“Kilauea Rules”. The most extreme place we put ours kayakers to paddle till now. Photo location: Big Island, Hawaii. (Photo and caption by Alexandre Socci/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Yanick Wasser of Switzerland jumps in the Mens Large Hill Individual competition during Day 2 of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup at Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex on February 08, 2025 in Lake Placid, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

These frozen caves seem almost otherworldly as they daylight illuminates them. Matej Kriz’s shots reveal the beauty of the brilliant caves, but he’s also very aware of how deadly they can be. The photographer captured the amazing shots in the Vatnajokull National Park on the Breidamerkurjokull glacier tongue. Here: The ice caves, taken in the Vatnajokull National Park in Iceland, on November 11, 2017. (Photo by Matej Kriz/Caters News Agency)

A camel yawns as a tourist checks images on her camera following a ride on a camel safari alongside the Pacific Ocean on Lighthouse Beach, north of Sydney, December 4, 2014. For 25 years camel rides on this beach have given visitors to Australia's holiday coast a rare experience available only in a handful of locations in the country. Australia's long history with the “ships of the desert” goes back to the 1800s when they were imported from Afghanistan and India for use as transportation across Australia's vast deserts before being released into the wild following their replacement by motorised transport. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)

The Arizona State Sun Devils cheer team performs during the second half of the NCAAF game at Sun Devil Stadium on September 01, 2022 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Spot the baton: the Dutch athlete Femke Bol falls to the ground as Alexis Holmes of the US runs to victory in the mixed 4x400m relay final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on August 19, 2023. (Photo by Márton Mónus/Reuters)

Riders compete during the NETT sidecarcross championship in Middlesbrough, Britain on April 14, 2024. The daredevil sport is a branch of motocross racing in which bikes are designed to take the weight of two people. (Photo by Lee Smith/Reuters)