The sky’s the limit: Award-winning 12-year-old space photographer determined to be an astronaut

With a picture of the Milky Way and a comet he took with his mother’s cell phone, this young boy won a worldwide contest. CTV’s Sean Irvine reports.

A London boy with dreams of one day being an astronaut has won a worldwide contest for a photo of the stars he captured on his mother’s smartphone.

12-year-old Siddarth Patel has been mesmerized by the stars since he was 5. Toy figures in his home hint at his dreams.

“I really want to be an astronaut when I grow up, because I really love space, and I want to be in it, too.”

Now, from the ground, Siddarth has already begun his journey.

Using telescopes, he captures high-quality images of celestial delights and posts them on his social media channels.

But, it is the picture– taken with his mother’s cellphone – that has garnered Siddarth worldwide attention in astronomy and photography circles.

By manipulating image settings, he caught a passing comet streaking across the galaxy.

“I was really amazed that I could capture the Milky Way in such detail, and the comet. So, yeah, it was really awesome.”

In fact, it was so awesome that the photo won the people’s choice award in an online contest by Dark Sky, an advocacy group with a mission to protect the planet from light pollution.

This mission to protect the night sky is a goal Siddarth shares.

His smartphone photo offering is perhaps the best example. Siddarth captured it in a rural area 30 km outside of London – only one hour after city light pollution ruined plans to see the same sky with a powerful telescope from his back deck.

“That’s why I became a dark sky advocate, so I could tell more people about this, so they could make a change.”

Siddarth’s deep passion for deep space is self-driven. Neither of his parents were interested in space until Siddarth’s fascination blossomed.

“We know that this means a lot to him. So, we try to support him,” explained his mother, Rajani Ramsagar

Although, that support comes with hesitation amidst the realization that Siddarth, at a young age, already has ‘the right stuff’ to achieve his dream of travelling into space.

“I’m definitely scared, actually, as a mom,” said Ramsagar as she heard her son say, “I really think the astronaut goal is going to happen.”

To achieve his goal, Siddarth is about to join the Air Cadets as the first step in becoming a pilot. He also excelled in school and visited multiple Canadian and U.S. Ivy League schools specializing in space exploration and the stars.