Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has spent the last six years working on a giant aircraft capable of launching rockets to space. Today, his company Stratolaunch Systems literally rolled that plane out of its hangar in the Mojave Desert for the first time ever.

This particular Gingko tree (aka Gingko Biloba) is not just any tree. It was reportedly planted by Tang Dynasty's Emperor Taizong, the emperor portrayed in Fang Bingbing's Empress of China, from over a thousand years ago. Take a look at these stunning photos when the Gingko tree displays its full glory in late autumn.

Star trails form over the Memorial House of the Bulgarian Communist Party on mount Buzludzha in this long exposure picture taken on September 12, 2014. The monument was officially opened in 1981 by the Bulgarian Communist regime to mark 100 years of the set up of an organised Socialist movement, a predecessor of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The monument, no longer maintained by the Bulgarian government after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, is now abandoned and vandalized. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

The golden retriever and its history were feted by 222 goldens and their masters who gathered from around the globe for a celebration in the breed's ancestral Scottish Highlands home in July. Hosted by the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland, the festival is held at the abandoned home of Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, who bred the first golden retriever.

Latefat Alao, 56, a ethnic Yoruba Muslim woman, waits for customers in front of her in Beere market in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, January 29, 2015. Much of the grain and wheat traders like Alao sell comes from the north and Boko Haram's campaign has negatively affected farmers and food markets. Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye photographed Nigerians and asked them about their views on the elections as well as their hopes and concerns for the country. (Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters)

These snaps show a series of crafty critters camouflaged out of view. Many adventurous animals love to stand out from a crowd, but there are times when they need to blend in a bit more too. Photo: Tall story – can you spot the giraffe? (Photo by Caters News)