31 Award-Winning Photos Celebrate the Beauty of the World’s Darkest Skies

Peta Pixel | Aug. 14, 2026, 12:36 p.m. | Original

A triptych showing a glowing cave with a starry sky, a person standing under a natural rock arch at night, and an aurora.

DarkSky International has announced the winners of its nighttime photography contest, Capture the Dark 2026 . This year’s contest, its sixth annual edition, drew a record number of entries from photographers in over 30 countries.

“Light pollution is increasing at an alarming rate — nearly 10% each year worldwide –disrupting wildlife, affecting community well-being, and making it harder to experience the beauty of the night sky,” DarkSky International explains. “DarkSky International is working to change this through advocacy, education, and programs that encourage responsible, community-friendly outdoor lighting.”

The Capture the Dark photography competition is an important part of the organization’s efforts to preserve dark skies and raise awareness about light pollution. The contest uses “the power of photography to showcase the beauty of the night while highlighting the harmful effects of light pollution through a variety of contest categories.”

The judges selected the top three finishers across nine standard categories, ranging from expansive night landscape photos to deep-sky observations, plus winners in a special Star Trek-themed category and one People’s Choice Award winner. All 31 winning photos are featured below.

Nightscapes

Paul Wilson won top honors in the Nightscape category with a beautiful tracked panorama photo captured in Quorn, South Australia. Wilson used his Canon EOS R5 with a Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG Art lens.

A panoramic view of the Milky Way arching over a dark, hilly landscape with a dirt road and a lone tree on a ridge.
A wide-angle view of a desert landscape at night with a person standing near a rock formation under a sky filled with circular star trails.
A panoramic view of a rocky desert landscape featuring several quiver trees silhouetted against a vibrant, arched Milky Way.

International Dark Sky Places

In the International Dark Sky Places category, photographer Kat Lawman won for a beautiful blended composite captured in Arches National Park in Utah, United States. Lawman used both Sony a7 III and a7 IV mirrorless bodies alongside a Sony 20mm f/1.8 lens for the final image.

A person stands in the distance beneath a large natural rock arch, looking out at a night sky filled with stars and the Orion constellation.
A panoramic view of a turquoise glacial lake and rocky shoreline beneath a vibrant, arched Milky Way galaxy over mountains.
A panoramic view of the Milky Way arching over a grassy mountain ridge with a single tree at the summit.

Quality Lighting an Design

Photographer Ross Steensland’s photo from Little Mount Hoffman Lookout in California bested the stiff competition in the Quality Lighting and Design category. Steensland used an astro-modified Sony a7 III with a Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens.

A wooden fire lookout cabin with glowing interior lights sits on a mountain peak under a starry night sky with the Milky Way.
A small village nestled in a dark mountain valley under a clear night sky filled with stars and the Milky Way.
A densely packed town illuminated by warm lights at dusk, set against a large, smoking mountain and a thin crescent moon.

The Impact of Light Pollution

While the DarkSky International Capture the Dark Photo Contest aims to showcase what people can see in the world’s darkest skies, it also endeavors to show the impact of light pollution on the night sky. Kouyu Wang’s category-winning shot shows the trails of many satellites in the sky, for example.

A long-exposure shot shows a train of satellite streaks arching across a night sky above a grassy landscape and the Milky Way.
A lighthouse sits at the end of a narrow, fenced path overlooking the ocean beneath a vibrant, star-filled night sky.
A panoramic view of the Milky Way galaxy arching over terraced rice fields filled with water, with fog settling in the valley.

Creatures of the Night

On Earth, many animals rely on very dark night skies to survive. Light pollution can affect wildlife in various ways. Tom Rae’s winning photo captured in Waitomo, New Zealand, beautifully shows off how life not only survives in the dead (or living) of night, but thrives.

