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)

In this Saturday, December 30, 2017, picture a girl wearing a bear fur costume takes part in an annual bear parade in Comanesti, Romania. It's a tradition that originated in pre-Christian times, when dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs went from house to house in villages, singing and dancing to ward off evil. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus attends the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast on Sunday, August 30, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Vijat Mohindra/MTV VMAs 2020/Vijat Mohindra/MTV VMAs 2020 via Getty Images)

A Palestinian girl wearing a protective face mask looks on as she sits in a box on the back of a bicycle amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, in Gaza City on September 27, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Afghanistan, published by Taschen later July, is a retrospective portfolio of the Magnum photographer Steve McCurry’s most striking images of the country, from 1979 to 2016. Here: Kunar province, 1980. Armed mujahideen carry animal skins to use as inflatable buoys to cross rapids. (Photo by Steve McCurry/Taschen/Magnum Photos/The Guardian)

Egyptian workers eat on a truck in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, January 22, 2023. Egypt is in an economic crisis is partly caused by the yearlong grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the conflict in Europe has also exposed the frailties of an economy suffering from decades of mismanagement, turmoil from its 2011 Arab Spring popular uprising, years of militant attacks and then, the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)

Sea lion is seen among people on a beach in San Cristobal island, part of Galapagos archipelago on February 11, 2025. Located in Ecuadorone of South America's most fascinating countriesthe Galapagos National Park spans 13 main islands and numerous islets, captivating biologists, environmental scientists, and tourists with its rich ecology. (Photo by Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, lies in the arms of her caregiver, Andre Bauma, on September 21, 2021 shortly before her death, which the park confirmed on September 26. Mr Bauma and others at the Senkwekwe Mountain Gorilla Center had cared for Ndakasi and other orphans for 13 years. Ndakasi had suffered a prolonged illness prior to her death. This is the only mountain gorilla orphanage in the world and takes in mountain gorilla orphans who have lost their families to poaching or conflict. A number of the orphans here were rescued from sales by poachers in sting operations carried out by Congolese National Park Authority (ICCN) rangers. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)