An artist's impression of a growing supermassive black hole located in the early Universe is seen in this NASA handout illustration released on June 15, 2011. Using the deepest X-ray image ever taken, astronomers found the first direct evidence that massive black holes were common in the early universe. This discovery from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory shows that very young black holes grew more aggressively than previously thought, in tandem with the growth of their host galaxies. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/Chandra X-Ray Observatory/A.Hobart)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Aviation enthusiast Patrick Wilson 8, from Wetherby looks at an Avro 504 k at “The Shuttlesworth Collection” at Old Warden on July 21, 2014 in Biggleswade, England. Of the 55,000 planes that were manufactured by the Royal Army Corps (RAC) during WWI, only around 20 remain in airworthy condition. Six of these belong to The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, Bedfordshire, making it the most complete collection of original airworthy WWI aircraft in the world. Amongst the collection is the SE5a. The SE5a is a single seater fighter aircraft. It is an original biplane designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, with its engine built by Wolseley Motors Ltd, and it was issued to 84 Squadron in November 1918. The National Archive in Kew has recently verified that the plane saw action in France with 84 Squadron the day before Armistice, November 10, 1918. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Members of the Mahogany Blue Baby Dolls including Victoria “Lady Lotus” Spotts (C) march in the 25th Anniversary Satchmo Salute second line parade, honoring New Orleans jazz legend Louis Armstrong, on August 3, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Revelers marched from historic St. Augustine Catholic Church in the Tremé neighborhood to the New Orleans Jazz Museum where Satchmo Summerfest is being held. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The start of the Al-Sirr camel race on November 19, 2025 in El Hassana, Egypt. The Al-Sirr camel race is one of the most culturally significant and widely celebrated sporting events among the Bedouin communities of Sinai. Every year, Bedouin tribes gather here to hold this traditional race, an event that preserves its authentic heritage. Unlike modern camel races elsewhere, the Bedouin here do not use robotic jockeys or advanced racing technologies. Instead, the camels are ridden by young boys aged approximately 5 to 16, maintaining a long-standing cultural practice. (Photo by Ali Moustafa/Getty Images)

People use large water guns to spray each other as they celebrate the annual Songkran festival in Bangkok, Thailand on April 14, 2025. Thailand celebrated the Thai traditional New Year, called Songkran in Thai and also known as ëthe water festivalí, on 13 April, with festivities going on on throughout the weekend. During Songkran, people celebrate the New Year by splashing water to each other as a sign of washing away sins and bad luck from the previous year. People across Thailand celebrate the New Year with parties and water related activities throughout the weekend. (Photo by Diego Azubel/Matrix Images)

A soldier fires a rocket gun as Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region, where the country's most intense clashes occur, attend intensive combat training by using both domestic and foreign weapons amid Russia-Ukraine war in Donetsk, Ukraine on May 08, 2023. Infantry is always prepared in a conflict where heavy weaponry like aircraft, helicopters, tanks and other heavy armored vehicles, artillery systems, and mortars are widely deployed on frontline. Combat readiness and experience training of the 57th Brigade of the Ukrainian army continues in Donetsk. (Photo by Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Performers Aidee Arely Ramirez Arellano (left) and Viridiana Mayte Arica Rico from Banda Monumental De Mexico who are part of this year's Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo cast, display their Monarch butterfly costumes in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh on Thursday, August 25, 2022, ahead of the final weekend of this year's show, Voices. The butterfly costumes are a tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, inspired by an image of the Duke of Edinburgh watching the butterflies migration during a trip he attended to support conservation of the species. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Wire)