Participants dressed in Heroic Fantasy costumes pose for a picture as they wait backstage during the first edition of the HeroFestival in Marseille, November 9, 2014. The festival is dedicated to American superhero comics, Japanese mangas, Heroic Fantasy characters and video games universes. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

Ximena Rivero of Peru competes in the South American Pole Dance Championship in Buenos Aires November 24, 2014. Participants from throughout South America will be vying for the top spots in the two-day competition, with the winners qualifying for the 2015 World Pole Dance Championship in Hong Kong. (Photo by Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)

Kia Vue of St. Paul sports long nails at the Minnesota Hmong New Year celebration Saturday, November 29, 2014, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, MN. The annual Minnesota Hmong New Year celebration will be held at the Saint Paul RiverCentre November 28–30. Hmong New Year has a deep cultural significance to the Hmong community. It is a celebration of accomplishments during the past year and a time to welcome a new beginning. (Photo by David Joles/Star Tribune)

An alpaca is seen near the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco December 2, 2014. Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Peru's top tourist attraction, with the government limiting tourists to 2,500 per day due to safety reasons and concerns over the preservation of the ruins. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)

Servicemen of “Kiev 12” military defence battalion react as they take part in a welcoming ceremony in central Ukrainian capital Kiev December 6, 2014. Servicemen of the battalion returned to Kiev after taking part in fighting in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

“Aurora over a glacier lagoon”. A vivid green overheaded aurrora pictured in Iceland's Vatnajokull National Park reflected almost symetrically in Jokulsrlon Glacier lagoon. A complete lack of wind and currrent combin in this sheltred lagoon scene to crete an arresting mirror effect giving the image a sensation of utter stillness. Despite theis there is motion on a suprising scale, as the loops and arcs of the aurora are shaped by the shifting forces of the Earth's magnetic field. James Woodend of Great Britain won the grand prize with the image, beating out more than 2,500 other entries. The Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 contest is judged by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and BBC Sky at Night magazine. (Photo by James Woodend/The Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 Contest)