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)

Pro-Russian rebels stand near a monument during a ceremony to honour the World War Two defenders of Donetsk from Nazi forces, in Donetsk, in this September 8, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Tsukimi Ayano steps out of her house in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

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)

Olga Fatkulina of the Russian Olympic Committee flops onto the infield after finishing her heat in the women's speedskating 1,000-meter finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, February 17, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

Festival-goers enjoy a fairground ride at Reading Festival in Reading, west of London, on August 27, 2021. As coronavirus covid-19 infection levels rise across the country, vaccines will be offered to revellers throughout the weekend. The organiser of Reading and Leeds Festivals has said such events are arguably “safer places to be” because attendees have been tested for covid-19. The festivals are returning this year with headliners including Stormzy, after being cancelled last year due to the pandemic. (Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP Photo)

Camels kick up clouds of sand as they race down a steep dune. The camels can reach speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour as they descend the ten-metre tall dunes on April 20, 2022. The photos were taken by photographer Qian Guo in Naiman Banner, near the city of Tongliao in the Inner Mongolia region of northeastern China. The 58 year old said: “These are local Mongolian farmers, and two of them are a father and a son. They have more than ten camels which they farm and train”. (Photo by Qian Guo/Solent News & Photo Agency)

The Rockettes perform at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York, US on November 30, 2021. (Photo by Ralph Bavaro/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)