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)

Japanese chorus girls appear to be drilling in military tactics atop their theater building as they perform salutes, June 30, 1937. The officer is from the Japanese regular army and says the girls display more rhythm in their drills than do the regular troops. (Photo by AP Photo)

Military officers look at an AR-10 sniper rifle at LAAD, the biggest military industry expo in Latin America in Sao Paulo, Brazil April 10, 2018. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Participants of the “Torture Ships” walk to the pier where the Ship of lacquer and leather will undock with hundreds watching in Friedrichshafen, Germany on June 23, 2018. (Photo by Felix Kästle/DPA)

Fresh produce and baskets of fish surround a woman at the Siti Khadijah market in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. (Photo by Duratul Ain D.)

A man dressed as Santa Claus sits at a bus stop before an annual race in Belgrade, Serbia December 27, 2015. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

A migrant labourer brushes his teeth in front of a scrapped helicopter model in Mumbai, India, April 13, 2016. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

A demonstrator is carried during a rally in support of a identity check draft law and against delinquency, in Santiago, Chile April 30, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Vera/Reuters)