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 brig with scarlet sails travels on the Finnish Gulf coast during a rehearsal for the the Scarlet Sails festivities marking school graduation in St. Petersburg, Russia, early Saturday, June 27, 2020. This year the festival will not be held in the city center, but on the Finnish Gulf. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no spectators but the event will be broadcast on television. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Arrow sports his new elastic booties at a PetSmart in Tempe, Ariz. on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Phoenix radio station KSLX handed out the protective coverings to protect dogs' paws from the hot pavement, as temperatures in Phoenix are forecasted to hit 120 degrees (48°C). (Photo by Angie Wang/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 chimpanzee bottle-feeds a lamb at Southam Zoo Farm in Warwickshire. The owners of the zoo, Mr and Mrs Clews, bring up many of the animals as their pets; the animals, are, as a result, of a friendly disposition. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 23rd August 1968

A muddied family photograph sits on a hallway stairwell in an apartment block on March 17, 2011 in Kensennuma, Japan. Residents were allowed back to their homes today and began the massive cleanup operation caused by a 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake that struck on March 11 off the coast of north-eastern Japan. The quake triggered a tsunami wave of up to 10 metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan. The death toll has risen past 5000 with at least 8600 people still missing. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

A 40-foot sculpture of the swimmer Rebecca Adlington was unveiled at the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park on July 25, 2016 to launch a campaign by Kelloggs to encourage the public to support Team GB at the Rio Olympics. (Photo by David Parry/PA Wire/Barcroft Images)

A female street art collective has set a new Guinness World Record to create the largest spray-painted mural by multiple artists. Over 100 international female street artists came together to create the continuous mural in south London’s Leake Street Tunnel, made famous by Banksy, on March 8, 2014. The record was broken as part of all-female street art event Femme Fierce, the largest of its kind in the UK, which aims to celebrate women street artists across the world. Photo: Zabou's witty graffiti. (Photo by Dez Mighty/Susan Mackey)