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 young woman poses for a selfie at Red Square which is under preparations for the Victory Parade during sunset in Moscow, Russia, Monday, April 26, 2021. Russia will celebrate celebrate 76 years of the victory in WWII on May 9, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

An Iraqi medic takes a nasal swab from a woman in Iraq's central shrine city of Najaf on April 20, 2020, during the nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Haidar Hamdani/AFP Photo)

Women walk past a pile of rubbish bags on a street during a strike by garbage collectors demanding delayed salaries in Sanaa, Yemen May 8, 2017. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

A Somali police officer arrests a suspected rebel member of the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for today's pre-dawn attack on a Kenyan university campus near the Somali border. The following gallery examines who is al Shabaab. Here: Somali police officer (R) arrests a suspected rebel member (L) of the Al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers at the Lido beach north of Somalia's capital Mogadishu March 23, 2012. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

Enthusiast Desirae Hepp, dressed as "Immortan Joe," poses for a portrait during Wasteland Weekend event in California City, California September 26, 2015. The four-day event has a post-apocalyptic theme and is inspired by the Mad Max movie franchise. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Penitentes, or nieves penitentes (Spanish for “penitent-shaped snows”), are a snow formation found at high altitudes. They take the form of tall thin blades of hardened snow or ice, closely spaced with the blades oriented towards the general direction of the sun.

Two terrified occupants of a Volkswagen Polo found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time as the giant animal stooped down to rub itself against the vehicle's roof and bonnet. The incredible scene was captured by field guide and lodge manager Armand Grobler, 21, at Pilanesburg National Park in South Africa. (Photo by Armand Grobler/Barcroft Media)