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 photograph made available on 30 September 2016 showing wind turbines at the site of the highest wind park in Europe at the Griessee, near the Nufenenpass in the Swiss south Alpes, Valais, Switzerland, on 23 September 2016. The four wind turbines of this wind park were developed by the company SwissWinds GmbH and are inaugurated on, 30 September 2016. (Photo by Olivier Maire/EPA)

Nicki Minaj attends the Haider Ackermann show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2017/2018 on March 4, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Indian Students of Rabindra Bharati University at the BT Road Campuses Celebrates the Holi, Color Festival on March 09, 2017 in Kolkata.Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month, and will be celebrated on March 13 this year. (Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto)

In this Sunday, March 29, 2015 photo, a young performer from the Parinacochas district of Ayacuhco dances in the Vencedores de Ayacucho dance festival, in the Acho bullring in Lima, Peru. The performers sang in the Quechua language, portraying the planting of corn and potatoes. From very young children to elderly people dressed as farmers, tigers, and foxes, as well as members of auto-defense groups, soldiers and police officers, to portray the violence that tore apart their families and communities. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A military police officer aims his gun to a demonstrator during a protest in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The officer had picked up a bottle that was thrown towards them but did not fire his gun and backed away. Thousands of workers have staged rallies in 12 cities across Brazil to protest against a proposed law that would allow companies to outsource their labor force. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

“Sunward”. When the Mediterrenean Mantis opened its wings, It seemed very impressive at the sunshine... Photo location: Nicosia, Cyprus. (Photo and caption by Hasan Baglar/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A coil-shaped Helix Nebula showing a fine web of filamentary “bicycle-spoke” features embedded in the colorful red and blue ring of gas. At 650 light-years away, the Helix is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth. A planetary nebula is the glowing gas around a dying, Sun-like star. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)