An artist's impression of a growing supermassive black hole located in the early Universe is seen in this NASA handout illustration released on June 15, 2011. Using the deepest X-ray image ever taken, astronomers found the first direct evidence that massive black holes were common in the early universe. This discovery from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory shows that very young black holes grew more aggressively than previously thought, in tandem with the growth of their host galaxies. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/Chandra X-Ray Observatory/A.Hobart)

An incredible view of Thunderstorms light up the insides of clouds near a beautiful sky line. This is truly heavenly weather as pictures taken from an airplane cockpit reveal what pilots see from above. It looks like at cruising altitude the weather really hots up, with the flight deck revealing some amazing scenes. Thunderstorms light up the insides of clouds, lightening streaks across the sky like cracks in a windscreen, the northern lights sweep uninterrupted across the sky and the galaxy stretches on forever. The pictures were captured by senior first officer Christiaan van Heijst, a 33-year-old from the Netherlands, and his friend Daan Krans. (Photo by Christiaan van Heijst/Daan Krans/Caters News Agency)

Saint Nicholas poses with students during a traditional parade in central Brussels, Belgium December 3, 2016. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Men and children gather as a camel is being slaughtered in celebration of Eid al-Adha, in Peshawar, Pakistan on August 12, 2019. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

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

A Cossack slashes a watermelon with a sabre during a sabre-cutting competition in the village of Novosvetlovsky, Rostov region, on August 27, 2023. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

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)