Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Buildings in Lujiazui financial district are seen shrouded in fog amid an orange alert for heavy fog in Shanghai, China on January 31, 2024. (Photo by Xihao Jiang/Reuters)

The camera rolls as actors dressed as historical Chinese soldiers act as though they have been hit by artillery, during filming of “The Last Prince” television series on location near Hengdian World Studios near Hengdian July 24, 2015. Hundreds of well-trained actors and other professionals are available at the Hengdian World Studios. The well-organised team coordinate complicated battle scenes to satisfy the huge appetite for productions about the war against Japan. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A man is silhouetted as he stands on a walkway in the sky lobby at the Chancellery, the seat of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) in Berlin, May 7, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Female labourers wearing helmets take a break from laying underground electricity cables in Ahmedabad, India, March 7, 2016. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Zoo keepers feed crocodiles in their enclosure at the Madras Crocodile Bank, closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mahabalipuram, India, August 3, 2020. (Photo by P. Ravikumar/Reuters)

Municipal workers try to retrieve the lid of a manhole to prevent pedestrians from falling in, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Incessant rainfall in India's commercial capital has affected air and rail traffic, and schools and colleges remained shut for the day. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

People smeared with colors play Holi at Nandagram temple in Nandgoan village, 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (Photo by Deepanshu Aggarwal/AP Photo)