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)

In this picture taken Thursday, August 4, 2016, seal Tristan looks out of a basket while being released into the North Sea together with others at the beach of the island Juist, Germany. He is part of the first group of released seals of the seal breeding station Norddeich this year. (Photo by Carmen Jaspersen/DPA via AP Photo)

Luling, Louisiana, US. New evidence contradicts previous claims of the relative safety of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, which is manufactured here. It is often used in conjunction with seeds that have been genetically modified to tolerate its application, meaning that anyone consuming these crops is eating a genetically modified plant, and whatever residue of the pesticide that remains. (Photo by J. Henry Fair/Industrial Scars/Papadakis Publisher)

CANADA: Stanley Ferdinand filets large trout he caught in Great Bear Lake in Deline, Northwest Territories, Canada September 8, 2016. (Photo by Pat Kane/Reuters)

A dog at the Zoozashchita-NN veterinary clinic in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on February 19, 2021. On February 13, 13 stray dogs with bright blue fur were found and caught at the Dzerzhinskoye Steklo (Dzerzhinsk Glass) factory producing acrylic glass and prussic acid in the city of Dzerzhinsk. The dogs' fur tested positive for the Prussian blue pigment; now the dogs are under supervision at the Zoozashchita-NN vet clinic in Nizhny Novgorod. (Photo by Mikhail Solunin/TASS)

An amazing photo shows a rare meteor shower captured from Glastonbury Tor, UK. Astrophotographer Josh Dury took the photo when the skies cleared for 30 minutes in the early hours of the morning on January 4, 2024. Josh said the Quadrantids meteor shower is an active shower where up to 100 meteors can be seen per hour, although it only peaks for a few hours during January. He said that meteor showers are produced by debris left over from comets – but what produces the meteors during the Quadrantids meteor shower is unknown. (Photo by Josh Dury/South West News Service)

“Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor white farmers in the Southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Alabama), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality).

The Redneck Games are held in East Dublin, Georgia annually. The games were started by General Manager for WQZY-FM «Y96»; Mac Davis in response to a comment made by the media; that when the 1996 Olympic Games went to Atlanta, it would be held by a group of rednecks”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Barbara “Redneck Queen” Bailey shows the crowd the proper way to do the Bellyflop during the 13th Annual Summer Redneck Games July 11, 2009 in East Dublin, Georgia. Bailey won the event several year running in the 1990s. (Photo by Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

“Winter Climbing from inside Ben Nevis”. The view from inside the mountain, as a winter climber passes through the cave on Minus Three gully. Photo location: Ben Nevis, Fort William, Scotland. (Photo and caption by Daniel Wildey/National Geographic Photo Contest)