DarkSky International Announces Winners of Capture the Dark 2026 Photo Contest

Key facts

• DarkSky International announced winners of its sixth annual Capture the Dark contest.
• The contest drew a record number of entries from photographers in over 30 countries.
• Light pollution is increasing at nearly 10% each year worldwide.
• Paul Wilson won the Nightscape category with a photo from Quorn, South Australia.
• Kat Lawman won the International Dark Sky Places category for a photo in Arches National Park, Utah.
• Ross Steensland won the Quality Lighting and Design category for a photo from Little Mount Hoffman Lookout, California.
• Kouyu Wang's winning photo in the Impact of Light Pollution category shows satellite trails.
• Tom Rae won the Creatures of the Night category with a photo from Waitomo, New Zealand.
• Julien De Winter won the Deep Sky Observations category for capturing nebulae LBN 528 and LBN 532 and supernova SNR G110.3+11.3.
• Enrique Barquet won Mobile Nighttime Photography with an aurora photo over Mount Shuksan, Washington.
• Norah Swann, Kunzhe Chen, and Avis Kennedy-Stirling won the Young Astrophotographers category.
• Dennis Lehtonen won Nighttime Adventures with an aurora shot in Greenland.
• Monika Deviat won the Star Trek 60 category with a self-portrait in Banff National Park, Canada.
• Ethan Keller won the People's Choice Award for a northern lights photo in Alberta, Canada.
• The contest features 31 winning photos across nine standard categories, a Star Trek-themed category, and a People's Choice Award.