Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)

Richard Coleby of Polaris falls over his quad into muddy waters during day one of the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race on October 14, 2017 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Mount Whaleback iron ore mine 23°21’32.3”S, 119°40’40.1”E. The Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Roughly 98% of the world’s mined iron ore is used to make steel and is thus a significant component in the construction of buildings, automobiles, and appliances such as refrigerators. (Photo by Daily Overview/DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Company)

In this picture taken on December 13, 2017, a woman commutes on a street on a cold day in Baoding. As temperatures dipped below freezing in a northern Chinese village, a group of parka-clad women tried to stay warm as they played mahjong around a small gas stove in a grocery store. (Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP Photo)

The International Space Station (ISS) moves along its orbit above at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, July 18, 2019, with a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin in the foreground. Circular star tracks around the Polar Star and tracks of the ISS is the result of the camera multiple exposure with a total duration of two hours. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Rays from the rising sun shine through the foliage of trees as fog covers the ground near the Guckler Karoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary, 02 January 2017. (Photo by Balazs Mohai/EPA)

Scarlett Zelaya, 10, of Woodbridge, VA cools off under a water mister while visiting the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on Wednesday July 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

A pedestrian holds an umbrella to protect from the sun in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)