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 Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above Inspiration Point early on August 12, 2016 in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. The annual display, known as the Perseid shower because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth's orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Indian school children wearing traditional Punjabi attire sit as they take part in the full and final dress rehearsal for India's Independence Day parade and celebrations in Amritsar, India, 13 August 2016. India's 70th Independence Day will be celebrated on 15 August, to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. (Photo by Raminder Pal Singh/EPA)

“A fter the former Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test in August 1949, the US reevaluated its postwar defense policies. With the US monopoly on atomic weapons broken, military and political leaders chose to diversify the American stockpile by developing thermonuclear and tactical nuclear weapons. One of the more interesting concepts to come out of this period was atomic artillery, which was successfully tested at the Nevada Proving Grounds (now the Nevada Test Site) in May 1953”. – Alan Carr. Photo: Atomic Annie at work during the Upshot-Knothole test series, 1953. (Photo by Los Alamos National Laboratory/US Army)

Young “scissors” dancers pose after performing in a national scissors dance competition at Lima's Exposition Park, May 18, 2014. The Danza de las tijeras, or scissors dance, is a traditional dance from the Peruvian southern region of the Andes, in which two or more performers take turns dancing while accompanied with music from a harp and a violin. Dancers would display various skills and moves, which include cutting the air with the use of a scissors. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)

“These are the stunning shots of one photographer who is putting everyday “selfies” to shame. Paul Zizka, 34, began experimenting with night photography just two years ago and immediately became fascinated with the spectacular scenes he discovered. To create something more unique he started adding himself into the shot – as well as showing others the beautiful surroundings he had been exploring. Using lengthy exposure, the photographer felt that featuring himself in some of his shots – the night sky illuminating the mountains around him – created a relationship between the central figure in the image and the nature around him”. – Caters News. Photo: Paul Zizka in “Galactic Gateway”, Bow Lake, Banff National Park, May 11, 2013. (Photo by Paul Zizka/Caters News)

Londoners walking through Potters Field Park were surprised to see a “money tree” blooming with £9820 in £10 notes, the average amount a working British family has in savings, on July 24, 2014 in London, England. The tree was planted by Sunlife to encourage the nation to start saving at least £10 a month for a brighter future. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for SunLife)

A Waura Indian woman watches the activities of this year's “quarup”, a ritual held over several days to honour in death a person of great importance to them, in Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso State, August 24, 2013. This year the Waura tribe is honouring their late cacique (chief) Atamai, who died in 2012 and helped created the Xingu Park, and his important contribution in facilitating communication between white Brazilians and Indians. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)