A young woman takes pictures of the city with her mobile phone, from the glass-floor observation platform, in the Oriental Pearl Tower, in the financial district of Shanghai, on May 9, 2019. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Russian cadet preparing before the International Kremlin Cadet Ball in Moscow, Russia 12 December 2017. More than 1500 students from all Russian cadets school attend in Cadet Ball. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

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)

Gold bars from the vault of a bank and Swiss one franc coins are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. The “Save our Swiss gold” proposal, spearheaded by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), aims to ban the central bank from offloading its reserves and oblige it to hold at least 20 percent of its assets in gold. The referendum is scheduled for November 30. The SVP argues it would secure a stable Swiss franc. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Grafitti by the illusive artist Banksy adorns the levee wall in the Lower Ninth Ward on August 29, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. New works by the artist, whose paintings are also sold in galleries, have been popping up throughout New Orleans coinciding with the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Soyuz VS01 is lifts off at the European Spaceport on October 21, 2011 in Kourou, French Guiana. The Soyuz VS01 rocket is carrying the first two satellites of Europe's Galileo navigation satellite system into orbit. (Photo by Stephane Corvaja/ESA via Getty Images)

Bella Hadid attends the “Tre Piani (Three Floors)” screening during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 11, 2021 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

Plebes form a human pyramid to place an upperclassman hat atop the 21-foot vegetable shortening-covered Herndon Monument, a tradition marking the end of their plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S., May 23, 2022. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)