Canada-based photographer and graphic designer Ulric Collette came up with probably the coolest family photo shoot idea ever.

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)

Judges watch athletes during the women's individual compact NH 5km competition at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Ramsau, Austria, Saturday, December 16, 2023. (Photo by Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

A starling jealously guards a seed station in the back garden of the photographer’s Michigan home in January 2024. (Photo by Lisa Cavanary/Solent News)

Laelys Alavez, Anastasia Bayandina, Ambre Esnault, Laura Gonzalez, Romane Lunel, Eve Planeix, Charlotte Tremble and Laura Tremble of France perform in the artistic swimming team free routine at on August 6, 2024 at Olympic Aquacenter in Saint-Denis, France. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Demi Rose seen attending I Saw It First party at SUSHISAMBA Covent Garden on February 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by The Mega Agency)

Courtney Stodden is seen on June 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Birds congregate by the ocean at sunrise, after California’s governor said he would impose some of the nation’s strictest stay-at-home orders in the coming days, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Santa Monica, California, U.S., December 4, 2020. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)