Fascination with space

An Jiu says she had long been fascinated by the heavens but only began to photograph them relatively recently.

"I've loved outer space since I was a child, but because of city light pollution, I thought the images of the stars I saw had been edited," she explains. "But seven years ago, I attended a stargazing event and saw the Milky Way clearly for the first time.

"I recognized its purity and wanted to share that moment with people around me, but my phone couldn't capture it. So, I started learning astrophotography."

Her winning entry was one of nine she submitted for the competition.

"It was taken in the Himalaya Mountains in Tibet autonomous region, at about 5,000 meters, with the altitude and lack of light pollution letting me capture distant phenomena."

Astrophotography, she says, "makes us realize even more that the Earth has no borders, only land and oceans. What I enjoy most about it is the ability to transcend time and freeze moments".

The Royal Observatory Greenwich was founded in 1675 and is home to the Prime Meridian, as well as being recognized as part of the wider Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Its historic buildings are frequently used as a location for major movie productions, and, each year, the site welcomes around 2.5 million visitors, as well as hosting Chinese New Year celebrations.

And last fall, the Royal Observatory hosted two live events celebrating the history of Chinese astronomy.

Bloomer says the observatory "wants to make sure, year after year, that we're home to the best competition", and the levels of entrant interest were a cause for optimism.