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)

People have their photographs taken as they throw fallen leaves in autumn colours in Tokyo on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

Sheep stand on a dyke as clouds cover the sky over Tossens, northern Germany, on September 2, 2019. (Photo by Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa/AFP Photo)

An Afghan woman carries bread on a tray, along a street in Kabul on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A car drives between trees in a small park in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, April 8, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Cars drive on an alley between rape fields in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Commuters make their way across a street during rainfall in New Delhi on June 27, 2024. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

People pose on the red carpet at the premiere of “Barbie” on Sunday, July 9, 2023, at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)