Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

These stunning photographs may look like alien planets, but they are actually satellite images of planet Earth. Commercial satellite company DigitalGlobe recently released the images as a way of highlighting the incredible detail of their imagery – the highest-resolution commercial satellite imagery in the world. Some of the images – taken above Afghanistan, Algeria, Peru, Russia and the United States – look more like abstract works by Mondrian than segments of the globe. DigitalGlobe, based in Westminster, Colo., launched its first satellite in 1999 and currently has four in operation. Here: Trementina, New Mexico. (Photo by DigitalGlobe/Caters News)

For our latest mission, we put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with a sign that read, “Conduct Us.” Random New Yorkers who accepted the challenge were given the opportunity to conduct this world-class orchestra. The orchestra responded to the conductors, altering their tempo and performance accordingly. This project was a collaboration with Carnegie Hall and Ensemble ACJW.

Belgium's Davina Philtjens comforts Italy's Manuela Giugliano sitting on the ground at the end of the Women Euro 2022 group D soccer match between Italy and Belgium at the Manchester City Academy Stadium, in Manchester, England, Monday, July 18, 2022. Belgium won 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. (Photo by Jon Super/AP Photo)

A year ago, we at HootSuite showed just how much we love Game of Thrones with our Social Media Winter is Coming infographic. The infographic was a visual representation of the quiet battles being fought between many social networks, who were building walls and blocking access between their respective sites and apps. That graphic was a hit with the social media community, so we knew we had to take things up a notch for this season’s premiere. Enter the Game of Social Thrones video.

Polish photographer David Kaszlikowski took a series of stunning photographs of a glacier in the Karakoram region of Pakistan while on a film expedition. At the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers near K2, the second highest mountain in the world, he sent his drone on flights to scout the surrounding landscape. Here: at the heart of Karakoram, a glacier formation found at Concordia at the very beginning of one of the longest glaciers on the planet, Baltoro. (Photo by David Kaszlikowski/Rex Features)

This undated image provided by World View shows World View capsule and balloon spacecraft that will rise to 100,000 feet above Earth for passengers to see the curvature of the planet and the blackness of space. Space tourism companies are employing designs including winged vehicles, vertical rockets with capsules and high-altitude balloons. While developers envision ultimately taking people to orbiting habitats, the moon or beyond, the immediate future involves short flights into or near the lowest reaches of space without going into orbit. (Photo by World View via AP Photo)

A Thai visitor appears to be frightened by a life-size Velociraptor model also known as Raptor at the Dinosaur Planet theme park in Bangkok, Thailand, 25 March 2016. The 500 million baht (14 million US dollars or 12 million euro) theme park opening in the Thai capital aimed to attract more than 15,000 visitors a day featuring a chance to experience more than 200 dinosaurs from various species that are brought back to life. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)