“The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. Air Force SR-71A, also known as the “Blackbird”, is put through it's paces during a test flight over Beale Air Force Base in California. The aircraft is a strategic reconnaissance plane by Lockheed and is the world's fastest and highest flying operational aircraft. (Photo by Getty Images)

A protester wears a pig mask as he marches through the streets of downtown Vancouver with thousands of people participating in the Occupy Vancouver protest on October 15, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Thousands of people are taking to the streets in cities across the world today in demonstrations inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City. An estimated 2,000 people participated in the Vancouver occupation. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation May 29, 2011 in space. After 20 years, 25 missions and more than 115 million miles in space, NASA space shuttle Endeavour is on the last leg of its final flight to the International Space Station before being retired and donated to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Capt. Mark E. Kelly, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) husband, has lead mission STS-134 as it delivered the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-2) to the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

Archie, a Chinese Crested dog, sits with his tongue out before the start of the 20th Annual Ugliest Dog Competition at the Sonoma-Marin Fair June 20, 2008 in Petaluma, California. Owners of ugly dogs travel to Petaluma from all over the country to participate in the annual contest. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A devotee sits with lighted oil lamps while offering prayers during the “Dashain”, Hinduism's biggest religious festival in Bhaktapur October 3, 2014. Hindus in Nepal celebrate victory over evil during the festival by flying kites, feasting, playing swings, sacrificing animals and worshipping the Goddess Durga as well as other gods and goddess as part of celebrations held throughout the country. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

“Coming back home at 5am sunrise, I was just beginning to digest the grand event I was lucky to witness and cover: the wedding of the grandson of one of the most influential spiritual leaders in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community...”. – Ronen Zvulun via Reuters. Photo: Ultra-orthodox Jewish wedding in Israel. Tens of thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Belz Hasidic dynasty gather at the wedding ceremony of Rabbi Shalom Rokach in Kiryat Belz, in Jerusalem, on May 21, 2013. Around 25,000 ultra-orthodox Jews took part, making it one of the biggest weddings of the past few years. (Photo by Gil Cohen)

“Artist of the light”. While shooting sunrise in the Vermilion lakes area of Banff national park, Canada, I met a fellow photographer on the scene. Most of the time, we tried not to get in each other's way, however, just by accident, I snapped a picture with him in it working on his tripod settings, and it turned out to be a great photo compared to my sunrise shots. (Photo and caption by Victor Liu/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

A “scissors” dancer grabs her shoe with her mouth while performing in a national scissors dance competition in the outskirts of Lima December 1, 2013. The Danza de las tijeras, or scissors dance, is a traditional dance from the Peruvian southern region of the Andes, in which two or more performers take turns dancing while accompanied with music from a harp and a violin. Dancers would display various skills and moves, which include cutting the air with the use of a scissors. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)