(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Khalid Elsawi
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The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: An image of the The Eagle Nebula, captured by Qatar resident Rizwan Ahmad, was selected among the best astrophotographs for the month of May by space media outlet Orbital Today.
The Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16 (M16), is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens that is 7,000 light years away from Earth. It was discovered by Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745.
Rizwan Ahmad's photo was chosen to be among a group of astrophotographs from around the globe that represent the best space captures for the month of May.
Speaking to The Peninsula, the Qatar-based astrophotographer said that he was very grateful to his family for their undying support, and his friends who have given him company during those long nights spent in the darkness in the desert south of Qatar.
“When I started, I only did this [astrophotography] as a hobby, as a way to bring joy to myself. I have never done it to win any sort of award,” he told The Peninsula.
Despite the accolade –which he admits has brought him great joy- Ahmad believes that he can do better, and that this acknowledgement by the international astrophotography community will only act as fuel for his burning desire to improve even further.
The image of the Eagle Nebula was captured originally by Ahmad sometime in 2023, but the first effort proved to be not up to standard, the astrophotographer told The Peninsula.
However, months later, another opportunity arrived to capture the celestial body, and Ahmad did not hesitate to make the best of it.
The final result, captured around early May, proved to be the right one, as it landed him his first ever international recognition as an astrophotographer.
The astrophotographer had previously detailed to The Peninsula the amount of effort it took him to actualize his vision, from driving over 300 kilometres to overnight stays, all for the sake of the best possible astrophotograph.
He told The Peninsula that it could take anywhere from 21 hours to three full days to capture these images, and that failure to capture anything spectacular even after having spent that amount of time is nothing out of the ordinary.
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