Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A 19-year-old Japanese macaque monkey named Monday sneezes while suffering an allergy to pollen from the cedar tree, at Awajishima Monkey Center on March 26, 2012 in Sumoto, Hyogo, Japan. Some twenty monkeys are suffering the effects of hay fever at this time of the year, with the typical symptoms being the same as with humans. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jaqueline Rodriguez subdues a simulated suspect after being sprayed with oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray during security training aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph M. Buliavac/Released). May 10, 2011

“The King”, Johnathon Haddock poses for a portrait with the Garland before the procession during “Castleton Garland Day” on May 29, 2019 in Castleton, England. The first records of Garland day date back to the 1700's and though it's true origins are not fully understood it is believed to be an ancient fertility rite with Celtic connections. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A Jennie fan waits in the crowd for Jennie's perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, U.S., April 13, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Reuters)

Danny Batsalkin holds a rifle during the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 18, 2024. (Photo by Shelby Tauber/Reuters)

Some of the best entries so far in the 2016 Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. There are two weeks left to enter, and the winners will be announced in September. Here: Aurora over Laksvatn Fjord, Laksvatn, Norway. The aurora borealis dances in the skies over the town of Laksvatn, with the Milky Way to the left. The image is a single shot with no compositing, only post-processing to bring out the aurora, and some colour corrections. The photographer Matt Walford said: “I love the way the northern lights look like they are just wistfully dancing over the fjord, framed by the mountains on either side”. (Photo by Matt Walford/National Maritime Museum)

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)