Winning the major astro-photography prize at the inaugural STARMUS festival at the Tenerife islands was the opportunity of a lifetime for Australian amateur astronomer Alex Cherney.

The American Mark Risinger have created an all-sky survey of 37.440 images, that has been put together in an interactive flash. And it's simply amazing!

ESO’s Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition attracted nearly 100 entries, and ESO is delighted to announce the winners. Hidden Treasures gave amateur astronomers the opportunity to search ESO’s vast archives of astronomical data for a well-hidden cosmic gem. Astronomy enthusiast Igor Chekalin from Russia won the first prize in this difficult but rewarding challenge — the trip of a lifetime to ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile.