Miguel Claro won the "Our Sun" category at the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 after capturing an ultra-detailed image of the Sun’s photosphere showing convection cells and bright filigree. He recorded multiple high-frame-rate videos during a brief window of ideal atmospheric stability and combined the best frames to reveal fine solar structure. The competition’s overall winner was Ali Alobaidly for an image of the Shark Nebula; category winners received £1,500.
Award-Winning Astrophotographer Miguel Claro Captures Ultra-Detailed Close-Up of Sun’s Surface
Credit: Miguel Claro (Portugal)
Credit: Miguel Claro (Portugal)
After several attempts, Portuguese astrophotographer and science communicator Miguel Claro finally captured an exceptionally detailed close-up of the Sun’s photosphere, winning the "Our Sun" category in the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026.
Credit: Miguel Claro (Portugal)
The image reveals an intricate, almost abstract pattern formed by writhing plasma: convection cells (zones of rising and falling solar plasma) punctuated by bright filigree between them. Claro attributed the result to both near-perfect atmospheric conditions and upgraded equipment that let him freeze fleeting moments of stability.
How He Got the Shot
Claro recorded multiple short, high-frame-rate videos to capture brief windows of atmospheric calm and then stacked and processed the best frames to build a super-detailed final image. "After several attempts, a perfect opportunity eventually arose. The excitement that morning was palpable," he told the competition organizers.
Credit: Peter Ward (Australia)
Claro's Gear and Settings
- Soleye 300 Dual-Band telescope
- Altair 2-nm G-Band filter
- Baader SunDancer II TZ-4S telecentric system
- Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount
- Player One Astronomy Apollo 428M Max Pro Solar Camera
- Effective Focal Length: 1,200 mm | Aperture: f/4 | Exposure: 67 ms (from a 22-second video)
- Location: Reguengos de Monsaraz, Évora District, Portugal — 02 July 2025
"Watching the first results of the pre-processed image appear on screen was a pure thrill," Claro said, describing the moment he saw the fine-scale solar structure emerge in his processing pipeline.
Competition Highlights
Claro narrowly beat Australian astrophotographer Peter Ward, who finished runner-up with a striking ultraviolet image captured using a spectroheliograph to isolate calcium filaments and plumes of gas in the Sun’s chromosphere.
Credit: James McBeath (UK)
Peter Ward's Gear and Settings
- Astro-Physics 130GTX and 92-mm Stowaway telescopes
- Coronado SolarMax double-stacking 90-mm etalon
- MLAstro SHG 700 spectroheliograph
- Paramount ME II mount; QHYCCD QHY533M and QHY678M cameras
- 910 mm | f/7 | Multiple exposures from 1/250 to 1/500 sec
- Location: Barden Ridge, New South Wales, Australia — 11 October 2025
British photographer James McBeath received a commendation for his 2025 partial solar eclipse sequence, captured while engaging with the public during a long observation session in a Leeds park.
James McBeath's Gear and Settings
- Sony A7 with Canon EF 300mm USM + 2× teleconverter
- Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini mount
- Pig Iron 720-nm R-72 infrared filter
- 600 mm | f/18 | ISO 100 | 1/3,200 sec
- Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England — 29 March 2025
The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year, hosted by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, is the world’s largest astrophotography competition. This year’s overall winner was Ali Alobaidly of Kuwait for a rarely photographed view of the Shark Nebula; the top prize carried £10,000. Category winners received £1,500 each.
Claro said seeing the "impressive level of detail" in his image made "every bit of effort worth it."
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