Hot air balloons in flight over Melbourne, Australia on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Swimmer silhouetted in a waterslide in the coastal suburb of Glenelg, Adelaide, Australia on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Amer Ghazzal/Alamy Live News)

Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with his footage. He believes there are now 48 confirmed species of peacock spider within the Maratus genus, found across Australia but particularly in Western Australia – and many more awaiting confirmation. Here: Maratus Tasmanicus, one of seven new species of peacock spiders studied by the Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto. (Photo by Jürgen Otto)

A ring-tailed lemur sunbakes at Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on December 21 2016. (Photo by Julian Smith/EPA)

Models on the catwalk for the launch of retailer Myer’s autumn 17 collection at the University of Melbourne, Australia on February 16, 2017. (Photo by Tracey Nearmy/AAP)

Michael Bath, from McLeans Ridges in New South Wales, Australia, estimates that in his lifetime he has taken more than 3,500 images of lightning bolts illuminating the sky. Photo: Alstonville, New South Wales, Australia – January 8, 2003. (Photo by Michael Bath/Caters News)

Russian cadets march during the annual cadet schools get-together in Moscow, Russia on March 30, 2018. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Girls during a class at the Teire Irish dance school in Moscow, Russia on March 15, 2019. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/TASS)