These images have been created using a colour scanning electron microscope (SEM) by the award-winning Eye of Science, comprised of snapper Oliver Meckes and biologist Nicole Ottawa. For a decade the pair, based in Reutlingen in the south of Germany, worked with an old SEM they saved from the scrapheap, but for the last five years they have used a £250,000 FEI Quanta Series Field Emission SEM. Oliver said: “Flowers are beautiful in 'normal' view, but when you look closer, some parts get very bizarre and unexpected structures appear – flowers within flowers, worlds within worlds”. Photo: The floret of a Chamomile flower up close and personal. (Photo by Oliver Meckes/Barcroft Media)

Residents watch volcanic smoking and ashes rising from Mount Sinabung during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, February 24, 2016. Authorities have repeatedly called on local residents to remain patient in dealing with the impact of Sinabung's eruptions, which some experts have predicted will continue for five more years. (Photo by Xinhua/Barcroft Media)

Elephants feast on fruits and vegetables during the elephant buffet prior to the start of the 2016 King's Cup Elephant Polo event in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 March 2016. The annual charity event, now in its 14th edition, runs until 13 March and will involve 18 elephants brought from tourist trekking camps in Pattaya as well as some unemployed in Surin. A total of 10 teams encompassing over 40 players will take part in the event directed at raising funds to improve the lives of elephants and elephant conservation. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

Former “The Hills” star Audrina Patridge and her on again, off again boyfriend Corey Bohan get into a huge fight after attending Matthew Morrison's Halloween Party at Hyde Nightclub in West Hollywood, California on October 25, 2014. Audrina and Corey, who recently split up this past summer, seemed to be in great spirits before the party started but afterwards it was a whole different story! The not so happy couple argued on a bench and at one point a visibly upset Audrina sat on the sidewalk crying! (Photo by FameFlynet)

An Emirati child plays with an airplane model near the venue of the Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival, on December 20, 2012 near the city of Madinat Zayed, 150 kms west of Abu Dhabi. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a camel beauty contest, a display of UAE handcrafts and other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP Photo)

Is it a leaf? Is it tree bark? No, it’s the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Cleverly disguised as a rotting leaf, Madagascar’s camouflage king has red eyes, pointy horns and a taste for night hunting: it’s nature’s most devilish deceiver. The twisted body and veiny skin echo the detail of a dry leaf, which ensures the gecko blends in with its forest home. The mottled tail appears to have sections missing, as though it has withered over time. This mini-monster epitomises survival of the fittest, having adapted gradually to become today’s extraordinary leaf impersonator. (Photo by Thomas Marent/ARDEA)

A long exposure image shows star trails from the abandoned submerged orthodox church of St. Nicholas without roof, submerged in the Mavrovo Lake, near Mavrovi Anovi, North Macedonia, 17 March 2019. Constructed in 1850 and submerged in 1952 due to the construction of the hydro system Mavrovo, the church St. Nicholas continues to attract the attention of almost every visitor as it peaks from the water. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA/EFE)

Descending into the Marum Volcano in Vanuatu, Intrepid explorers found an unusual way of staying warm this winter by spending Christmas day on an active volcano. British climber Chris Horsley, 22, and his friends Gareth Hawken, 30, Geoff Mackley, 50, and Bradley Ambrose, 36, from Auckland, New Zealand, hiked up the Marum Volcano, Vanuatu, on the morning of the 25th. Instead of passing the day with their families, the team climbed down a 1200ft cliff to get close to a flowing lake of lava. (Photo by Bradley Ambrose/Caters News)