FROM vast nebulae and distant galaxies to the intimacy of an evening’s star gazing by the camp fire, this year's winning images in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition reflect our enduring fascination with the night sky.

Held by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich and now in its second year, the competition attracted more than 400 entries and saw back-garden enthusiasts pit themselves against professional photographers in locations as diverse as China, Russia, the Mojave and the USA.

Proving you don’t need a degree in astronomy or a studio full of expensive equipment to take amazing pictures of the cosmos, the photographers behind some of the competition’s most beautiful images have their feet firmly planted on earth capturing the magic of a road sign surrounded by star trails, the yellow full moon rising over a Greek temple and a forest fire in Washington framed by stars.

While fans of deep space can marvel at the dark blue centre of the Helix Nebula, the deep pinks of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the almost perfect spiral of the Whirlpool Galaxy.

The winners of the competition’s four categories and two special prizes will be announced on September 9 and an exhibition of all winning images opens on September 10 at the observatory.

For more information on the exhibition, visit nmm.ac.uk/astrophoto