Australia photography awards showcase beauty of space
From Arctic lights to the hidden colours of constellations, an Australian photography competition captures the night sky to incredible effect.
The David Malin Astrophotography award started with a just a handful of entries 12 years ago.
It now attracts nationwide attention with hundreds of submissions and celebrates some of best Australia's astronomical photography.
The annual competition is open to all amateur astronomers across the country, aiming to encourage new developments in photography and a wider interest in astronomy.
Awards judge David Malin said in addition to aesthetic merit the awards recognise the technical complexity of night-time photography.
"Getting the colours right is very important and you have to have some knowledge of the nature of the stars to get the colours right," he told the BBC.
The winners of the competition were announced on the weekend and are on display at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales.
This year's top prize was awarded to photographer Troy Casswell for his widefield image depicting the full constellation Orion.
Mr Hall said night-time photography was open to anyone who wanted to get involved.
"You might need some expensive stuff if you want to do really fancy things but an off-the-shelf camera will get you started," he said.