THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER OF the Year ( UPY ) 2023 contest is now open for entries ; photographers have until 7 January 2023 to submit their images .
Aiming to celebrate the best photography beneath the surface , UPY is widely regarded as one of the world ’ s leading underwater photography competitions , attracting thousands of entries , with the winners showcased around the world in the mainstream media .
The 2022 title went to Rafael Fernandez Caballero and his stunning night-time
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Could you be Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023 ?
photo of a gathering of whale sharks entitled ‘ Giants of The Night ’.
The 2023 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has 13 categories , testing photographers with themes such as Macro , Wide Angle , Behaviour , Wreck and Conservation photography , as well as four categories for photos taken specifically in British waters .
Chair of the judges , Alex Mustard said he was looking forward to seeing the diversity of images for the 2023 competition , now that Covid travel restrictions have eased .
“ The previous edition of UPY taught us that restrictions on travel may have stopped many photographers visiting their favourite waters , but it didn ’ t stifle their creativity . The last 12 months has seen travel reopen and we are excited to see what images have been captured , especially with photographers returning to work with subjects dear to them .”
For more information on UPY 2023 and to enter go to www . underwaterphotographeroftheyear . com
British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 Matty Smith ’ s portrait of a great white shark
Film crew stumbles across space shuttle wreckage
A SECTION OF THE CHALLENGER SPACE shuttle which broke apart shortly after launch in 1986 has been discovered by divers searching for a Second World War aircraft off the coast of Florida .
The divers , who were part of a film crew working on a documentary on the Bermuda
Triangle , located a 20-foot-long section of the ill-fated space shuttle on the seabed . The divers were drawn to the object ’ s distinctive outer tiles as they searched for a rescue plane that disappeared without a trace in 1945 . The crew contacted NASA about the discovery , who then confirmed that it was part of the Challenger spacecraft .
The Challenger space shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after lift-off from Kennedy Space Center on 28 January 1986 . All seven crew members were killed in the explosion . Investigations revealed the disaster was the result of compromised O-ring seals on one of the rocket boosters .
The discovery of the section is the first time in 25 years that a piece of the space shuttle has been located . In a statement , NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the discovery provided “ an opportunity to pause once again , to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost , and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us .”
The tragic loss of the Challenger space shuttle remains one of the worst disasters in the history of the US space programme .
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