“Centuries ago, Inuit hunted the bowhead whale. At that time, whale hunting undoubtedly was part of a complex and very important ritual, if only because of the size of the catch. The position that the ancestors of today's Inuit occupied in the living world involved a relationship with the spirit that inhabited each animal but also their species”. (Photo by Robert Frechette/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

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)

Iranian worshippers chant slogans during a protest after their Friday prayer, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad on September 14, 2012. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/Associated Press)

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)

A man is silhouetted in front of the Allianz-Arena as he walks his dogs at sunrise in Munich, southern Germany, Friday, April 10, 2015. (Photo by Peter Kneffel/AP Photo/DPA)

The Jet Propulsion Lab team's RoboSimian robot turns on a valve at a simulated disaster-response course during day one of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge finals in Pomona, California, June 5, 2015. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)

A demonstrator is carried during a rally in support of a identity check draft law and against delinquency, in Santiago, Chile April 30, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Vera/Reuters)

The three orangutans at Pairi Daiza zoo, Belgium, developed a “special bond” with the otters after their river was run through the ape enclosure on March 2020. The zoo said it enriched both species’ environments. An animal – and this is even more the case of orangutans, with whom humans share 97 per cent of their DNA – must be entertained, occupied, challenged and kept busy mentally, emotionally and physically at all times. (Photo by Pascale Jones/The Sun)