15-year-old Greek named Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year for dazzling Moon photo from Athens

Stay connected to Greek City Times for Free on Google News
Click NOW

A 15-year-old from Palaio Faliro has taken one of the world’s most prestigious astrophotography prizes.

Nikolaos (Nikos) Strimpoulis has been named ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 by the Royal Observatory Greenwich for Mineral Moon, a close-up of the lunar surface that reveals colours most people never see with the naked eye.

The image was captured on 8 March 2025 from Palaio Faliro, Athens. It shows the Moon’s dark maria — ancient lava plains — and the brighter, heavily cratered highlands. Processing brings out subtle mineral hues: warmer oranges linked to iron-rich rock and cooler blues associated with titanium deposits. Among the features visible are Mare Serenitatis, Mare Imbrium and the lunar Apennines.

Judge Steve Marsh, art editor at BBC Sky at Night Magazine, said many photographers only explore these mineral colours later in their careers. “This amazing young astrophotographer has achieved perfectly developed coloring in this photograph.”

Strimpoulis used a 6-inch Sky-Watcher Dobsonian (Skyliner 150 Classic) and a Player One Astronomy Ares-C Pro cooled colour camera at 1,200 mm, f/7.8, ISO 100. The final frame was built with lucky imaging: the sharpest 15 percent of frames from a 20-second video, a technique used to beat atmospheric turbulence.

He receives £1,500 and a year’s subscription to BBC Sky at Night Magazine. The photograph is on display with the other 2026 winners at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.

The overall Astronomy Photographer of the Year title went to Ali Alobaidly of Kuwait for an image of the Shark Nebula. Strimpoulis also had further work shortlisted in the young category, including views of the Orion Nebula and the core of Andromeda.

Greece has a long tradition of looking up. This time a teenager from a Athens suburb has put the country’s name on the Moon — in colour.

Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on Google News and Apple News.