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On September 12, the Royal Observatory Greenwich will announce the winning shots of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. But before the announcement, the team has shared with us a shortlist of some of the most evocative shots among the entries. Picking them was not easy – there were over 3,500 entries by amateurs and professional photographers from 58 countries around the world.  The competition has been run for 16 years and awards three people - a winner, a runner-up, and a highly commended prize - for each of the nine main categories and two special prizes. And there will be an overall winner who will take home a £10,000 prize.     The categories are people and space; skyscapes; aurorae; our Sun; our Moon; planets, comets, and asteroids; stars and nebulae; galaxies; and an award for people 16 years old or younger. The special prizes are the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer and the Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation. The latter is awarded for the best-processed images from open-source data from established telescopes. The competition is organized by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, with Liberty Specialty Markets and BBC Sky at Night Magazine. Below are some of our favorite entries in the shortlist with captions provided by the Royal Observatory GreenwichSkyscapesA Cosmic Firework: the Geminid Meteor Shower - This photograph of the Geminid meteor shower was taken under perfect conditions on La Palma. During the peak of the night, Sahner could easily spot two or three or more meteors per minute within the field of view. The panorama shows the entire winter Milky Way as seen from La Palma in RGB natural color with extra details in H-alpha.Image Credit: © Jakob SahnerAuroral Touch: the Milky Way’s Close Encounter - This image was taken in Castle Hill, New Zealand, facing south as the Milky Way set. Partway through the night, Hall-Fernandez noticed a faint glow growing stronger, though he was not expecting to see the Aurora Australis. As the aurora was very far away, only the deep reds were visible.Image Credit: © Chester Hall-FernandezGalaxiesThe Galaxy Devourer - CG4 (Cometary Globule 4) is a complex of nebulosity and dust with a very peculiar shape, located in the southern constellation of Puppis. The ‘head’ of the galactic worm has dimensions of about 1.5 light years. This image is the result of the work of a team of astrophotographers: they joined forces to rent the powerful Newtonian 500-mm telescope from Chilescope service, processing the raw files and then voted for the best images.Image Credit: © ShaRaAuroraeArctic Dragon - This impressive aurora, which seemingly takes the form of a dragon, was the result of a geomagnetic storm (level G2) generated by a coronal mass ejection. The photo was captured at the Arctic Henge, which was one of the only places in Iceland with clear skies that night.Image Credit: © Carina Letelier BaezaA Night with the Valkyries - A view of the Eystrahorn Mountain on the night of a KP7 storm (a strong geomagnetic storm that can cause aurorae and upset electrical power systems). The intensity of the storm resulted in the impressive range of colors in the sky.Image Credit: © Jose Miguel Picon ChimelisOur SunSolar Pulsation - This image captures a sunspot erupting at the edge of the Sun where material is ejected from an active volcano. Dual filters were used to improve contrast and the stereoscopic effect.Image Credit: © Wenlian LiTotal Solar Eclipse - Gwenaël Blanck traveled to Australia in April 2023 to see the 62-second-long total solar eclipse. In this collage he shows the corona and the pink chromosphere, the prominences and Baily’s beads, chinks of sunlight that shine through due to the Moon’s rugged landscape. The image is made of seven superimposed pictures, one overexposed for the background and six others for the chromosphere and prominences.Image Credit: © Gwenaël BlanckThe Palette of the Himalayas - During the Spring Festival, the Sun and altostratus clouds acted together to create this huge corona, soaring above the Himalayas. The result is an enormous color palette above the snowy peaks.Image Credit: © Geshuang Chen

The best way to mark the beginning of time off is to listen to Todd Rundgren's “Bang The Drum All Day” at high volume. This is most effective played over local terrestrial radio and introduced by a DJ named “Scooter” or “The Bearman,” while you and Carol from accounts payable play air drums. Unfortunately, we live in a society that doesn't understand the value of tradition. Still, even when heard through “ear buds," that defiant opening line ("I don't want to work") is an unmistakeable sign that freedom is nigh. You don't need philosophical justification to sympathize with Todd Rundgren, but if you want some, you can find it in Josef Pieper's "Leisure: The Basis of Culture." For Pieper, “leisure” is not "a Sunday afternoon idyll, but the preserve of freedom, of education and culture, and of that undiminished humanity which views the world as a whole.” Our problem today is that we've replaced our sense of the divine with an obsession with productivity: The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to enjoy leisure; for one can only be bored if the spiritual power to be leisurely has been lost. We're certainly more bored than ever. What could be more anticlimactic than finally closing the laptop after a long day of toil only to pick up your phone? We're better off reaching for a pair of drumsticks or even nothing at all. Do we even know how to relax any more? "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoonist Bill Watterson thought not. "We're not really taught how to recreate constructively," he said in a 1990 commencement address at Kenyon College. We need to do more than find diversions; we need to restore and expand ourselves. Our idea of relaxing is all too often to plop down in front of the television set and let its pandering idiocy liquefy our brains. Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery — it recharges by running. Watterston learned this on the job: Nothing like having to come up with new ideas every day to make you avoid liquefying your brain. Instead, Watterson found a different way to wind down. "I've found that the only way I can keep writing every day, year after year, is to let my mind wander into new territories. To do that, I've had to cultivate a kind of mental playfulness." That playfulness is evident in Watterson's approach to his art. "Calvin and Hobbes" remains one of the most beloved and acclaimed comic strips in the history of the medium almost 30 years after its final installment. And yet to this day, you can't buy a Hobbes plush toy or a Calvin bobblehead or stream a Calvin and Hobbes animated series on your device or smart TV. Judging by the net worth of less commercially squeamish artists like Charles Schulz or Jim Davis, it's safe to say that “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson has left millions of dollars on the table. So too with his decision to retire the strip only ten years in, at the peak of its popularity. Maybe this explains why "Calvin and Hobbes" consistently achieved an unsentimental, honest, and deeply funny depiction of childhood. To monetize something you first need to assess its worth, which in turn involves seeing it through the eyes of its potential buyers. Children can certainly be selfish, but this kind of self-consciousness is completely alien to them. Watterson likely knew that the delicate partnership between a mischievous, philosophical 6-year-old and his wise and loyal pet tiger would never survive it. Like many showbiz duos before them, success would only tear them apart.

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