Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)
A woman holds her umbrella while walking against strong winds as Typhoon Chan-hom approaches Taiwan, in Taipei, July 10, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)
Paul Kerr was able to capture this stunning vista of the aurora australis from Canberra, New Zealand on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Paul Kerr/Hold Still Photography)
Revelers celebrate during fireworks marking the start of the New Year on Copacabana beach on January 1, 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilian revelers traditionally dress in white to honor the New Year's holiday along with the Brazilian Goddess of the Sea- Iemanja. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The rising sun is framed between the lighthouses at the end of the pier in Whitby on the Yorkshire coast on March 18, 2025. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)