Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014

From a close up look at the swirling angry gases on the Sun, to a serene night sky filled with a shimmering green aurora - the Royal Observatory's annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, has produced some incredible photographs.

There were hundreds of entries from 51 countries around the world, showcasing the cosmos beyond our planet.

Astronomer judges Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, from the BBC's Sky at Night, and Marek Kukula whittled the entries down to just 20 winning photographs.

Categories included; Earth and Space, Deep Space and Our Solar System.

Images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 can be seen at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London, until 22 February 2015.

Images by: Patrick Cullis (Moon Balloon), Catalin Beldea (Totality from above the clouds), Rogelio Bernal Andreo (California vs Pleiades), David Fitz-Henry (The Helix Nebula), Matt James (Wind Farm Star Trails), O Chul Kwon (Venus-Lunar Occultation), George Tarsoudis (Best of the Craters), Alexandra Hart (Solar Nexus), Stephen Ramsden (Calcium K Eruption), Alexandra Hart (Ripples in a Pond), Olivia Williamson (The Martian Territory), Emmett Sparling (New Year over Cypress Mountain), Eugen Kamenew (Hybrid Solar Eclipse), Chris Murphy (Coastal Stairways), J P Metsavainio (Veil Nebula Detail), Bill Snyder (Horsehead Nebula), James Woodend (Aurora over a Glacier Lagoon)

All images subject to copyright.