It’s a proper showstopper.

A Cork photographer shot the winning image in the 2023 Reach for the Stars astrophotography competition, run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Sara Harvey from Bishopstown captured ‘M51 – A Galactic Dance’, an image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, located 31 million light years from Earth.

“To think there are billions of stars, surrounded by billions more planets, with whatever wonders or even life there might be, and it all fits on my little 1-inch camera sensor is mind-blowing.” said Sara.

“The level of detail captured in Ms. Harvey’s ‘M-51 – Galactic Dance’ is really impressive,” said Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astrophysics at DIAS and a member of the judging panel.

“It is well framed to include many points of interest including the hot, young stars and yellow, older stars within the winding, graceful arms of the Galaxy. You can also see some tiny galaxies floating in the background and its companion galaxy NGC 5195 is clearly visible.

“This is a technically brilliant image.”

Keith Levins from Blackrock, Cork, Co. Cork was a runner-up in the ‘Back on Earth’ category with his submission, ‘The Almighty Arch’, which is a tracked panoramic image, shot on Bray Head on Valentia Island in Kerry. Valentia Island is part of the Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve – a Gold Tier Dark Sky Reserve, which is the only one of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sara and Keith’s winning images will be showcased as part of an outdoor exhibition at DIAS’s premises at 10 Burlington Road, Dublin.

A photo entitled ‘Star Boy’, taken by Colm O’Dwyer from Ballincollig will also be displayed as part of the outdoor exhibition. O’Dwyer’s image features Barnard 150, a meandering dark dust nebula approximately 1,200 light years away, located in the constellation Cepheus.