Yedam Kim (L) and Chaewon Kim, both of South Korea, look at a smartphone backstage after performing on stage during the first day of the 51st Prix de Lausanne at the Theatre de Beaulieu, in Lausanne, Switzerland, 30 January 2023. (Photo by Laurent Gillieron/EPA)

Contestants perform during the semifinals of the first Miss Colonia pageant hosted by the Factoría nightclub in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday, March 5, 2023. The nightclub held the pageant as part of annual Women’s Day events and the only requirement for contestants was to prove residency in working-class areas of the city, known as “colonias”. Prizes originally covered utility bills and property taxes, but when the event attracted more sponsors the prizes expanded to include cash, travel, dental work, spas and makeovers. (Photo by Felix Marquez/AP Photo)

A Nymph or female devotee of the Vale do Amanhecer religious community, prays at their temple complex in Vale do Amanhecer (Sunrise Valley), a community on the outskirts of Planaltina, 50 km from the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, on April 29, 2023. This eclectic community holds its most important ritual of the year on Labour Day to honour the mediums who communicate with good and bad spirits. The group combines a range of religious practices, including Christian and Hindu, with symbols borrowed from the Incas and Mayans, as well as a belief in extraterrestrial life and intergalactic travel. The religion claims hundred temples throughout Brazil, Portugal and other countries. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Dancers take to the dance floor as they show their skills to impress the judges and hope to advance to the next heat during the Blackpool Dance Festival at Blackpool Empress Ballroom on May 26, 2023 in Blackpool, England. The dance festival, which features more than 7,000 dancers from across the world for over two weeks, is hosted annually in the Empress Ballroom at Blackpool's Winter Gardens venue and is back for its 97th year. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

“A fter the former Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test in August 1949, the US reevaluated its postwar defense policies. With the US monopoly on atomic weapons broken, military and political leaders chose to diversify the American stockpile by developing thermonuclear and tactical nuclear weapons. One of the more interesting concepts to come out of this period was atomic artillery, which was successfully tested at the Nevada Proving Grounds (now the Nevada Test Site) in May 1953”. – Alan Carr. Photo: Atomic Annie at work during the Upshot-Knothole test series, 1953. (Photo by Los Alamos National Laboratory/US Army)

Brad Snead walks past melting ice on the Cook Inlet beach, Saturday, March 26, 2011, in Kenai, Alaska, while looking for agates. (AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, M. Scott Moon)

“The V-30 Warhawk was designed by Blackshaw Avionics as a long-range fighter and was primarily used by the Arcadian Air Force for escort duties. The plane pictured is the “Spirit of Freedom” and was one of the four planes that escorted the Arcadian Royal Airship during and after the Great War. The three other fighters were the “Spirit of Hope”, the “Spirit of Justice” and the “Spirit of Destiny”. All pilots were hand-picked by the Head of Airborne Forces and included some of the very finest pilots in the Kingdom. The crew consisted of one pilot and one gunner although both cabins were fitted so that if either crew member was killed the other could take over their duties. Each Warhawk was fitted with four Haverlock “Banshee” engines and four 24mm machine guns”. (Photo and comment by Jon Hall)

Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)