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)

Natasha Cloud #0 and Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury gather their team before the game against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 04, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

On February 16, 2025, Finna Indriani, a 27-year-old female jockey, showcased her skills in a specialized “sport-action” performance during the “Roda Gila” entertainment event at a traditional night market in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Ukrainians jump over a fire in Kiev, Ukraine, 06 July 2017, as they celebrate the traditional pagan holiday of Ivana Kupala. Ivana Kupala is celebrated, during the summer solstice, on the shortest night of the year, marking the beginning of summer and is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Russia on the night of 06 July. People sing and dance around bonfires, play games and perform traditional rituals. Young people jump over bonfires in order to test their bravery. Couples holding hands jump over the flames to test their love. If the couple does not succeed it is predicted to split up. Traditionally, children and young unmarried women wear wreaths of wild flowers on their heads to symbolize purity. (Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA)

Mateo Santiago, Field Manager at Tropical Bamboo Nursery and Gardens, photographs rain water collecting in the corpse flower as Garden Manager Melanie Benson steadies a ladder. Santiago crinkled his nose up distastefully when he described its odor, which was at its worse Sunday night. “It smelled like a dead rat”. (Photo by Melanie Bell/Palm Beach Daily News)

A young YPJ recruit (in pink) arrives to the training base for her first day in training near Derek City, Syria. The YPJ schedule is demanding and requires discipline – new soldiers in training get about 6 hours of sleep a night and wake up at 4 AM to begin exercising; afterwards, their day consists of a full schedule of drills and classroom lessons. Before joining the YPJ many of the girls had never participated in physical activity or sports before. (Photo by Erin Trieb/NBC News)

Animal rights activists, including musician Kris Reichert, center, hold up signs with writing in Italian reading; “Leather: a lethal look” and “I wouldn't wear animal skin even if I were dead” as they stage a demonstration in front of Milan's Duomo gothic cathedral, Italy, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Milan Fashion Week previews kick off Wednesday with Gucci, leading up to the awards on Sunday night. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

In June, Mallory Gaudet picked up a little ginger kitten on the street and took him home. Mallory worried that the baby will not be able to get along with her ​​two other pets – ferrets, and they will hurt him. But it turned out that the new member of the family, named Ned, could get used to this neighborhood very fast. Moreover – these three animals became really best friends. Now kitten and ferrets play, eat and sleep all together. But the most touching thing is when Ned “washes” the ferrets. Interspecific and intergeneric animals’ friendship – is a rare phenomenon. But ginger kitten and two of his fellows break all the stereotypes.