Thousands of heavy-duty trucks loaded with coal are lined up for up to 130 kilometres from the Mongolia-China border on a sole road in the Gobi desert, Mongolia, October 29, 2017. The journey can take more than a week. (Photo by Bazarsukh Rentsendorj/Reuters)

A brightly burning magnesium-rich meteor known as a bolide was captured near Bude, Cornwall on January 24, 2020. (Photo by Chris Small/Apex News)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

In this picture taken on Sunday, March 5, 2017, a Tehran's urban animal control worker catches a stray dog after being shot with his anesthetic dart on the outskirts of the capital Tehran, Iran. The shelter has been hired by the Tehran city government to take a new, more humane approach to deal with the burgeoning problem of stray dogs in the capital. It’s a sign of changing attitudes among officials in a country where Islamic authorities long saw dogs as “un-Islamic” and would at times confiscate them from people who kept them as pets. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

Bryan Adams took the pictures for next year’s Pirelli calendar, which features fellow musicians including Cher, Rita Ora, Iggy Pop and the American rapper Saweetie, above, as it depicts a typical day in the life of a touring performer. (Photo by Bryan Adams/Pirelli)

Visitors look at the work titled “In Bed”, 2005 by Australian-born artist Ron Mueck at Triennale di Milano on January 09, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images)

Women pose for a picture at the entrance of the Carlton Hotel, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria December 17, 2016. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

A little girl hangs three Siamese kittens on a washing line in a garden in Croydon, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 14th July 1931