The launch of a rocket into space is projected on Dubai's Burj Khalifa on February 9, 2021 as the UAE's “Al-Amal” – Arabic for “Hope” – probe's to Mars carries out a tricky manoeuvre to enter the Red Planet's orbit. A tense half-hour today will determine the fate of “Hope”. If successful, the probe which is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, will become the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month. (Photo by Giuseppe Cacace/AFP Photo)

Carnival revellers take the metro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 19, 2023. Shaking the ground to the beat of their drums, Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival parades returned Sunday in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba, the festival's first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil's bitterly divisive elections. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

An air tanker flies low over a wildfire burning on the edge of the Cariboo region city of Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada on July 21, 2024. (Photo by Spencer Stratton/Handout via Reuters)

“Tardigrades (commonly known as waterbears or moss piglets) are small, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs. Tardigrades were first discovered in 1773 by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, who called them kleiner Wasserbär, meaning “little water bear” in German. The name Tardigrada means “slow walker” and was given by Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1777. The name water bear comes from the way they walk, reminiscent of a bear's gait. The biggest adults may reach a body length of 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in), the smallest below 0.1 mm. Freshly hatched tardigrades may be smaller than 0.05 mm”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Tardigrades. (Photo by SPL/East News)

The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Denmark was in third place last year, behind Switzerland and Iceland. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50. Here: #8. NEW ZEALAND: A woman dives from a platform into a giant air bed at a park in Palmerston North September 29, 2011. (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)

“Stacked Supercell with Lightning”. This huge mesocyclone supercell was near the Nebraska / Kansas border on the night of June 22nd, 2012. What a stunning structure! (Photo and caption by Jennifer Brindley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Dancers perform during the Navam Perahera at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 15, 2022. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Visitors enjoy a walk accross a suspension bridge for the pedestrians that is the longest such construction in the world shortly after its official opening at a mountain resort in Dolni Morava, Czech Republic, Friday, May 13, 2022. The 721-meter (2,365 feet) long bridge is built at the altitude of more than 1,100 meters above the sea level. It connects two ridges of the mountains up to 95 meters above a valley between them. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)