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)

This Hawaiian cat sanctuary has created an “island paradise” for the state’s stray cats. Although most people would take a trip to one of the Hawaiian Islands’ many heavenly sights, Andrew Marttila, 32, and his partner, Hannah Shaw, 30, wanted to visit something more unusual. They decided to take a trip to the Lanai Cat Sanctuary, which is currently home to more than 500 felines. Here: Kitten Lady, 30, is surrounded by rescued cats at the the Lanai Cat Sanctuary in Hawaii. (Photo by Andrew Marttila/Caters News Agency)

“DC3 Wreck”. A capture of a US military DC3 plane wreck at the southern black beach in Iceland. Photo location: Iceland. (Photo and caption by Naian Feng/National Geographic Photo Contest)

NYPD police wearing protective face masks and gloves respond to a report of an emotionally disturbed person (EDP), amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in the Midtown Manhattan area of New York City, U.S., September 15, 2021. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

A tern chased away a ghost crab that was threatening its chicks at a beach near Fort Myers, Florida in the last decade of June 2023, before feeding them with freshly caught fish. (Photo by Judy Rogero/Solent News)

A man rides a skateboard at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Hundreds of joggers, dog walkers, skateboarders and picnicking families come each day. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

American media personality and socialite Kim Kardashian shared photos from her lavish trip to Turks and Caicos in the second decade of January 2024. Kim posed for selfies in the revealing look. (Photo by Kim Kardashian/Instagram)

Weddell seal numbers in 2025 have declined sharply on Signy Island, part of the South Orkney Islands in the Southern Ocean, where British Antarctic Survey researchers have tracked seal populations for nearly 50 years to understand the impact of melting sea ice. (Photo by Michael Dunn/The Times)