The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, is now in its sixth year and has received over 2,500 entries. Photo: Centre of the Heart Nebula by Ivan Eder (Hungary). Situated 7500 light years away in the “W”-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula is a vast region of glowing gas, energized by a cluster of young stars at its centre. The image depicts the central region, where dust clouds are being eroded and moulded into rugged shapes by the searing cosmic radiation. (Photo by Ivan Eder)

A staff member removes a coffin from a room of the “Corpse Hotel” in Kawasaki, Japan, April 20, 2016. Many so-called corpse hotels have emerged as a flourishing business in the city following a crunch in crematoriums. Families can rent a room in Sousou on a daily charge of 9,000 Japanese yen (£58, €74, $84) to keep the body of the deceased relative for up to four days until they find a crematorium. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A pet dog reacts while wearing a “Voltes V” themed costume during a “Pawshion Show” to mark World Animal Day in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines 04 October 2023. A village in Marikina enjoined owners and animal lovers to play dress-up with their pets and participate in a fashion-show themed activity to entertain the community on World Animal Day and mark the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals in the Roman Catholic religion. (Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA)

A Shi'ite Muslim woman bleeds after she was cut on the forehead with a razor during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon on August 19, 2021. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

A picture taken on August 25, 2021 shows a view of the Aletsch Glacier. After hiking for hours across the mountain and a vast expanse of white, Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss crouches down near the middle of the massive glacier and checks the measurements. Analysis of the data gathered from Aletsch, the largest glacier in the Alps, paints a dire picture of the toll that climate change is taking on the behemoth. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

University students demonstrate against the crisis in the public education, budget cuts and a tax reform project announced by the government of Ivan Duque in Medellin, Colombia on December 13, 2018. (Photo by Joaquín Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

In November 2021 Bryan Adams took the pictures for next year’s Pirelli calendar, which features fellow musicians including Cher, Rita Ora, Iggy Pop and the American singer Jennifer Hudson, above, as it depicts a typical day in the life of a touring performer. (Photo by Bryan Adams/Pirelli)

A protester reacts at an anti-riot police officer after being teargased as he takes part in a demonstration against a controversial tax bill in the central business district in Nairobi, Kenya, 20 June 2024. Police have fired tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered near the parliament to demonstrate against planned tax hikes that many fear will worsen the cost-of-living crisis. (Photo by Daniel Irungu/EPA)