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)

Yan Mengjie sits on a boat as she poses for photos near Erhai Lake in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China on June 16, 2019. Erhai is one of China's biggest freshwater lakes and a backdrop to the city of Dali, which drew 47 million visitors last year, more than triple the number in 2010. Hotels and homestays have sprung up along a 31-mile (50-km) stretch of lakeside road to accommodate tourists. But officials ordered some hotels demolished after President Xi Jinping during a 2015 visit called for the lake to be protected. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

“These are the mind-blowing artworks of one professor who has dedicated his professional life to studying and generating a series of dizzying optical illusions. Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, from Ritsumseikan University, in Kyoto, Japan, has spent more than a decade creating his collecting of stomach-churning works. His designs have been used by the likes of Lady Gaga, who ran the Kitaokas work, entitled Gangaze, as the CD cover for her album Art Pop, in 2013”. – Caters News. (Photo by Akiyoshi Kitaoka/Caters News)

Lava crosses the main road to Grindavík and flows on the road leading to the Blue Lagoon, in Grindavík, Iceland, Thursday, February 8, 2024. (Photo by Marco Di Marco/AP Photo)

Some of the worlds most iconic cities have been photographed as youve never seen them before in the shape of tiny round planets. By using a pioneering method of aerial photography, each location can be now seen at a full 360 degree angle. After some skilful manipulation on Photoshop known technically as stereographic projection, each sweeping panorama is then turned into a small circular shaped image. Whether its the Eiffel Tower, The Empire State Building or the Shanghai Skyline, each image manages to show hundreds of miles of city landscape. Here: the French Riveria of Cannes, France. (Photo by Airpano/Caters News)

Life reconstruction of the new oviraptorosaurian dinosaur species Anzu wyliei in its 66 million-year-old environment in western North America as seen in an undated handout illustration by Mark A. Klinger, Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Some 18,000 species, great and small, were discovered in 2014, adding to the 2 million already known, scientists said on May 21, 2015 as they released a “Top 10” list that highlights the diversity of life. Anzu wyliei, one of the top 10, dubbed “the chicken from hell”, is extinct. The feathered dinosaur whose partial skeletons were unearthed in the Dakotas was a contemporary of T. rex and Triceratops. (Photo by Mark A. Klingler/Reuters/Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

A Belgian shrimp fisherman rides a carthorse to haul a net out in the sea to catch shrimps during low tide at the coastal town of Oostduinkerke, Belgium July 3, 2015. At the end of each fishing session, the fishermen and their mounts leave the water to empty the net's contents into two wicker baskets fixed on each side of the horse. This traditional method of catching shrimps along the North Sea coast, which dates back to some 500 years, attracts tourists every summer. In 2013, Unesco recognized shrimp fishing on horseback as an intangible cultural heritage. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

An injured fan is helped by a riot policeman during clashes between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade fans in the stadium before the teams' Serbian Superliga soccer match in Belgrade, April 25, 2015. Serbian league leaders Partizan Belgrade held champions and bitter city foes Red Star to a 0-0 draw in a derby match marred by bad crowd trouble before kickoff on Saturday. The start was delayed for 45 minutes after home Red Star supporters pelted riot police with seats and flares, forcing officers to retreat from the north tier that houses the club's diehard fans. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)