“The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest-ever three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black holes, which will help astronomers explain the mysterious “dark matter” and “dark energy” that scientists know makes up 96 percent of the Universe”. – SDSS-III

Tourists take pictures of straw figurines of traditional deities Shennong (R) and Zhang Wulang (L back) during China's National Day Holiday, in Xinhua county, Hunan province, October 4, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

A masked reveller parades through the streets on the first day of the carnival season in Lucerne, Switzerland, 12 February 2015. In the background the well known Kappellbruecke bridge. (Photo by Alexandra Wey/EPA)

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

Randy Scott Slavin's photography is surrealism based in reality. His work portrays land and cityscapes in a 360 degree view, a perspective closer to that of the human eye than a 2D photograph, he says. Slavin's "Alternate Perspectives" is a series of photographs of a single location or landmark pieced together to create a 360 degree perspective in a flat image. The results are whimsical, and occasionally eerie, scenes that reflect the portion and scale of Slavin's surroundings when he took the photo.

Police officers detain a Femen activist during a demonstration of supporters of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, during annual gathering held on the week of the 45th anniversary of the dictator's death, in Madrid, Spain, November 22, 2020. (Photo by Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

A woman hangs strips of salted meat she collected from different places during the Muslim's Eid al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, August 2, 2020. Pakistanis are celebrating the Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, to mark the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim – Abraham to Christians and Jews – to sacrifice his son. During the holiday Muslims slaughter sheep and cattle, distribute part of the meat to the poor. (Photo by K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo)