Some of the best entries so far in the 2016 Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. There are two weeks left to enter, and the winners will be announced in September. Here: Aurora over Laksvatn Fjord, Laksvatn, Norway. The aurora borealis dances in the skies over the town of Laksvatn, with the Milky Way to the left. The image is a single shot with no compositing, only post-processing to bring out the aurora, and some colour corrections. The photographer Matt Walford said: “I love the way the northern lights look like they are just wistfully dancing over the fjord, framed by the mountains on either side”. (Photo by Matt Walford/National Maritime Museum)

A shooting star (L, top) is seen on the night sky during the perseid meteor shower in Jankowo, near Poznan, 11 August 2016. The first half of August is traditionally the best time to look out for meteors called “shooting stars”, or perseids which are the leftover dust particles of a comet tail associated with comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Lukasz Ogrodowczyk/EPA)

A gaucho is unseat by a wild horse during the annual celebration of Criolla Week in Montevideo, March 30, 2015. Throughout Easter Week, “gauchos”, the Latin American equivalent of the North American cowboy, from all over Uruguay and neighboring Argentina and Brazil will visit Montevideo to participate in the Criolla Week to win the best rider award. The competition is held from March 29 to April 5 this year. (Photo by Andres Stapff/Reuters)

The first legal wedding ceremony in history was performed in a hot tub when Leslie Davis, 23, and Richard Bustardo, 29, got married during the Backyard Living Show in Los Angeles, March 26, 1975. The ceremony was held in a five-foot hot tub, with the bride wearing a bikini and the groom attired in swimming trunks and top hat. In background is best man Arnold Holland and bridesmaid Bonnie Heckenbach, who joined the couple in the same hot tub. Officiating is Betty Jane Shaw, left. (Photo by Harold Filan/AP Photo)

Brazilian singer Anitta performs during the “Ensaios de Anitta” show, an event that is part of a pre-carnival tour that makes its way through several Brazilian cities, paying tribute to a samba school in each performance at the Jockey Club of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 January 2024. Anitta only performs this time of year in her country and said that experiencing a carnival is the best way to get to know the Brazilian people because all the energy of its people is concentrated on a single topic. (Photo by Andre Coelho/EPA/EFE)

The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. Photo: A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Ciara is the latest victim to be pranked by Vitalii Sediuk outside the Valentino Fashion Show today during Paris Fashion Week on September 30, 2014. The singer looked chic in a red lace outfit with a black coat hanging over her shoulders and was all smiles while posing for pictures. However, the fun was ruined when Vitalii threw off his cape to reveal a Chanel top and speedos with a message on his right thigh, reading “Ban in USA but I Rock Chanel”. No big altercation went down but Ciara’s security removed him from the crowd. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Shironeko, also known as “Basket Cat”, is a Turkish van cat called “Shiro”, which is best known for his extremely relaxed demeanor and ability to balance things on his head, similar to Oolong the Pancake Bunny. The cat has been given several nicknames by its fans, most notably “Basket Cat” and “Zen Cat.”