The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, is now in its sixth year and has received over 2,500 entries. Photo: Centre of the Heart Nebula by Ivan Eder (Hungary). Situated 7500 light years away in the “W”-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula is a vast region of glowing gas, energized by a cluster of young stars at its centre. The image depicts the central region, where dust clouds are being eroded and moulded into rugged shapes by the searing cosmic radiation. (Photo by Ivan Eder)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

TVs display a reaction of Japan's Uta Abe, the gold medallist of the judo women's -52kg during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, to celebrate the victory of her brother Hifumi Abe as he wins the judo men's -66kg final at an electronics retail shop in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

One of a members of the Franciscan Action Network and immigration rights activists is arrested during a demonstration calling for the end of immigrant detention on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2019. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

A man paddleboards during a sunrise on the beach in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 23, 2021. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

Sophie Turner (L) attends HBO's Official 2019 Emmy After Party on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO)

David Goffin of Belgium meets a koala during a promotional event for the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2018. (Photo by Fiona Hamilton/Reuters/Tennis Australia)

A visitor visit the “12 Labors of Putin” art exhibition on October 6, 2014 marking the 60th birthday of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the design workshop in Moscow. (Photo by Vasily Maximov/AFP Photo)