World Space Week: deep-sky images from our community
People have been looking up and telling stories about the night sky for as long as there have been people to look up! Communities have mapped their lives onto the stars: when to move camp, when animals would breed, when it was time to gather a particular food. The sky was a calendar, a map, and a library, all at once.
For World Space Week (4-10 October) —marking the anniversary of the first satellite launch—we are looking up to celebrate the many stories that make up astronomy across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. People are still going outside, still pointing to the sky, and still trying to capture what's up there to share the human story.
2025 Wiki Science Competition for Australia and New Zealand
We saw that instinct in the astronomy category of the 2025 Wiki Science Competition for Australia and New Zealand. These photographers have dedicated dozens of hours to bringing out the hidden, dusty spaces between the stars. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!:
Deep image of the Angel Nebula (NGC 2170 and NGC 2182)
— regional winner, by Rolf Wahl Olsen. The Angel Nebula (NGC 2170 & NGC 2182) — Reflection and Emission Nebula in Monoceros "What attracted me most was the extraordinary colourful mixture of reflection nebulae, emission, and dark dust," says photographer Rolf Wahl Olsen, who spent over 33 hours imaging the region from their home observatory in Auckland using a self-built 12.5-inch telescope. "I particularly enjoy imaging these faint dusty regions because long integrations can reveal structures and colour that are invisible in shorter exposures."
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A deep two-panel mosaic of Messier 78 in Orion
— Messier 78 Behind Barnard’s Loop- finalist, also by Olsen. Captured across nearly 40 hours of exposure, Olsen aimed to show the target not in isolation, but in context with the dark dust and gas surrounding it: "I wanted to show it not simply as an isolated dusty reflection nebula, but as part of the much larger dusty environment of the Orion Molecular Cloud."
A newborn star city glowing in cosmic dust — finalist, by TheBrocketMan. "The HDR-style enhancement focused on bringing out the outer halo, faint filaments, and fine dust structure while preserving a realistic tone," shares TheBrocketMan, who used photo-stacking technology to reveal the delicate details hidden in the deep sky of the Orion Nebula.
Community images
These images were captured by people in our own community, from their own backyards, and released under a free licence so anyone in the world can learn from them. Just as ancient skywatchers preserved knowledge through active community stewardship, open access to knowledge on Wikipedia relies on community custodians—volunteers who contribute, verify, and safeguard this shared library for everyone. Thank you to all our Wiki Science Competition contributors!
- Astronomy entries for the Wiki Science Competition, 2025 for Australia and New Zealand.
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A Clash of Red and Blue -
Centaurus A — Extreme Deep Field (321 hours, amateur) -
Horsehead Nebula in narrowband and visible light -
Messier 83 Deep Field Showing Stellar Halo and Northern Tidal Stream -
Rho Ophiuchi Core Region with IC 4603 -
Star Trails over Milroy Observatory -
Stellar Forge -
The Eye of God -
The Galactic Veil -
Townsend Teece Telescope in the Observatory Tower of Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre -
Messier 78 Behind Barnard’s Loop -
TheOrionNebula -
The Angel Nebula (NGC 2170 & NGC 2182) — Reflection and Emission Nebula in Monoceros
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