Shot on a smartphone, this award-winning Milky Way image proves you don't need a dedicated camera to shoot the stars

Bulgarian photographer Mihail Minkov has taken top honors at the Smartphone Astrophotographer of the Year 2026 – a global competition exclusively dedicated to images captured with camera phones.

Captured near Antofagasta, Chile, the one-exposure image combines the Milky Way core rising over the Pacific coast with the towering sculpture Mano del Desierto – also known as "Hand of the Desert," shot at 20 seconds, f/16, ISO 2000.

What makes this even more remarkable? The entire image was captured on a Xiaomi 14 Ultra – widely regarded as one of the best camera phones available in the West for photographers.

Minkov is no stranger to international recognition. He won Milky Way Photographer of the Year 2023 and 2024, and secured first place in the Sony Alpha Winter 2024 photography competition, working with mirrorless cameras, like the Sony A7 III.

But this latest win demonstrates that technical skill still matters most.

'The Hand of God'

Minkov shares, "The winning image was captured in 2025 near the city of Antofagasta, Chile, using a Xiaomi 14 Ultra smartphone.

"In the foreground, you can see the iconic sculpture by Mario Irarrázabal, Mano del Desierto (Hand of the Desert), rising over 10 meters high.

"Despite the presence of the Moon, the smartphone was able to capture enough detail in the night sky to clearly reveal both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The image is a single exposure taken with the main 23 mm camera."

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra features a 1-inch-type sensor, variable aperture, and Leica-engineered image processing – hardware that blurs the line between smartphone and dedicated camera.

And in this case, it delivered competition-winning results.

Smartphone Astrophotographer of the Year

Smartphone Astrophotographer of the Year is organized by Sky & Scoops and celebrates night sky photography captured exclusively on camera phones.

Anthony Robinson from Skies & Scopes explains, "The most commonly used cameras for astrophotography usually cost thousands of dollars, not to mention all the other gear you need. This is a real barrier to entry for normal people to be able to go out and capture the wonders of the night sky.

"Capturing nightscapes, planets and deep sky objects, these photos demonstrate the stunning photographic capabilities of modern smartphones. The technology has developed so that we all have a high-performing camera on us all the time."

For more information and to discover all winning images, visit the Skies & Scopes website.

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