Over 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas) making final preparations for flight formation practice before the 75th D-Day Anniversary flight to Normandy in Duxford, England on June 4, 2019. (Photo by UK Air Force Images)

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)

Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria September 6, 2016. (Photo by Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

Women pose for a picture at the entrance of the Carlton Hotel, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria December 17, 2016. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

This handout picture released by the Gagarin Cosmonauts' Training Centre on October 17, 2023 shows Marina Vasilevskaya (L) flying during a parabolic flight aboard a zero-gravity simulator, a Russian IL-76 MDK aircraft used for cosmonauts' training flights in weightlessness, in Star City outside Moscow. (Photo by Pavel Shvets/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center/AFP Photo)

A clothing shop displays its merchandise in the rebel-controlled city of Idlib, Syria November 7, 2015. (Photo by Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

The Solar Impulse 2 airplane, flown by test pilot Markus Scherdel, flies off the coast of Oahu during a test flight from Kalaealoa Airfield in Kapolei, Hawaii, March 3, 2016. The solar-powered plane is ready to continue its revolutionary voyage around the world. After the craft was grounded in Hawaii last July due to overheated batteries, it was repaired and upgraded, and a recent initial test flight proved successful. (Photo by Eugene Tanner/Reuters)

Fort Bourtange is a star fort located in the village of Bourtange, Groningen, Netherlands. It was built in 1593 under the orders of William the Silent. Its original purpose was to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen, which was controlled by the Spaniards during the time of the Eighty Years' War.