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)

A drunk racegoer lays on the ground as her friend tries to wake her up during the Emirates Melbourne Cup Day held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne Australia, on November 4, 2014. (Photo by Asanka Brendon/Rex Features)

A woman poses next to a giant mining truck at the entrance of the Dakar Rally camp in Calama, Chile. The truck operates in copper mines near the city. (Photo by Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press)

It wasn’t exactly the Westminster Dog Show, but it was serious stuff. Photo: five-month-old Carly LeRolls Gottesman, at Pooch Prom at Downtown at the Gardens on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Carly was crowned the 2014 Pooch Prom queen. (Photo by Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post)

A man dressed as Mr. Destructoid checks his mobile phone while gamers play a game at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn

An Australian athlete does a handstand as she arrives with her teammates during the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday July 23, 2014. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

GDT Naturfotograf 2014 – “Die besten Naturfotografien des Jahres”. Radomir Jakubowski – Spieglein Spieglein. 2nd place: Mammals. (Photo by Radomir Jakubowski)

“Strike Through The Mothership”. Every May for the last 3 years I have driven down to Tornado Alley to capture some amazing storms. This supercell held so much promise to drop a tornado but one small shift in the atmosphere and all that it produced was an extreme lightning show. Photo location: Broken Bow, Nebraska. (Photo and caption by Vanessa Neufeld/National Geographic Photo Contest)