“These are the stunning shots of one photographer who is putting everyday “selfies” to shame. Paul Zizka, 34, began experimenting with night photography just two years ago and immediately became fascinated with the spectacular scenes he discovered. To create something more unique he started adding himself into the shot – as well as showing others the beautiful surroundings he had been exploring. Using lengthy exposure, the photographer felt that featuring himself in some of his shots – the night sky illuminating the mountains around him – created a relationship between the central figure in the image and the nature around him”. – Caters News. Photo: Paul Zizka in “Galactic Gateway”, Bow Lake, Banff National Park, May 11, 2013. (Photo by Paul Zizka/Caters News)

The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, is now in its sixth year and has received over 2,500 entries. Photo: Centre of the Heart Nebula by Ivan Eder (Hungary). Situated 7500 light years away in the “W”-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula is a vast region of glowing gas, energized by a cluster of young stars at its centre. The image depicts the central region, where dust clouds are being eroded and moulded into rugged shapes by the searing cosmic radiation. (Photo by Ivan Eder)

When you gaze into the eyes of this beautiful creature, you can almost make out constellations forming deep within. The name of this magnificent bird is Zeus, named after the Greek god of the sky for her one-of-a-kind eyes. The reason why she has such eyes is because she is blind. She was saved by a family in Southern California, when they found her injured on their front porch. After realizing that this poor creature is blind and unable to take care of itself, they took her to an animal hospital. After she healed up, everyone agreed that she should be sent to the Wildlife Learning Center. From that point on, Zeus has been happily living in the center. And though she cannot see, you can bet that her other senses are ten times as sharp. (Photo by Wildlife Learning Center)

Intrigued by photographing time, Singapore-based photographer Fong Qi Wei created single, composite pictures from a sequence of images spanning 2-4 hours. He concentrated on capturing sunrises and sunsets as they evolved over different landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes. He then digitally stitched the images together to get a snapshot of time passing over the scene for his series “Time is a Dimension”. “Most paintings and photographs are an instance of time”, Wei explained in his artist’s statement. “That’s not the way the world works. We experience a sequence of time, and that’s why a video is somehow more compelling than a freeze frame”. (Photo by Fong Qi Wei/Thoughtful Photography)

Lovely is the correct work to describe this beautiful paintings series by David Renshaw from “Ted n’ Doris – A Northern Romance”. “Deep down I always knew what I wanted to do for a living and in my school years I remember my father teaching me some basic elements of drawing and I dreamed of one day becoming an artist. Being only really interested in art I left school and studied Graphic Design, after which I started work at a local art gallery as a picture framer. I continued to paint alongside my job, mainly developing techniques and ideas and in 2005 decided it was time to follow my dreams and dedicate myself to painting full time. I always try to make my work feel atmospheric, and I like to pay particular attention to sky and cloud formations as I consider this element of my work to be extremely important to the mood of the finished painting, whether it be a dramatic sunset or a misty moonlit night.”

Russia-backed separatists stand at the site of the crashed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 16, 2015. The fighters said they have arrived to protect the media and make sure the MH17 crash site is clear of ammunition and mines. A year since a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky over war-ravaged eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people, there has been little official word of progress in determining what brought down Flight MH17. (Photo by Antoine E. R. Delaunay/AP Photo)

This picture taken on November 11, 2016 shows participants releasing a hot- air balloon during the Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival at Taunggyi in Myanmar' s northeastern Shan State. The skies of central Myanmar were set ablaze this week with the beginning of the Taunggyi fire balloon festival, one of the most beautiful and dangerous celebrations in Asia. Brightly coloured balloons with hundreds of homemade fireworks woven into their frames are sent soaring into the night sky, showering down cascades of sparks onto adoring crowds. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

Astronaut Edward H. White II, pilot for the Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) spaceflight, floats in the zero-gravity of space during the third revolution of the GT-4 spacecraft on June 3, 1965. White wears a specially designed spacesuit. His face is shaded by a gold-plated visor to protect him from unfiltered rays of the sun. In his right hand he carries a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit (HHSMU) that gives him control over his movements in space. White also wears an emergency oxygen chest pack; and he carries a camera mounted on the HHSMU for taking pictures of the sky, Earth and the GT-4 spacecraft. He is secured to the spacecraft by a 25-feet umbilical line and a 23-feet tether line. Both lines are wrapped together in gold tape to form one cord. Astronaut James A. McDivitt, command pilot, remained inside the spacecraft during the extravehicular activity (EVA). Astronaut White died in the Apollo/Saturn 204 fire at Cape Kennedy on January 27, 1967. (Photo by NASA)