Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

People participate in the first day of Thingyan Water Festival in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on April 13, 2018. The annual water festival, known as Thingyan, features large groups of people congregating to celebrate the by splashing water and throwing powder at each other's faces as a symbol of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. It marks the start of the traditional New Year and is similarly celebrated in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. (Photo by Hein Htet/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman talks on her cellphone as she walks around Tajrish commercial district without wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf in northern Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 29, 2023. More women are choosing not to wear the mandatory headscarf, or the hijab, publicly in Iran. Such open defiance of the law follows months of protests over the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country's morality police, for wearing her hijab too loosely. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

Young women dressed in traditional Japanese clothing celebrate Coming of Age Day at Buddhism temple in Tokyo on January 9, 2023. It is a day to recognize and congratulate individuals who have reached the age of majority (20 years old). On this day, young people who have turned 20 are officially recognized as adults and on the responsibilities and duties of adulthood. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Members of the Women's veteran movement take part in the March of Defenders of Ukraine as part of Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations, in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 24, 2020. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

An Indian woman performs rituals near the body of her husband who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Monday, September 28, 2020. India’s confirmed coronavirus tally has reached 6 million cases, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

Devotees wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), carry a chariot of Pachali Bhairab amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kathmandu, Nepal on October 21, 2020. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A boy attempts to keep a candle lit in a flooded cemetery following Typhoon Molave, in Masantol, Pampanga, Philippines, October 27, 2020. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)