A 180 degrees rotated photograph shows the shadows of Polina (L), a six-year-old Belarusian first grade school girl, and her father, cast on the street while on their way to Polina's first day of school, which marks the traditional start of the academic year, in Minsk, Belarus, 02 September 2019. The start of a new academic year in Belarus, officially called Day of Knowledge, is a festive day for all school and university students in the country. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg reacts during a news conference during COP25 climate summit in Madrid, Spain, December 9, 2019. (Photo by Juan Medina/Reuters)

A cosplayer poses during New York Comic Con 2023 – Day 4 at Javits Center on October 15, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for ReedPop)

A girl shows off her elaborate outfit at the West Side Hallo Fest, a Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, October 27, 2023. Tens of thousands streamed last weekend to Bucharest's Angels' Island peninsula for what was the biggest Halloween festival in the Eastern European nation since the fall of Communism. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

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 participant rests while people take part in the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York, June 20, 2015. The annual parade, founded in 1983, seeks to bring mythology to life for residents, create confidence in the district and to allow artistic self-expression in public, according to the parade's website. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Marieke van der Meer from the Netherlands works on her sculpture “Flora” at the sand sculpture show in Binz on Ruegen island, Germany, 09 March 2016. With the motto “Fascination Nature”, 50 sand artists have created oversized sculptures. The sculptors use 16,000 tons of special sand that is pressed into big blocks first and then formed. The 7th sand sculpture show on 5,600 square meters of exhibition ground opens on 12 March 2016. (Photo by Ens Buettner/EPA)

A dirty thunderstorm occurs over Mount Sakurajima as the volcano erupts violently at 12:03 am on July 26, 2016 in Tarumizu, Kagoshima, Japan. The eruption occurred at the mountain's Showa crater. This is the first time that the active volcano in southern Kyushu has spewed out a smokestack that high since an eruption on August 18, 2013, according to the Kagoshima Meteorological Office. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)