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)

Farmers take a break for lunch while celebrating National Paddy Day, also called Asar Pandra, that marks the commencement of rice crop planting in paddy fields as monsoon season arrives, in Kathmandu, Nepal, June 29, 2020. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Rohingya refugees stand outside of their refugee camp on February 11, 2017 in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been stuck in limbo at Indonesia's refugee camps as the plight of Myanmar's ethnic minority continues. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Horse archery competitor Kimberley Robertson with her horse Chiko at her home in Hirstglen, Queensland, Australia on April 9, 2024. (Photo by Aston Brown/The Guardian)

People participate in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam, about 99 km from Mingora in the northern upper reaches of Swat valley on February 12, 2022. (Photo by Abdul Majeed/AFP Photo)

Maudy – Kalulushi, Zambia. Maudy was born in a hut in a small village close to Kalulushi, in Zambia. She grew up playing in the street with the other children in the village, who all attend the same school, where students ages 3 to 10 years old are in the same class. The village has no shops, restaurants or hotels, and just a few children are lucky enough to have toys. Maudy and her friends found a box full of sunglasses on the street, which quickly became their favorite toys. “Toy Stories” project. (Photo and caption by Gabriele Galimberti)

Fighters of the pro-government Popular Resistance Committees militia carry a cannon as they transport it in parts to Yemen's southwestern war-torn city of Taiz December 26, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

It's a 30-day-old Echidna baby, known as a “puggle” – one of only 24 ever bred in captivity. The proud parents are Tippy and Pickle of Australia Zoo. The tiny baby, whose s*x has not yet been identified, hatched from a soft egg and will continue to develop and nurse inside Tippy's warm pouch. (Photo by Australia Zoo/Rex/Sipa Press)