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)

On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, a girl costumed as Lord Krishna poses for a photo in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Nayem Shaan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An Orthodox Jew child from Israel yells as other members of the community protest at a government facility where they are being held after being detained last Sunday during an operation by agents of the National Institute of Migration (INM), in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico on September 28, 2022. (Photo by Jose Torres/Reuters)

Pet dogs wearing sunglasses and face mask on board a tricycle are pictured in Chinatown district of Manila on January 20, 2023, ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit which falls on January 22. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)

A model presents a creation from the Gucci Fall-Winter 2022/2023 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2022. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

A toque macaque is eating flowers in the water at the pilgrimage site in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, on January 13, 2024. The toque macaque (Macaca sinica), a reddish-brown-colored Old World monkey, is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the rilewa or rilawa. It is named for the whorl of hair at the crown of its head, which resembles a brimless toque cap. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People in colorful costumes perform acrobatics for drivers waiting at red lights in Nairobi, Kenya on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A car passes through an area of the boardwalk hit by strong waves in Havana, Cuba, 05 February 2024. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) recorded strong gusts of wind of up to 104 kilometers per hour and strong waves in the west of the island due to a cold front associated with an “extratropical low”. (Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA)