WOW! Kildare photographer wins competition with stunning image of storm

A photographer from Kildare has been selected as one of the winners of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies’ astrophotography competition, ‘Reach for the Stars’.

Raluca Lica, Narraghmore, Co. Kildare was the winner of the Back on Earth Landscape category, for her image Aurora above the Golden Fields. The image captured a geomagnetic storm dancing across a golden field taken near Narraghmore, Co. Kildare.

This category contained the highest number of shortlisted images and the winner was commended by the judges for providing a sense of being in the image.

The 2025 competition saw more than 170 entries from photographers across Ireland with photos taken between 26 April 2024 and 02 June 2025.

Commenting on this year’s competition, Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “The Reach for the Stars competition continues to reveal the incredible talent and dedication of Ireland’s astrophotographers. These images don’t just showcase technical skill, they allow us to see the universe from new perspectives and inspire a deeper curiosity about our night sky.”

The judging panel included: Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astrophysics at DIAS; Michael McCreary, President of the Irish Astronomical Society; Dr Lisa McNamee co-founder Space Medicine Ireland and Alan Betson, Irish Times photographer and multiple winner of the Press Photographer of the Year award.

Head of Astrophysics at DIAS and Chair of the judging panel, Professor Peter Gallagher said, “Now in its fifth year, the DIAS Reach for the Stars competition has reached new heights. It is exciting to see the competition grow. The rare appearances of the Aurora Borealis in Ireland’s skies have sparked fresh curiosity, encouraging more people to get involved in astrophotography. The talent and technical skill shown in each of the shortlisted entries is extraordinary, making the judges’ task of selecting winners more challenging than ever before.”

The winning images, along with a selection of the shortlisted images in the Reach for the Stars competition will be available to view as part of an outdoor exhibition, from Thursday, 21 August 2025.

DIAS’s Reach for the Stars competition is run in partnership with The Irish Times and is sponsored by MKC Communications and the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland. The Irish Astronomical Society are initiative supporters.

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