A view of the Milky Way over the windmills at the wasteland of La Lora, in Rocamundo, region of Cantabria, northern Spain, 29 May 2022. (Photo by Pedro Puente Hoyos/EPA/EFE)
An Afghan girl who practices taekwondo poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, October 31, 2022. The ruling Taliban have banned women from sports as well as barring them from most schooling and many realms of work. A number of women posed for an AP photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved. Though they do not necessarily wear the burqa in regular life, they chose to hide their identities with their burqas because they fear Taliban reprisals and because some of them continue to practice their sports in secret. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)
On the morning of the October 4, 2025, the second day of the Chuseok holiday, a lenticular cloud resembling an unidentified flying object (UFO) appeared in the northeastern sky as seen from the Healing Forest in Hogun-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, creating a spectacular sight. (Photo by Newsis)
The love padlocks, called cadenas d’amour, multiplied until there were thousands of love tokens on the bridge, each engraved with a message of love. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)
Runner-up; Hon Yen marine ecosystem. Phu Yen, Vietnam. Every year between May and August, the coral of this rich and diverse ecosystem becomes exposed at low tide. (Photo by Truong Hoai Vu/Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition)
High angle view of a young woman reading in a bathtub, turning page, enjoying time with herself. Candles and red wine. Valentines day concept, International womans day. (Photo by Vuk Saric/Getty Images)
“Aurora Hunters”. Photographers taking part in a photography tour on the Lofoten Islands in Norway, pull over on the side of the road to take a photo of their first ever Aurora Borealis after spotting it from their tour bus. Photo location: Rystad, Lofoten Islands, Norway. (Photo and caption by Mark Gee/National Geographic Photo Contest)
“Thunderstruck”. Summer stom. A super cell formed off the coast of New Zealand, intensified and swept across Christchurch and North Canterbury, February 23, 2014. Photo location: Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo and caption by David Hardy/National Geographic Photo Contest)