Aerial view of the Christ The Protector Statue and the Valle de Taquari on April 20, 2021 in Encantado, Brazil. The statue being built in Encantado, southern Brazil, will surpass the iconic Christ The Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro by seven meters. Made of steel and concrete, it will stand 43 meters including its pedestal, and become the third-tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

White horses of the Camargue thunder through the shallow salt flats at sunset on December 8, 2022. Known as Horses of the Sea, the breed native to the wetlands in southern France is one of the oldest in the world. (Photo by Nathalie Mountain/Media Drum Images)

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)

Pictured is the sunset at Stonehenge in Wiltshire on Saturday night, September 24, 2022. (Photo by Nick Bull/pictureexclusive.com)

A highland cow in Purbeck, Dorset shows off for the camera in the second decade of February 2023. (Photo by Kate Fry/Bournemouth News)

Carnival revellers take the metro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 19, 2023. Shaking the ground to the beat of their drums, Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival parades returned Sunday in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba, the festival's first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil's bitterly divisive elections. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

“Catch of the Decade”. Can you guess what happened next? Photo location: Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA. (Photo and caption by Aaron Baggenstos/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A young child reaches out to a Gentoo penguin as it swims in its enclosure at Pairi Daiza Park in Cambron-Casteau, Belgium, Monday, July 5, 2021. Pairi Daiza, one of the biggest zoos in Europe, has recently added ten Gentoo penguins to their animal population. (Photo by Virginia Mayo/AP Photo)