Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

“Family disagreement”. (Photo by Vlado Pirsa/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2019)

Shortlisted. Dragonfly, North York Moors national park, by Jonathan Green: “In June I was at May Beck with some colleagues when someone spotted this Hawker perched in a gorse bush. I love the detail on the wings, and it’s rare to be able to get so much of such a small subject in clear focus. Getting a few scratches was worth it”. (Photo by Jonathan Green/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Cropped shot of a woman flirtatiously touching leg of man in a suit with her foot under the table. (Photo by LightField Studios/Skyfish Digital Media/Getty Images)

“Maeklong Railway Market, located in Samut Songkhram, Thailand, around 37 miles west of Bangkok, looks like any other open-air market in Asia. HOWEVER...”. – Kaushik via Amusing Planet. Photo: Maeklong Railway Market (Photo by Trent Strohm)

The official name for this tiny speck of land – the size of 12 football pitches – is Hashima, but few call it that. In English, its most commonly used name means “Battleship Island” and, viewed from a certain angle offshore, its silhouette is uncannily dreadnought in nature. It was a mining facility until 1974, when it was abandoned to the elements, before partially reopening as a tourist attraction in 2009. Photo: A decades-old television. (Photo by Mark C. O'Flaherty)

“Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Yule season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A participant dressed as the Krampus creature pulls a barrel of fire past onlookers during his search for delinquent children in Neustift im Stubaital. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

British-based Ukrainians gather outside the Russian Embassy in London to protest against the build-up of troops in the Crimea region, on March 2, 2014. The demonstrators chanted and held banners demanding “Hands off Ukraine”. (Photo by John Stillwell/PA Wire)