Astronomy Photographer of the Year judges explain how to get involved in astrophotography

The vivid green Northern Lights resemble a bird soaring over open water in Olderdalen, Norway. This image, by Jan R Olsen of Norway, is one of those shortlisted in this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

The award winning entries in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 competition in the category ‘Our Moon’. The winners of the competition’s nine categories and two special prizes were announced at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The prestigious Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 competition received 2700 spectacular entries from over 60 countries and the winners will be announced 17 September.