Aurora Australis from Beerbarrel Beach, by James Stone. Runner Up: Aurorae. (Photo by James Stone/Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

Ada Wood, 10, perches on one of Castlerigg’s 38 stones during the summer solstice at Castlerigg stone circle in Cumbria, Britain, on June 21, 2016. (Photo by Christopher Thomond/The Guardian)

American actress Sydney Sweeney rolls around in the grass during a photoshoot early July 2025. (Photo by sydney_sweeney/Instagram)

Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a 24-year-old Muslim woman passes by a group of angry protesters at an Islamic conference in Washington, DC on April 21, 2019. In response, she crouched in front of them and flashed a peace sign. The photo, posted on Instagram, prompted an outpouring of support. (Photo by Shaymaa Ismaa'eel/Instagram)

Young couples compete in Rock' n'Roll & Co, an all- Russian acrobatic rock' n'roll competition in Kazan, Russia on November 4, 2017. Acrobatic rock’n’roll is a discipline for couples combining energetic dancing with acrobatic moves. (Photo by Yegor Aleyev/TASS via Getty Images)

This is the moment fog rolls through a valley making trees disappear as if covered by giant waves in a sea. The fog was rolling in over the sub-alpine mountain range of the Jura Mountains in Switzerland, February 2023. (Photo by Rainer Awiszus-Emser/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Polish police in riot gear detain protesters, angry over new restrictions aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, October 24, 2020. The protesters included entrepreneurs, far-right politicians, football fans and vaccine opponents. The clashes come amid rising social tensions and as new restrictions just short of a full lockdown took effect Saturday. (Photo by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo)

The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich sponsored by Insight Investment and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. This year astrophotographers from 91 countries sent in more than 4,200 spectacular entries. Here: The Milky Way rises above an isolated lighthouse in Tasmania. Shot by James Stone of Australia. (Photo by James Stone/Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018)