M42 Subtle V1 cropped. One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is its home. This complex also includes another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard’s Loop and the Running Man Nebula, which can be seen to the left of this photograph. (Photo by Patrick Gilliland)

This month’s selection of travel imagery mixes quiet moments and superlative views. The overall 2018 prize is a West Greenland trip with Wild Photography Holidays. Here: “This was taken on a safari in Kruger national park, South Africa. The scene was like something straight out of a storybook: a wild baboon, impala and elephant crossing the road together, all lined up neatly in a row”. (Photo by Will Clarke/The Guardian)

A dog wearing a mask is seen on a street following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Shanghai, China on March 22, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

American singer Miley Cyrus, left, and American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish attend the Gucci “Love Parade” fashion show Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Photo)

Kimono-clad young women take their selfies near a venue during the Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony in Yokohama, Japan on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A lynx in a wintry forest investigates a remote camera in the last decade of January 2025. Four lynx were recently illegally released into the Cairngorms, in the Scottish Highlands, and were rescued by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, although one subsequently died. (Photo by Brian Matthews/Solent News)

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift early October 2025 reveals “dark fear” that used to plague her before finding Travis Kelce as she opens up about wedding plans. (Photo by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott)

“Early morning in Mandawa, rural Rajasthan: it was the morning of Diwali and the streets were swept by smiling women in brightly coloured sarees as I took an early morning cup of chai. Celebrations started later, when darkness fell”. (Photo by Hamish Scott-Brown/Guardian Witness)