Renee LeGrand, of Foothill Ranch, Calif., takes a picture among wildflowers in bloom Monday, March 18, 2019, in Lake Elsinore, Calif. About 150,000 people flocked over the weekend to see this year's rain-fed flaming orange patches of poppies lighting up the hillsides near Lake Elsinore, a city of about 60,000 residents. The crowds became so bad Sunday that Lake Elsinore officials closed access to poppy-blanketed Walker Canyon. By Monday the #poppyshutdown announced by the city on Twitter was over and the road to the canyon was re-opened. (Photo by Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

Balinese Hindu people take part in a cleansing ceremony called “Melasti”, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 25 March 2025. Melasti is a purification ritual where Balinese Hindus cleanse themselves and their sacred objects in the ocean to purify and renew spiritually, symbolizing the washing away of impurities and starting anew. It typically precedes Nyepi, the Day of Silence, marking the Balinese New Year. Balinese will celebrate Nyepi Day on 29 March 2025, during which Hindus on the island of Bali are not allowed to travel, work, light lamps, cook, or do any other activities. (Photo by Made Nagi/EPA)

Mohammed El-Dahshan, 38-year-old “Mesaharati”, or dawn caller, accompanies his donkey wrapped with colored led lights to wake Muslims up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Delta city of Dikernis, about 93 miles (150 km) North of Cairo, Egypt early Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Each night, El-Dahshan, sets out after midnight with his donkey banging his drum, chanting traditional religious phrases and calling out on residents by name to wake them in time for the vital pre-dawn meal known as “Suhour”. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

Wrestler known as Gio Malkriado (top) fights with a fluorescent tube with wrestler Ciclope during an extreme wrestling fight at a temporary wrestling ring inside a car wash in Tulancingo Hidalgo, Mexico October 8, 2016. When the time comes for the so-called Extreme Star Fight, six wrestlers climb into the ring. Once the fighting begins, anything goes. They bash each other with chairs and long neon lights, causing small explosions and scattering tiny pieces of glass everywhere. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

The Royal Observatory just announced its Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2013 winners. Australian photographer Mark Gee was chosen among a thousand amateur and professional photographers around the globe to win the top title. His work is part of an exhibition of the winning photographers, which opened on Sept. 19 at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The Royal Observatory shared with us the winners and notable mentions of the competition. Their descriptions of the prizewinners can be found below the images.

“The knight and his steed”. This picture was taken in a natural but controlled environment. There are pictures that can not be done in nature or that would imply a very high cost of both time and money, thats why photography workshops are run conducted at strategic locations and bringing EVERYONE who is interested, the basic notions (lighting, camera handling, composition, etc...) or the specimens, and afford them the opportunity to take pictures like this. Although controlled, this shot was not prepared at all, I was performing a workshop with the agalychnis callidryas treefrog from Costa Rica when the frog managed to jump to the branch where this huge titan was sleeping... I had my gear ready so I only had to change a few settings and shoot... the rest is history. (Photo and caption by Nicolas Reusens Boden (Sweden)/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

A woman dressed in a cheongsam interacts gracefully with vibrant fish lanterns at Kwai Chai Hong, a heritage revival alley in Chinatown, on January 09, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kwai Chai Hong celebrates the Lunar New Year with an immersive art installation titled Bountiful Blessings, inspired by the idiom “Nian Nian You Yu”, which translates to “Wishing an Abundance Year After Year”, blending traditional fish lanterns with modern lights to inspire abundance and prosperity, inviting visitors to embark on a cultural journey of generosity and abundance for future generations. (Photo by Annice Lyn/Getty Images)