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 woman dances during a rehearsal by the group “Tambores de Olokun” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, April 17, 2022. The Brazilian municipalities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo postponed the traditional parades of the carnival samba schools to April 22 - 23, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

A member of Viradouro samba school performs during the first night of Rio's Carnival parade at the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on April 22, 2022. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Queen of drums, Sabrina Sato of Unidos de Vila Isabel samba school during the Champions Parade on the last day of Rio de Janeiro 2022 Carnival at Marques de Sapucai Sambadrome on May 01, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro's iconic carnival returns to the sambodrome after a two year suspension and postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)

Employees of the Park Royal resort wait for a shuttle to take them to work early in the morning on April 2, 2015 in Acapulco, Mexico. Despite problems with cartel violence Semana Santa is one of the biggest tourist weeks of the year in Acapulco, a city whose entire economy depends on tourism, and officials expect around 350,000 mostly Mexican visitors this week. (Photo by Jonathan Levinson/The Washington Post)

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)

1974: American boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay, strikes an aggressive pose at a press conference on November 29, 1974. (Photo by Harry Dempster/Express/Getty Images); American actor Will Smith at the Royal Premiere of the film Ali in London on December 11, 2001. Smith starred as Muhammad Ali in the film. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Principal of the Royal Ballet, Natalia Osipova, performs outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, England on November 21, 2018, where she is starring in the new contemporary ballet “The Mother”. (PHoto by Jane Barlow/PA Wire via ZUMA Press)