A boy sits on his father's shoulders to look at strawberries at the 7th International Strawberry Symposium on February 18, 2012 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

The International Garden Photographer of the Year is one of the world’s premier competitions specialising in botanical photography. There are 11 main categories and numerous special awards including Young Garden Photographer of the Year, and the mobile-only category Gardens on the Go. Here: Winner, Wildflower Landscapes category. Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/The Guardian)

First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)

Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center July 21, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The landing brings to a close the 30-year era of the space shuttle program that began in 1981, and has included 135 missions. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

“A skydiver has made history by smashing the world record for the highest skydive after leaping from 128,097ft (39,044m). Daredevil Felix Baumgartner ascended to the edge of space in a pressurised capsule suspended beneath a giant helium balloon. He then jumped out, freefalling for four minutes and 19 seconds before opening his parachute”.

Photo: Baumgartner celebrates after successfully completing the jump. (Photo by Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos)

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)

European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake will return home after a six-month long mission on the International Space Station,on June 18, 2016. Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the ISS and captured hundreds of photographs of the Earth during his mission. Here: “Lots of sun-glint right now during our whole orbit – we haven't seen a sunset for over 3 days”, he wrote. (Photo by Tim Peake/ESA/NASA)

Models prepare themselves backstage ahead of the International Dwarf Fashion Show, on September 26, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP Photo)