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 woman athlete aims an air rifle while competing in a local shooting championship in Yemen's Huthi rebel-held capital Sanaa on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP Photo)

A flock of sheep and goats is led by shepherds to pastures at a mountain village on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 27 July 2023. At least eight million sheep and goats from about 470,000 pastoralist and agro pastoralist households across Yemen will be treated and vaccinated over the two years 2023 and 2024, in an effort to reduce livestock losses, improve production efficiency, and household income generation amid an acute food insecurity, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported. (Photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA)

A woman looks out of the window of a house as saris, traditional clothing worn by women, are hanged out to dry in Lalitpur, Nepal on April 17, 2019. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attends the inauguration ceremony of Jacob Zuma on May 9, 2009 in Pretoria, South Africa. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is South Africa's fourth President since the end of apartheid. (Photo by Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Participants climb over a wall at the “Tough Mudder” endurance event series in Arnsberg September 6, 2014. Competitors who took part in the endurance event saw themselves having to overcome various military style obstacles. (Photo by Ina Fassbender/Reuters)

From Britain to China to Mali, new maps showing travel times to the nearest urban centre reveal huge differences between countries. Using Open Street Map and Google, a University of Oxford team have created a visual breakdown that suggests major inequalities when it comes to commuting. Here: China. The dataset used for China was unique as it relied solely on Open Street Map, due to restrictions on accessing Google data. The population is densely concentrated in the east and accessibility is increased, whereas rural provinces in the west remain remote. (Photo by Daniel Weiss/Jennifer Rozier/Malaria Atlas Project/University of Oxford)

Australian model Kate Fischer (Tziporah Malkah) poses with a Cointreau Ball to celebrate France’s founding anniversary in Sydney, Australia on July 14, 1996. (Photo by Getty Images)