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)

Snorkelers interact with a Florida Manatee inside of the Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida January 15, 2015. On winter days, Florida manatees flock by the hundreds to the balmy waters of Three Sisters Springs, drawing crowds of snorkelers and kayakers to the U.S. sanctuary, where people may swim with the endangered species. But as tolerant as the gentle, whiskered sea giants can be of the accidental kicks and splashes of delighted tourists, wild life regulators want to ban most canoes and paddle boards and create people-free zones to protect the wintering “sea cow”. Proposed limitations for this winter are awaiting approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Photo by Scott Audette/Reuters)

A man suffering from mental illness sits chained on a bed in his room inside his family home in Curug Sulanjana village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. In a programme launched this year, Indonesia sends teams of workers into often-remote hamlets to help free patients kept in chains and ensure they get the medical treatment they need. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

Shephen Shine, 27, who lost a leg when serving in Iraq in 2007, is tattood with a regimental tattoo reading “Their Sacrifice – Our Freedom” during the Ink For Heroes event on June 18, 2011 in Catterick, England. Ink For Heroes is a charity event to raise money and awareness of the soldiers that get injured during service, with all proceeds going to both “Help The Heroes” and “The British Legion”. Injured soldiers can also get tattooed for free during the event. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

Italian architect Giovanni Pesamosca’s work is reaching scenic new heights. His cabin is perched on the edge of Foronon Buinz in Italy’s Julian Alps. The pre fabricated structure was placed at the spectacular location in memory of deceased climber Luka Vuerich, and is now providing free accommodation complete with jaw dropping panoramic views for up to nine people… the intrepid kind willing to make a long trek to 8303 feet (2531 meters) above sea level.

“In a nutshell and to prevent my english readers from experiencing eye bleeding after having read too many syntax errors, I’m a french journalist – I work as an editor, not as photographer – who happens to be nuts about photography. Being the happy owner of too many Leica M for a man to shoot, I spend most of my free time shooting my friend and my town, Strasbourg, in b&w and sometimes in colors”. – Manuel Plantin

Photo: “Even detectives got the blues”. Strasbourg, 2011 (Photo by Manuel Plantin)

In this May 24, 2017, photo, DriveTanks.com customers drive on a tank course at Ox Ranch in Uvalde, Texas. The ranch is a free-roaming range filled with exotic animals, some to hunt, and home to DriveTanks.com, where tourists pay to transport themselves into another era and another life. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP Photo)