With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

Patarawan fixes her boots as her parrot, Sim sits on her head as she goes shopping for dinner at a busy flooded market near the Chao Phraya river October 27, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. Hundreds of factories closed in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi as the flood waters began to reach Bangkok. Around 350 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, with Thailand experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Picks him up at 25 miles an hour! If the modern auto or truck hits you don't worry. Equipped with this device you are simply given a free ride. This man even came from behind another car, was struck but not even scratched. The demonstration was given recently in Washington, D.C. (1924 December 17). (Photo by Library of Congress)

A raccoon scratches herself on the window sill of the Paige Donnelly Law Firm on the 23rd floor of the UBS Plaza building in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., June 12, 2018, in this image obtained from social media. (Photo by Evan Frost/MPR News via Reuters)

Fisherman Jose Miguel Perez, whose nickname is “Taliban”, navigates the oil infested waters of Lake Maracaibo, near Cabimas, Venezuela, May 21, 2019. Nobody lives as closely with the environmental fallout of Venezuela's collapsing oil industry as the fishermen who scratch out an existence on the blackened, sticky shores of Lake Maracaibo. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A 20-year-old Japanese macaque monkey named Monday scratches her eyes while suffering an allergy to pollen from the cedar tree at Awajishima Monkey Centre on March 17, 2013 in Sumoto, Japan. Many monkeys are suffering the effects of hay fever at this time of the year, with the typical symptoms being the same as with humans. According to Awajishima Monkey center this year hay fever is higher than last year, the pollen season is from February to April. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

SpaceX, the space transportation company built from scratch by visionary billionaire Elon Musk, has the grand goal of space travel evolution through the use of re-usable rockets. Its technology – which has proven its worth several times – can reduce the costs of space transportation to its fraction, making it a more affordable way of reaching orbit or traveling beyond.

Shortlisted. Dragonfly, North York Moors national park, by Jonathan Green: “In June I was at May Beck with some colleagues when someone spotted this Hawker perched in a gorse bush. I love the detail on the wings, and it’s rare to be able to get so much of such a small subject in clear focus. Getting a few scratches was worth it”. (Photo by Jonathan Green/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)