It has been an incredibly busy start to 2026, but we are glad to finally be sharing this one. Wiki Science Competition 2025 ran in Ireland as part of the international campaign, and this year 87 images were entered. after our extended deadline, voting began over the Christmas break and into February as 2026 woke up, and we are now ready to announce the results.
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted an image. Every entry adds freely licensed scientific photography to Wikimedia Commons, where it can be used and reused by anyone, and also used to illustrate articles on Wikipedia and Vicipéid!
This year’s judging panel was Dr Ruth Freeman (Director of Research for Society, Research Ireland), Mark Langtry (Explorium), and Shakeela Singh (Research Ireland / Science Week Ireland). Thank you to all three for their time and expertise in helping us judge this year’s entries.
Here are the results…
*drumroll*
First place:
Magnesium sulfate crystals from KarlGaff
Magnesium sulfate crystals (Image submitted by KarlGaff)
An expolosiion of colour from Crystals of magnesium sulfate dissolving and crystallising in solution, photographed using compensated polarisation microscopy. Shot on a Sony ILCE-7RM2.
Second place:
Comet watchers from Anthony’s astro
Comet watchers (Image: Anthony’s astro)
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS photographed from the Phoenix Park on 17 October 2024, the evening it was visible just after sunset. Two figures are silhouetted beside a lone tree. Shot on a Canon EOS R6m2 with a 70–200mm lens.
Third place:
Stars, sea and me from Anthony’s astro
Stars, sea and me (Image: Anthony’s astro)
The Milky Way photographed from a Waterford beach on 28 September 2024, lined up with a large sea stack, with the photographer standing in frame for scale. Shot on a Canon 6D astro mod with a 20mm lens.
Special mention:
Stargazing tonight from Anthony’s astro
A composite image blending a normal light frame with a 12nm Hα-filtered sky stack, showing a figure on rocks at a Waterford beach looking up at the night sky. The photographer’s first attempt at this blending technique. Shot on a Canon EOS 6D.
Congratulations to KarlGaff and Anthony’s astro, and thank you again to all 87 entries. Wiki Science will be back again in Winter later this year, but for now Spring has well and truly sprung and Wiki Loves Folklore is still running!
Wiki Loves Folklore 2026 in Ireland is open for another week – until 31 March!
If you have photos related to Irish folklore, tradition, or cultural heritage, you can still submit them to Wikimedia Commons as part of the international campaign.
Find out more and enter here: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Folklore_2026_in_Ireland
Keep an eye on our socials for future Wiki Loves photography competitions for Ireland.
