European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake will return home after a six-month long mission on the International Space Station,on June 18, 2016. Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the ISS and captured hundreds of photographs of the Earth during his mission. Here: “Lots of sun-glint right now during our whole orbit – we haven't seen a sunset for over 3 days”, he wrote. (Photo by Tim Peake/ESA/NASA)

Soma-Nomaoi is a festival that recreates a battle scene from more than 1,000 years ago. It is annually held for 4 days from July 22 to 25 in Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Japan. In this historical event, 600 mounted samurai in traditional Japanese armor, with long swords at their side and ancestral flagstaffs streaming from their backs, ride across open fields. Soma-Nomaoi has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Photo: A young woman (C) clad in samurai costume leads other local poeple as she rides her horse during a parade at the annual Soma Nomaoi festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 28, 2012. The traditional full-scale festival kicked off for the first time after the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the massive earthquake and the tsunami on March 11, 2011. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)

Indian brides and grooms wait for the start of a mass wedding in New Delhi on June 15, 2014. Some 92 low-income and disabled couples tied the knot in a free mass wedding ceremony organised by the non-profit organisation Narayan Sewa Sansthan. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

First place, Portrait. Three flat-coated retrievers – Crew, Darcie and Pagan – by Carol Durrant from the UK. (Photo by Carol Durrant/Dog Photographer of the Year 2018)

A man holds a tree branch and marches by burning tires during a protest against insecurity, on August 7, 2023, near the Prime Minister's official house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Some 300 women and minors were kidnapped in Haiti by criminal gangs in the first half of this year, UNICEF said Monday, warning of a disturbing rise in abductions that leave “deep physical and psychological scars”. The surge in abductions threatens “both the people of Haiti and those who have come to help”. (Photo by Richard Pierrin/AFP Photo)

Lily Aldridge and Elsa Hosk take a selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower prior the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on November 29, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

Starting on Monday, August 12, Perseid meteors will streak across the summer sky for a couple of nights, offering casual stargazers and serious nighttime photographers a chance to capture a glimpse of the annual meteor shower. Photo: Photographer David Kingham created this composite image from 23 photos on August 12, 2012. (Photo by David Kingham)