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Out of this world image wins top Astrophotography Prize

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published October 2, 2025 at 11:48 AM EDT
The winning image, called the “Flying Bat and The Giant Squid Nebula”, is one of the most faint and difficult targets; this was Ani Shastry's third attempt in three years to capture sufficient data on it. (Courtesy of Ani Shastry)
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The winning image, called the “Flying Bat and The Giant Squid Nebula”, is one of the most faint and difficult targets; this was Ani Shastry's third attempt in three years to capture sufficient data on it. (Courtesy of Ani Shastry)

An American won top honors in a competition of photographers from around the world for his captivating image of deep space called “Flying Bat and The Giant Squid Nebula.”

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with 2025 Astrophotographer of the Year Ani Shastry.

An image of the “bubble nebula”, sculpted by the stellar winds given off by a super massive, extremely hot star, whose lifetime is also much shorter compared to our sun. (Courtesy of Ani Shastry)
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An image of the “bubble nebula”, sculpted by the stellar winds given off by a super massive, extremely hot star, whose lifetime is also much shorter compared to our sun. (Courtesy of Ani Shastry)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR
Here & Now Newsroom