“When I was 8 years old, my parents paid a smuggler to take me across the Himalayas, a weekslong walk over the mountains from Tibet to India. It was a trek that tens of thousands of other Tibetans have taken since the Dalai Lama fled a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. My parents must have had their reasons to send me here; they must have had the best of intentions. But 18 years later, I still don't know why they did it. They are not political people. They are small farmers who raise barley and a few yak in a rural area not far from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. I have not seen them since I left...”. – Tsering Topgyal via The Associated Press. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

The galactic core of the milky way occupied by two small wooden boats on July 2, 2014, in Isle of Wight, UK. The Milky Way shines in mesmerizing colourful patterns above the Isle of Wight in stunning photographs. Chad Powell used a DSLR camera to capture images of the spectacular constellation above the familiar beach scenes of England's largest island. The 22-year-old, who shot the pictures over a year of stargazing on the island, often stayed up until dawn to catch the most dramatic sky-scapes. Chad, a graphic designer from Ventnor, Isle of Wight, used foregrounds of abandoned theme parks, harbors and lighthouses against the illuminated sky. Minor adjustments were made to bring out the contrast and whites in the images. (Photo by Chad Powell/Barcroft Media)

Jim Mahoney looks out from his yard towards the construction of the Foxconn manufacturing complex, after he and his wife Kim refused to sell their home and property to Foxconn, in the Racine County city of Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, U.S., July 27, 2019. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

A Hezbollah supporter fires a rocket-propelled grenade in the air to celebrate the arrival of Iranian fuel tankers to Lebanon, in the eastern town of Baalbek, Lebanon, Thursday, September 16, 2021. The delivery violates US sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers three years ago. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

Two rainbows emerge from a black storm above the mountains, on August 19, 2014, in Kingman, Arizona. Double tornadoes, lightning storms and rotating supercells – this is what it's like to chase storms for a year. These dramatic images show apocalyptic weather throughout 2014 from a lightning storm to a pair of rainbows. Roger Hill, 57, has been chasing storms in the United States for thirty years and runs a tour operation with his wife Caryn. His favourite photograph of the year was also one of the most difficult to get – as two violent tornadoes tore through Pilger, Nebraska on June 16. The spiraling winds killed a five-year-old girl and injured at least 19 others, and as Roger tried to get the perfect shot debris began to rain down on his car. (Photo by Roger Hill/Barcroft Media)

This breathtaking natural light show illuminating waters off the British coast looks like something out of hit film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Photographer Adrian Campfield was out having dinner at a restaurant at Beachy Head, East Sussex, when the rays suddenly appeared. The 59-year-old and his wife Louise rushed outside onto the 535ft high cliffs to watch the spectacle. Mr Campfield, a former graphic designer, from Bexley, Kent, said the light was “changing all the time” for more than 15 minutes. (Photo by Adrian Campfield/Solent/Visual Press Agency)

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)

Underwater photographer of the year – winner. Dancing Octopus by Gabriel Barathieu (France). Location: Island of Mayotte, off the coast of south-east Africa. “Balletic and malevolent”, one judge said of this octopus, hunting in a lagoon. Barathieu waited until spring tides when there was just 30cm of water on the flats and plenty of light in the shallows. (Photo by Gabriel Barathieu/UPY2017)