The annual calendar features stunning shots of lighting, cloud formations and the aurora australis. Hundreds of photographers from every Australian state and territory submitted images to the Bureau of Meteorology for selection in the year’s calendar, with only the best chosen to represent the full spectrum of Australian weather. Here: April. A path through the clouds between Townsville and Richmond, Queensland. (Photo by Captain Victoria Harrison/Australian Bureau of Meteorology)

These spectacular images of the universe are the finalists in the 2016 CWAS “David Malin” awards. The annual competition, which celebrates the best astronomy images taken by Australian photographers, is part of AstroFest 2016. The winners will be announced on 16 July. An associated exhibition opens the following day at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory visitors centre, and a second exhibition will also travel to selected venues around Australia. Here: Mars and its Rival Antares and the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. (Photo by Phil Hart/CWAS/The Guardian)

Attracting more than 450 entries from around the world, the winners are selected by a panel of expert judges including ZSL honorary conservation fellow and television presenter Kate Humble, and renowned ornithologist Bill Oddie. Here: Anoura Geoffroy’s tailless bat by Nicolas Reusens. The Perfect Moment category; Adult runner up. (Photo by Nicolas Reusens/ZSL Animal Photography Prize 2015)

In this photo taken Sunday, October 5, 2014, a library official shows a 13th-century German prayer book containing the earliest evidence of the Yiddish language, at Israel's National Library in Jerusalem. This week, Israel's National Library gave The Associated Press a rare peek at a selection of rare historical manuscripts in its collection. (Photo by Sebastian Scheiner/AP Photo)

If life wasn’t exciting enough for these beautiful tortoises, they now get to wear a selection of fantastic knitted suits. They made a very slow sashay down the catwalk to showcase the talents of Katie Bradley. She has made cute woolly suits from 25 designs to transform the little animals into a shark, a lobster, a burrito, a burger, bumble bee and a birthday cake.

A soldier from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force stands guard at the site where a cargo plane carrying supplies for AU troops crash-landed outside Somalia's capital, on October 13, 2015 at Abirska, some 18 kilometres outside Somalian capital, Mogadishu. The officials said the Egyptian-owned transport plane went down after making several unsuccessful passes over the seafront airport. Two of the six crew members suffered light injuries in the crash, the officials said, but added that the plane and those on board were safe having landed in an area controlled by the Somali government and the African Union's AMISOM force. (Photo by Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP Photo)

A Sri Lankan elephant, accompanied by his mahout, browse through a roadside fruit stall in Colombo on January 19, 2015. The Sri Lankan elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three generations, with the species threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. (Photo by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP Photo)

Riot Police form a cordon as a Police car burns on the opening day of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on March 18, 2015. Supporters of the so-called Blockupy alliance consisting of social movements, activists, workers, trade unions and parties are expected to stage large protests against austerity and the authority of the European Central Bank when the bank's new headquarters officially will be on March 18, 2015. (Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP Photo)