Gliding past the planet Jupiter, the Cassini spacecraft captures this awe inspiring view of active Io, Jupiter's third largest satellite, with the largest gas giant as a backdrop, offering a stunning demonstration of the ruling planet's relative size, April 20, 2001. The Cassini spacecraft itself was about 10 million kilometers from Jupiter when recording the image data. (Photo courtesy of NASA/Newsmakers)

What do superheroes do when they’re not busy fighting bad guys and saving the world from destruction? Perhaps they’re drawing strength alone in the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. That’s the premise of French photographer Benoit Lapray‘s photo-manipulation series “The Quest for the Absolute.”

Indian police detain a Tibetan activist during a protest held to mark the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, India, March 10, 2016. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

The arctic hare, or polar rabbit, is a species of hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes in the ground or under snow to keep warm and sleep. Arctic hares look like rabbits but have shorter ears, are taller when standing, and, unlike rabbits, can thrive in cold climates. They can travel together with many other hares, sometimes huddling with dozens or more, but are usually found alone, taking, in some cases, more than one partner. The arctic hare can run up to 60 kilometres per hour (40 mph). Its predators include the arctic wolf, arctic fox, and ermine.

“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

There are not many sculptures in the world that were purposely made to be grotesque, especially on such a large scale. Thus, a Hungarian artist Ervin Loránth Hervé has apparently decided that there isn’t enough horror in this world and created the Feltépve – a sculpture of a stone giant ripping apart the earth in order to break free. However, when we look from another perspective this sculpture might depict a grouchy giant trying to cover himself with a blanket of earth so that everyone would leave him alone. The latter interpretation of this sculpture was probably not intended by the sculptor; however, the way the arms of the giant are positioned makes it look as if it was truly the case.

“YagYang”. The Apatani are tribal people living in north east of India in the region of Arunachal Pradesh. Tattooing and stuffing of large nose plugs is the particularity of these women. YagYang 75 years old, her husband passed away few months ago and she feels very alone, during my visit I was very fond of this woman and I wanted to spend some more time with her, so I asked her which was her favorite dish. The next day i returned with the fresh fish, as she mentioned, and when she saw me she was very happy and welcomed me with a big smile. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Passarini Mattia/National Geographic Photo Contest)