See 2012's top shots in astronomy

Sept. 20, 2012, 11:31 PM UTC

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

This picture of the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as M51, won top honors in the Deep Space category and the overall competition for 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year. The picture was entered by British-Australian photographer Martin Pugh. Here's what the Royal Observatory says:(c) Martin Pugh

The Whirlpool Galaxy is one of the most photogenic spirals in the known universe, but not all whirlpools are created equal: Australian photographer Martin Pugh's view of the galaxy, also known as M51, was stunning enough to win him the top prize in the Royal Observatory's Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

"It's a remarkable achievement by an amateur astronomer; one of the best images of M51 that I've seen," Marek Kukula, the Royal Observatory's public astronomer and one of the contest judges, said in a news release. More than 800 entries were submitted, and the observatory announced the winners on Wednesday night.

Pugh said via Flickr that he was "absolutely delighted" by the honor — but for him, this isn't exactly a novel experience: He also won top honors in the 2009 competition.

Sir Patrick Moore, who's best-known for his British TV programs on astronomy, was impressed by the level of professionalism that today's amateurs bring to their sky snapshots. "Many of the pictures have been taken with equipment that was out of the range of the amateur many years ago," he said. "I also like the choice of subjects: photographing people and the night skies is very difficult. The entrants have done very well indeed."

Take a look at these winners, and then click your way through all the favorites at the Royal Museums Greenwich website. You can also scan through thousands of archived entries at the APotY Flickr gallery, and see the photo exhibition at the Royal Observatory through February.

Japan's Masahiro Miyasaka won top honors in the Earth and Space category with this shot of Orion, Taurus and the Pleiades shining in the night sky above an icy landscape. The category is for photos that include(c) Masahiro Miyasaka

The sun shines through the clouds during June's transit of Venus, as seen in this prize-winning photo from Britain's Chris Warren. The picture, captured through a hydrogen-alpha filter, won top honors in the Our Solar System category. Venus is visible as a black spot toward the sun's upper right edge.(c) Chris Warren

Fifteen-year-old Jacob von Chorus of Canada won top honors in the Young Astronomy category with this view of the Pleiades star cluster.(c) Jacob von Chorus

France's Laurent Laveder won a special award for this photo of a Venus-Jupiter conjunction on March 15, taken on the beach at Tréguennec in northwest France.(c) Laurent Laveder

Hungary's Lóránd Fényes won the Best Newcomer award, reserved for photographers who have taken up the hobby in the past year and have not entered an image in the competition before. This picture shows the Elephant's Trunk nebula, seemingly uncoiling within the star cluster IC 1396 in the constellation Cepheus.(c) Lorand Fenyes

Twelve-year-old Thomas Read of Britain won the Robotic Scope prize with this view of the Sunflower Galaxy (M63), captured online using the Bradford Robotic Telescope in Tenerife.(c) Thomas Read

More marvelous astronomy shots:

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ circles. To keep up with Cosmic Log and NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, sent to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News