Bride Yulia Tagil sits on the backseat of a bike as she arrives for her alternative wedding ceremony on a square in Tel Aviv July 25, 2010. The alternative wedding ceremony was intended to demonstrate against the current situation in Israel, where the only way for Jews to get married by law is through the Chief Rabbinate. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

A coil-shaped Helix Nebula showing a fine web of filamentary “bicycle-spoke” features embedded in the colorful red and blue ring of gas. At 650 light-years away, the Helix is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth. A planetary nebula is the glowing gas around a dying, Sun-like star. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)

Well before Corey Arnold ever thought about photography, he fished. As a child, he dressed as a fisherman for four consecutive Halloweens, and once brought a dead 3-foot Mako shark to school for show-and-tell. He knew he wanted to be a professional fisherman, even if he didn’t understand what that actually meant.

Rangoli, also known as kolam or Muggu, is a folk art from India in which patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. It is usually made during Diwali, Onam, Pongal and other Indian festivals. They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Similar practices are followed in different Indian states: in Tamil Nadu, there is Kolam in Tamil Nadu; Mandana in Rajasthan; Chaookpurna in Chhattisgarh; Alpana in West Bengal; Aripana in Bihar; Chowk pujan in Uttar Pradesh; Muggu in Andhra Pradesh and others.

This series of pictures shot by satellite, show the man-made world as astronauts see it. Artist Benjamin Grant uses Google Earth to find the most compelling satellite images of human civilization. The stunning pictures of sprawling metropolises and vast reservoirs are sometimes unidentifiable until zoomed in. In order to find an extraordinary picture in the practically endless supply of satellite data, Benjamin focuses on the themes of current events or environmental issues. Here: Industrial Sector, Tokai, Japan. (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Digital Globe/Caters News)

American singer Tinashe attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., September 12, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)