30 of the best astronomy photographs that are out of this world

Just how good do you think you are at taking a picture of the night sky? That's the question thousands asked themselves when they entered the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

The competition is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, showcases the weightier astronomy photos that capture the trappy and spectacular visions of the cosmos, the vast galaxies millions of light-years away, and the night sky taken much closer to home.

Over the years, thousands of spectacular images have been submitted from over 60 countries wideness the globe in the competition's main categories.

Those categories include everything from photographing the sun, the planets, galaxies, the moon, and plane aurorae.

There are moreover two special prizes: The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Weightier Newcomer is awarded to the weightier photo by an ventriloquist astrophotographer who has taken up the hobby in the last year and who has not entered an image into the competition before, and Robotic Scope, acknowledges the weightier photo taken using one of the increasing number of computer-controlled telescopes at prime observing sites virtually the world which can be accessed over the internet by members of the public.

The overall winner receives a large mazuma prize and runners-up get a payout too.

We're rounding up some of the weightier images from the last few years for you to enjoy.