A priest of the ancient Samaritan community, wrapped in a prayer shawl, holds up a Tora scroll as worshippers pray during the holy day of Shavuot on Mount Gerizim on June 12, 2011 in Nablus, West Bank. Shavuot is a Jewish religious holiday and commemorates the anniversary of the day God is said to have given the Torah to the Israelites. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“The Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m (250 ft) in diameter; it is now the third largest, after the Green Bank telescope in West Virginia, USA, and the Effelsberg telescope in Germany. It was originally known as the 250 ft (76 m) telescope or the Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank, before becoming the Mark I telescope around 1961 when future telescopes (the Mark II, III, and IV) were being discussed. It was renamed to the Lovell Telescope in 1987 after Bernard Lovell, and became a Grade I listed building in 1988. The telescope forms part of the MERLIN and European VLBI Network arrays of radio telescopes”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The Lovell Telescope listens to the night sky for radio signals from space at Jodrell Bank on June 22, 2011 in Holmes Chapel, England. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics and it's world famous Lovell Telescope is on the shortlist of Britain's submission for Unesco World Heritage Site status. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Singer and jury member Brian Ferry attends the Cartier “Travel With Style” Concours on March 12, 2011 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Cartier)

In this June 17, 2014 photo, a North Korean man takes shelter in the rain next to long propaganda billboards in the town of Samjiyon in North Korea's Ryanggang province. The Associated Press was granted to embark on a weeklong road trip across North Korea to the country’s spiritual summit Mount Paektu. The trip was on North Korea's terms. An AP reporter and photographer couldn't interview ordinary people or wander off course, and government “minders” accompanied them the entire way. (Photo by David Guttenfelder/AP Photo)

This photo of an elephant seal and Gentoo penguin shot by Andrew James in Yankee Harbour, Antarctica. (Photo by Andrew James/Travel Photographer of the Year)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Higgs the kitten loves exploring the great outdoors - by going on holiday in his owner’s rucksack.
The adorable five-month-old took his first steps outdoors while holidaying in the Highlands with owners Christian Witte and Kimia Mohammadi last month. But scared by the strong winds along the coastline of Sanna Bay, he scrambled up on Christian's back before hopping into his backpack.