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)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

Members of the Communist New Fourth Army on parade. Note how the modern equipment contrasts with the shoeless soldiers in the foreground. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 6th July 1946

American singer Michael Jackson (1958–2009) arrives at Heathrow Airport with his manager Frank DiLeo, on his Bad World Tour, 11th July 1988. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

A model parades an outfit by Australian label Micky In The Van at Melbourne Fashion Week in Melbourne on November 18, 2021. As Australian labels were paraded on the runway at Melbourne Fashion Week, protests took place outside by female warehouse workers claiming they are earning up to $10 less an hour than male counterparts. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

People watch fireworks light the sky as they attend a ceremony celebrating Noruz (Nowruz), the Persian New Year, at the Iran Mall shopping centre in Iran's capital Tehran, on March 20, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A man smokes a water pipe sitting on a bench with his pet parrot at the Ain al Mreisseh seaside promenade in Beirut on June 28, 2024. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP Photo)

A passenger jeepney commutes through a flooded street in Manila on September 5, 2024, caused by heavy rains due to the southwest monsoon influenced by Tropical Storm Yagi which hit the main island of Luzon on September 2. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)