Austrian photographer Gerald Rhemann's image Disconnection Event depicts a piece of Comet Leonard's gas tail being disconnected and carried away by solar winds.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The overall top prize, chosen unanimously by the judges, went to Gerald Rhemann from Austria, who also won in the planets, comets and asteroids category, with his image Disconnection Event, which depicts a piece of Comet Leonard's gas tail being disconnected and carried away by solar winds.

Rhemann's photograph won special praise from the judges. "Comet Leonard, a long-period comet, first identified in January 2021, was captured by the Austrian photographer in Namibia on Christmas Day," according to the award announcement that added the comet will not be visible from the Earth again.

"This award is one of the highlights of my astrophotography work," says Rhemann, who won the overall top prize of 10,000 pounds ($11,492), in addition to the individual category. "All the effort that went into making this image a success was worth it."