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)

Models walk the runway wearing designs by OMG Swimwear during Miami Swim Week Powered By Art Hearts Fashion at Fountainbleau Miami Beach on July 08, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

Young female Ibex on the fork of Disteis (2,200 m), near the top of the Jof di Montasio (Friuli, Italy). (Photo by Stefano Zocca)

Drag guests attend RuPaul's DragCon UK presented by World Of Wonder at Olympia London on January 19, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for World Of Wonder Productions)

People wearing mushroom hats stand in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A lifeguard warns swimmers as a sea gull flies by on Labor Day at Daytona Beach in Florida on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Climate activists of the “Last Generation” covered with mud protest in front of the Senate building in Rome, Italy, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Two bare breast activists have smeared the facade of the senate with mud, shouting the slogan: “Help us for the ecological transition”. (Photo by Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via EXPA)

From the top of a building, Kanon Kennedy, of Washington, looks down at the Black Lives Matter mural as demolition begins, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo by acquelyn Martin/AP Photo)