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)

“People and Space”. Winner: Wanderer in Patagonia by Yuri Zvezdny (Russia) A lone stargazer stares up at the stars of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as they stretch across the night sky over the glacier “White Stones” (Piedras Blancas) in the Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina. El Chaltén, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, 27 September 2016 iOptron Sky-Tracker mount, Sony A7S camera, 18 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 5000, 30-second exposure Wanderer in Patagonia. (Photo by Yuri Zvezdny/Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017)

Some of the best entries so far in the 2016 Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. There are two weeks left to enter, and the winners will be announced in September. Here: Aurora over Laksvatn Fjord, Laksvatn, Norway. The aurora borealis dances in the skies over the town of Laksvatn, with the Milky Way to the left. The image is a single shot with no compositing, only post-processing to bring out the aurora, and some colour corrections. The photographer Matt Walford said: “I love the way the northern lights look like they are just wistfully dancing over the fjord, framed by the mountains on either side”. (Photo by Matt Walford/National Maritime Museum)

A woman struggles with an umbrella in the wind and rain while walking in Derby city centre, on December 23, 2013. (Photo by Rui Vieira/PA Wire)

Cake made by Gisela Prekau on display at the Cake International show at Alexandra Palace in London, UK on April 22, 2017. Cake International 2017, the Cake Decorating and Baking Show, takes place over the weekend at Alexandra Palace, North London featuring giant cakes, moving cakes, stunning crafter cakes, exquisitely detailed cakes and the latest ranges of cake decorating products and accessories, college displays and workshops. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Competitors take part in the Christmas Really Wild Mud Run on a 4.6 miles course across undulating farm land at Celtic Camping, St David's, Pembrokeshire, Wales, December 12, 2015. (Photo by Rebecca Naden/Reuters)

The finishing touches are made to a giant sculpture on the Hayward Gallery entitled “Urban Fox” and made from straw bales on April 18, 2011 in London, England. The sculpture features in the Southbank Centre's 60th anniversary celebration of the 1951 Festival of Britain. The celebration will feature various cultural and creative events and runs from April 22 until September 4, 2011 at London's Southbank Centre. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Police walk past a burning car during riots in Birmingham City Centre on August 8, 2011 in Birmingham, England. After three nights of rioting and looting in and around London, the chaos is starting to spread to other cities around Britain. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)