A narrow, mossy canyon wall covered in glowing blue bioluminescent organisms opens up to a view of a starry night sky.
A field of glowing green fireflies at night with a distant city skyline illuminated on the horizon.
A glowing orange tent sits on a sandy beach at night under a starry sky with the Milky Way, while two small, bioluminescent blue scorpions are in the foreground.

Deep Sky Observations

Dark skies are also important for astronomers who want to swap out their wide-angle lens for a telescope. Julien De Winter’s photo captures the cosmic beauty of nebulae LBN 528 and LBN 532 and supernova SNR G110.3+11.3.

A vast nebula featuring intricate, glowing red filaments of ionized gas set against dark, swirling clouds of cosmic dust.
A barred spiral galaxy with bright blue star-forming regions and a glowing central bar sits against a dense field of stars.
A vast, vibrant red emission nebula fills the frame, featuring glowing gas clouds, dark dust lanes, and scattered star clusters.

Mobile Nighttime Photography

Smartphone camera technology has improved dramatically in recent years, making it possible to use phones to capture the beauty of the night sky. Enrique Barquet won this category with a phone photo of an aurora over Mount Shuksan in Washington.

Vibrant green and purple aurora borealis illuminate the night sky above a snow-covered mountain slope with pine trees and a ski lift.
A lone pine tree stands silhouetted against a starry night sky featuring the bright, colorful band of the Milky Way.
A panoramic view of the Milky Way galaxy arching over a snow-capped mountain peak at night.

Young Astrophotographers

Category winner Norah Swann, second-place photographer Kunzhe Chen, and bronze winner Avis Kennedy-Stirling show that astrophotography isn’t just for veteran adults; kids can expertly capture the night sky, too.

Fireflies glow with yellow light over a dark, flowing stream surrounded by dense forest foliage and rocks.
A glowing orange tent sits in a vast, dark desert landscape beneath a panoramic arch of the Milky Way galaxy.
A fluffy white cat sits on a wooden picnic table at dusk, overlooking a dark lake and mountains with fireflies glowing nearby.

Nighttime Adventures

Dennis Lehtonen won the Nighttime Adventures category with his fantastic single-exposure aurora shot captured in Greenland using a Sony a7 IV and Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens.

A person in a red jacket stands on rocky terrain at night, looking out over a calm lake toward mountains under a bright aurora.
A person in an orange jacket stands on a rocky cliff overlooking a brightly lit town nestled beside a lake under a starry sky.
A small wooden cabin sits in a grassy field at night under a bright Milky Way, with a group of people gathered around a campfire.

Star Trek 60

This year’s special category, Star Trek 60, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi franchise, Star Trek , which has inspired a love of the cosmos among many fans over the years. Monika Deviat won the category with her nighttime self-portrait of flashing the iconic Vulcan salute in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

A person in a red jacket stands on a rocky mountain peak at night, gesturing toward the bright Milky Way galaxy visible in the starry sky above snow-capped mountains.
A silhouette of a person with pointed ears stands against a starry night sky, reaching a hand toward the Milky Way.
A man wearing a blue Star Trek-style uniform stands in a desert landscape at night, making a Vulcan salute gesture under a starry sky.

People’s Choice Award

Canadian photographer Ethan Keller won the People’s Choice Award for his photo of the northern lights captured in Alberta.

“As a young Canadian fascinated by ancient folklore, I’ve grown up learning of Indigenous stories in which the Aurora Borealis represents the spirits of ancestors. I believe this image reflects those legends, depicting the constellations of Ursa Major (the Great Bear) and Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs) surrounded by the vibrant mosaic of the northern lights,” Keller says.

A vibrant aurora borealis displays green and magenta light across a dark, star-filled night sky.
People’s Choice — ‘The Great Bear and the Rainbow Bridge La Grande Ourse at le pont arc-en-ciel’ by Ethan Keller

Image credits DarkSky International’s Capture the Dark 2026 Photography Contest. Individual photographers are credited in the captions.

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