Local locations in shortlisted astrophotography entries

A photograph of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS at Old Kilcullen Round Tower is on the Public Choice shortlist in the Reach for the Stars 2025 competition hosted by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), writes Brian Byrne. It's one of two shortlisted entries by photographer Raluca Lica, and people can vote for her entries at this link. 

The photos are in the Back on Earth - Landmark category. The comet picture was taken by Raluca in October of last year, when the celestial traveller was at its closest to the Earth, some 70 million kilometres away.  Her other entry is Aurora above the Golden Fields, depicting the Aurora Borealis over rapeseed fields in Narraghmore during the geomagnetic storm in May of last year.

Raluca, a dentist by profession, has a passion for astrophotography and is an award winner for her work. The comet photograph was her first attempt at that kind of subject, taken just after sunset and with the tower light-painted by a bright moon. "I struggled a little to find it in the sky, as the Sun was setting," she says in her commentary. "I only had a short window at it." By contrast, she describes the aurora night as "an unbelievable experience, and there were many moments that night when I couldn't figure where to point my camera."

The DIAS judging panel are astrophysicist Prof Peter Gallagher; president of the Irish Astronomical Society, Michael McCreary; space medicine expert, Dr Lisa McNamee; and Irish Times photographer Alan Betson.

In all, 37 photographs are shortlisted, all of them stunning, and voting in the competition closes at 5pm on 24 July.

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