Dancers perform the traditional Kuda Lumping in Bogor, Indonesia early November 2022. They are said to enter a trance-like state as they perform, and often claim not to remember the dance once they awaken. (Photo by Sita Gramich/Solent News)

Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 620 miles (1,000 km) from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase of evolution”. Photo: “Close-up. We had a juvenile Red-Footed Booby come visit us on the sun deck. I got some closeups with my ultrawide 11-16mm Tokina”. (Photo by Carl Fredrickson)

British band Florence and the Machine performs at the Bilbao BBK Live festival in Bilbao, Spain, early 13 July 2018. Bilbao BBK Live festival runs from 12 July to 14 July 2018. (Photo by Miguel Tona/EPA/EFE)

Malian workers haul out a boat they use to carry sand collected from the river bed during a routine maintenance on October 7, 2018, in the port of Bamako. Increasing construction in the Malian capital has boosted the demand for bricks made out of high-quality Niger River sand. (Photo by Michele Cattani/AFP Photo)

Underwater photographer of the year – winner. Dancing Octopus by Gabriel Barathieu (France). Location: Island of Mayotte, off the coast of south-east Africa. “Balletic and malevolent”, one judge said of this octopus, hunting in a lagoon. Barathieu waited until spring tides when there was just 30cm of water on the flats and plenty of light in the shallows. (Photo by Gabriel Barathieu/UPY2017)

A giraffe appears almost to be doing the splits as it bends to drink at a watering hole on a reserve in Mkuze, South Africa in September 2023. (Photo by Peter Batty/Solent News)

A breeder poses with fruits and specially made high-fibre bread, for 36-year-old giant panda Jia Jia, at the Hong Kong Ocean Park, China June 30, 2015. Jia Jia, the oldest giant panda living in captivity, is set to challenge the world record for the animals' longevity, with her age said to put her on par with a human centenarian. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)