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)

The Jet Propulsion Lab team's RoboSimian robot turns on a valve at a simulated disaster-response course during day one of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge finals in Pomona, California, June 5, 2015. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)

Goats wait to get unloaded from a vehicle at a livestock market during Dashain, the biggest religious festival for Hindus in Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal October 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Luling, Louisiana, US. New evidence contradicts previous claims of the relative safety of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, which is manufactured here. It is often used in conjunction with seeds that have been genetically modified to tolerate its application, meaning that anyone consuming these crops is eating a genetically modified plant, and whatever residue of the pesticide that remains. (Photo by J. Henry Fair/Industrial Scars/Papadakis Publisher)

Supporters react as U.S. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington, U.S., October 3, 2019. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Reuters)

Monks attend a prayer service for blessing at the Gandan Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, February 5, 2020. Tibetan Buddhist temples held prayer services to support novel coronavirus-infected areas in China. The monks here were also organized to donate money to help fight against the epidemic. (Photo by Chogo/Xinhua News Agency)

Caesar McCool, a therapy llama nicknamed the “No Drama Llama” and his handler Larry McCool greet a driver in a McLaren at the site of ongoing protests against police violence and racial inequality, in Portland, Oregon, U.S., August 6, 2020. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Director George Clooney reacts as he and his wife lawyer Amal Clooney arrive for a screening of the film “The Tender Bar” as part of the BFI London Film Festival, in London, Britain, October 10, 2021. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/Reuters)