kicked off the summer season of 2025 with the opening of a pop-up in Ibiza. The temporary shop opened its doors on the island until the end of the season, in the idyllic Cala Jondal. The label also set up a unique 'beach club' on the fine sands and in front of the blue, crystal-clear Mediterranean waters. Jacquemus does not have any shops or points of sale in Spain. This changed during the summer of 2025, thanks to a collaborative activation between the French fashion house and the already iconic and unique coastal restaurant Casa Jondal, by the well-known and valued chef from Seville, based in Barcelona, Rafa Zafra. Zafra came from the kitchens of 'El Bulli'. He currently has eight restaurants under his direction, including Casa Jondal, which opened in front of the sands of Cala Jondal in Ibiza for the summer of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. This complex context was a challenge. It also helped to establish the relaxed, peaceful and calm atmosphere that characterises the coastal restaurant, which specialises in Mediterranean cuisine, seafood and products from the sea. Diners such as Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of the board of directors of Amazon, have visited the restaurant. Jacquemus pop-up at Casa Jondal, Ibiza (Spain). Credits: Jacquemus. Jacquemus found a space fully aligned with its own DNA in this gastronomic corner of Ibiza. It has an atmosphere imbued with the purest Mediterranean essence, materialised through a menu that is an element of the fusion between the blue Mediterranean waters, the fine white sands and the green of the pine forests that surround Casa Jondal. This is both as a brand and through each of its different fashion offerings, leading the French house to agree on a collaborative action with Casa Jondal. As a result, the fashion label of French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus had a pop-up open to the public from Casa Jondal throughout the summer season of 2025. The fashion label also took charge of the intervention on the 'beach club' area of the restaurant, completing an immersive experience in the stylistic codes of Jacquemus, in the cuisine of Casa Jondal, and in the Mediterranean atmosphere of this idyllic Ibizan bay. This experience was available until the end of the summer season. During this time, Ibiza, with this pop-up, remained among the exclusive places where Jacquemus has its own points of sale, both permanent and temporary, adding its name to destinations such as Paris, New York, Monaco, Los Angeles, London, Saint-Tropez, Capri, Nice and Mykonos. Jacquemus installation in the 'beach club' area of Casa Jondal, Ibiza (Spain). Credits: Jacquemus. 'Jacquemus and Jondal are pleased to present a unique space on the beach of Cala Jondal, in Ibiza, with an exclusive renovation'. The fashion house said in a statement that 'for this occasion', and as a result of this collaboration between the French fashion label and the Ibizan coastal restaurant, 'the entire space' had been 'redecorated by Jacquemus'. The designer was in charge of intervening 'from the sun loungers to the parasols', and even including 'a unique pétanque court' conceived in the combination of 'vibrant banana yellow and polka dots from the latest 'La Croisière' collection' from the Parisian house. With an exclusive limited edition collection As mentioned, the Jacquemus pop-up officially opened its doors to the public on Monday, May 12, 2025. It is located in Cala Jondal, where Casa Jondal is strategically located on the beachfront, with a 180-degree panoramic view of the coastline of the southwest of the island of Ibiza. The French fashion label kicked off its particular Ibizan summer with a temporary shop that remained open until the end of the summer season in Ibiza. Jacquemus did not offer more details on this date, leaving the door open for the pop-up to continue as long as the good weather allows the summer season to remain open. Jacquemus x Casa Jondal capsule collection. Credits: Jacquemus. Jacquemus installation in the 'beach club' area of Casa Jondal, Ibiza (Spain). Credits: Jacquemus. Jacquemus x Casa Jondal capsule collection. Credits: Jacquemus. Jacquemus presented an exclusive summer collection, produced in a limited edition. This decision contributed to further enhancing the atmosphere and the sensations of exclusivity that are breathed from this collaboration. The collection includes accessories and ready-to-wear for both men and women, inspired by the Côte d'Azur, whose colours, aromas and aesthetics remain anchored in the heart of Jacquemus, both in the house and in the French designer. It came from a 'more relaxed' reinterpretation by the designer of his latest 'La Croisière' collection. This line was designed for the spring/summer 2025 season. It was unveiled last January, marking Jacquemus' return to the official Paris Fashion Week calendar. It was discovered as a refined carousel composed of the most exquisite dresses that could parade in an unforgettable evening on the deck of one of those great ocean liners of the early 20th century. Everything was naturally contemporary, and conceived in an equally elegant black and white combination, with polka dot prints and banana-yellow accents as the main counterpoints of rhythm and colour. These two 'dissonant' notes in that sublime composition have revealed their most irreverent and daring contribution to that offering. They now star in both the exclusive capsule that Jacquemus has designed for this pop-up in Ibiza, and the entire atmosphere of Casa Jondal that has been transformed by the French designer. This space was presented throughout the summer season of 2025 covered in banana-yellow and black polka dots. These are the same tones and motif that, together with the white that also dominates in this collaboration with Casa Jondal, supported the chromatic palette of that catwalk collection. Now we find them covering everything from walls, to cushions, sofas, tables, towels, sun loungers, parasols and even the corner for the game of pétanque that has been installed in Casa Jondal, as a result of this Jacquemus activation in Ibiza. Space for the game of pétanque designed by Jacquemus at Casa Jondal, Ibiza (Spain). Credits: Jacquemus. 'The seasonal boutique, located on the beach, will present an exclusive limited edition summer collection', created as a kind of 'tribute to the French Riviera, with sunny tones and stylised silhouettes that reflect the distinctive aesthetic of the brand', Jacquemus detailed. 'The collection, which includes ready-to-wear for women and men, bags and hats', they warned in line with what has already been pointed out, 'is a reinterpretation of Jacquemus' iconic styles, created in exclusive colour palettes, such as banana yellow, in unique prints and in natural earth tones'. In summary Jacquemus is opening a pop-up in Ibiza in collaboration with Casa Jondal for the summer of 2025. The pop-up presents an exclusive limited edition collection inspired by the Côte d'Azur and as a reinterpretation of the 'La Croisière' collection. The Casa Jondal space has also been redecorated by Jacquemus with the colours and prints of the collection, including a pétanque court designed by the French designer. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
