Caption: Third place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Wide star fields. This rich panoramic image shows a range of constellations, deep sky objects and planets. The brightest point of light with a pale reddish hue (left of center) is the planet Mars. In the bottom far left of the image, located just above the sloped roof of the building are two points of light appearing very close to each other, these are the planets Jupiter (brighter) and Saturn. To the far right of the image the two fuzzy cloud-like objects are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. These are satellite dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way located at a distance of approximately 160,000 and 200,000 light years, respectively. The Andromeda Galaxy, which is located at an approximate distance of 2.5 million light years, appears in this image as a small, angled smudge between Mars and the brightest glow on the horizon (closer to the horizon). The bright glow is not from the Sun or the Moon, but the city lights of San Pedro de Atacama. Prominent constellations include: Orion – identified by the three stars forming Orion’s Belt; Taurus – a small triangle shaped collection of stars to the left of Orion and identified by the pale orange star (Aldebaran) at the vertex of the triangle; Canis Major – to the bottom right of Orion, identified by the bright star Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky) and three stars in the shape of a triangle just above the observatory dome in the foreground; Pegasus – identified by the trapezium shape diagonally below Mars. Other constellations include Andromeda, Perseus and Aries. Diverse cultures around the world have their own names and rich stories associated with these constellations and many others. To the top right of Orion’s Belt is an angled line of stars (Orion’s Sword) within which is a pinkish smudge (looks like a fuzzy star when observed with the unaided eye) that is the Orion Nebula – a stellar nursery located 1500 light years from Earth – where stars are formed. To the left of Taurus is a compact fuzzy smudge, and that is the Pleiades star cluster. The variation in the colour of stars is the result of temperature of the stars, for example, the red orange star to the bottom left of Orion’s Belt is the red giant star Betelgeuse. Cooler stars appear redder, compared to the higher temperature white and bluish stars. The colours in the image are enhanced because of the higher sensitivity of the digital camera compared to the human eye.
Credit: Robert Barsa/IAU OAE

Caption: 位于智利帕瑞纳山的甚大望远镜由四台反射望远镜组成，每台望远镜的主镜直径为8.2米。在这张照片中图中，其中一个穹顶打开着，并向天空发射激光束。这些激光在天空中创造出“人造星”，用于调整望远镜的光学系统，从而消除地球大气层引起的模糊效应，这一过程被称为自适应光学。 在天空中，月亮被明亮的光晕围绕。该现象是由月光在地球大气中的冰晶内反射而形成的。
Credit: 胡安-卡洛斯-穆尼奥斯-马特奥斯/欧空局 credit link

Caption: 夏威夷岛莫纳克亚山上的两台凯克望远镜。这两台望远镜是反射望远镜，主镜直径为 10 米。
Credit: 美国宇航局/JPL credit link

Caption: 环绕地球运行的 NASA/ESA 哈勃太空望远镜。这张照片是哥伦比亚号航天飞机上的宇航员在对太空望远镜本身执行完 3B 号维修任务后拍摄的。望远镜有一个开口，允许光线进入（在望远镜的左侧）。光线穿过望远镜的光学系统，到达位于望远镜另一端凸起处的照相机和摄谱仪（右侧）。这些仪器的数据随后通过天线传回地球。望远镜两侧的黑色矩形是为天文台供电的太阳能电池板。
Credit: 美国宇航局/欧空局 credit link

Caption: 位于澳大利亚新南威尔士的帕克斯天文台的64米射电望远镜自1963年起全面投入使用，并持续进行升级。该望远镜也被称为“大碟”，由联邦科学与工业研究组织进行管理。望远镜可以对准天空中的特定区域，来自该区域的射电电磁波会被巨大碟形天线反射并聚焦到焦点处的接收器上。随后，天文学家可以对接收器收集的数据进行分析。
Credit: 戴维·麦克莱纳根/联邦科学与工业研究组织 credit link