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)

A Hawaiian cleaner wrasse provides its cleaning services to a yellowfin goatfish in a reef community off the Big Island in Hawaii. Cleaner species help rid their hosts of ectoparasites, dead tissue, bacteria and fungi. Studies have shown cleaning to play a vital role in keeping many reef ecosystems healthy. (Photo by Marty Snyderman/Caters News Agency)

A male red deer with antlers covered in bracken, walks through undergrowth in Richmond Park in south west London, October 3, 2014. Over 600 red and fallow deer roam in the largest of London's Royal Parks, and have their numbers managed in an annual cull each November and February. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

Now celebrating its 40th year, Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum to recognize proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope. To select the winners, competition judges analyzed entries from all over the world covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal looks at biological specimens. The 2014 winners will be revealed on October 30th. In 2014, the competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. (Photo by Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2014)

On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, a girl costumed as Lord Krishna poses for a photo in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Nayem Shaan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An Orthodox Jew child from Israel yells as other members of the community protest at a government facility where they are being held after being detained last Sunday during an operation by agents of the National Institute of Migration (INM), in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico on September 28, 2022. (Photo by Jose Torres/Reuters)

Pet dogs wearing sunglasses and face mask on board a tricycle are pictured in Chinatown district of Manila on January 20, 2023, ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit which falls on January 22. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)

A model presents a creation from the Gucci Fall-Winter 2022/2023 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2022. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)