Scientists trekking for days to the undisputed furthest north land point on the planet, in October 2024 were greeted by an unexpected welcoming party: a stoat, whom they named Randall. The team were heading to Kaffeklubben Island, also known as Inuit Qeqertaat, off the northern tip of Greenland, about 440 miles from the North Pole, when Randall emerged from a cairn of rocks, showing no fear as he went to investigate them. (Photo by Jeff Kerby/Magnus News)

Dinosaur robots acting as receptionist greet a hotel employee demonstrating how to check-in to the hotel during a press preview for the newly-opening Henn na Hotel Maihama Tokyo Bay in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2017. The reception desk is handled by robots that speak Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean, as well as porter robots that help guests carry luggage to their rooms. Tasks such as window-cleaning and vacuuming are also handled by robots. Japan's second robot-run hotel Henn na Hotel (“strange hotel” in Japanese) opened on March 15, 2017 as the robot-staffed hotel near Tokyo, operating company H.I.S. Co. said. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Amateur astronomer Bill Snyder has been involved with astrophotography since 2007. Photo: The Cygnus Wall is in the southern area of NGC7000 also known as the North America Nebula. It is approximately 1800 light years from Earth, and is in the constellation Cygnus. The Wall is an energized shock front and contains the most concentrated star formations in the nebula. The size of the North America Nebula is about 4 full moons. (Photo and caption by Bill Snyder)

A woman surveys the damage after the earthquake on March 17, 2011 in Kensennuma, Japan. Residents were allowed back to their homes today and began the massive cleanup operation caused by a 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake that struck on March 11 off the coast of north-eastern Japan. The quake triggered a tsunami wave of up to 10 metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan. The death toll has risen past 5000 with at least 8600 people still missing. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Ballroom dancers Andrei Toader and Mia Linnik-Holden compete in the “North of England Amateur Ballroom Dancing” competition at the 49th British National Dance Championships, in the Empress Ballroom of Blackpool's Winter Gardens, in Blackpool, north-west England, on November 21, 2024. The four-day British National Dance Championships have been taking place since 1975 with dancers competing in Ballroom and Latin dancing disciplines. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

US surfer Koa Rothman rides a huge swell in training for the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout 2025 event held annually at Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on December 26, 2024. The “Da Hui Backdoor Shootout” in 2025 is an invitation-only surfing competition held on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, during a holding period from January 4 to 16, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bielmann/AFP Photo)

Lightning illuminates a thundercloud as a storm front hits the North Sea region near Westerhever, northern Germany, on August 11, 2014. (Photo by Daniel Reinhardt/AFP Photo/DPA)

An Israeli soldier leaves the battlefield after an army exercise on at the Shizafon army base, in the Negev Desert north of the southern city of Eilat on January 31, 2012 in Shizafon, Israel. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)