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)

This is the incredible moment a fierce lightning bolt crashed against the Grand Canyon illuminating the steep canyon walls. Shrouded in darkness, the breath-taking landscape was shocked into life as mother nature sent the bolt storming down to Earth. As it cracked against the rocks the bright blue bolt illuminated the South Rim of the canyon, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. With just the Desert View Watchtower in the foreground, the lightning was perfectly framed by the canyon which is located in Arizona, USA. (Photo by Travis Roe/U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Caters News)

On Guard, Indonesia, by Riksa Dewantara. The explosive eruption and loud rumbling of the Mount Bromo volcano in Bromo Semeru Tengger national park scared the horse causing it to rear up onto its hind legs. Second place, Journeys and Adventures category. (Photo by Riksa Dewantara/SIPA Contest)

American television presenter Ashley Roberts attends day one of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by CarverPR)

M42 Subtle V1 cropped. One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is its home. This complex also includes another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard’s Loop and the Running Man Nebula, which can be seen to the left of this photograph. (Photo by Patrick Gilliland)

A market trader in Gaibandha in Bangladesh on September 25, 2019, surrounded by bottle gourd vegetables, which sell for around 3p ($ 0.04) each. (Photo by Solent News)

Aerial view of contestants attending the opening ceremony of a dragon boat race on the Rongjiang River at Rong'an County on October 10, 2020 in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. (Photo by Tan Kaixing/VCG via Getty Images)

Denmark's forward #10 Pernille Harder celebrates scoring her team's first goal during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group D football match between Haiti and Denmark at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth on August 1, 2023. (Photo by Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters)