In this handout photograph received from Sumukha J.N on December 15, 2016, the newly-discovered spider Eriovixia Gryffindori sits on a leaf in the Kans in India's Western Ghats. (Photo by Sumukha J.N./AFP Photo)

Wakodahatchee wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida, US. Equipped with sinewy necks and spear-like bills, great blue herons can lunge with fearsome speed to strike their aquatic prey. Adults will also employ rapid stabbing motions as one aspect of their complex courtship displays; they’re seemingly dangerous moves, but fitting to the intensity of mating season. (Photo by Melissa Rowell/Audubon Photography Awards)

A woman poses for a friend next to blossoming trees in the A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

A fly rides a butterly, July 2016. (Photo by Petar Sabol Sharpeye/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A man smokes marijuana during a demonstration in support of the legalization of marijuana in Medellin, May 2, 2015. (Photo by Fredy Builes/Reuters)

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)

Revellers parade for Gavioes da Fiel samba school during carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 6, 2016. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

African ostrichs are seen during sunny autumn day in the largest ostrich farm “Nornieki” in Snepele, Latvia, 18 October 2021. (Photo by Toms Kalnins/EPA/EFE)