“The fantastic landscape of Bagan in Myanmar features hundreds of temples and pagodas as far as the eye can see. Experiencing this sight at dawn from the basket of a hot air balloon will remain engraved in my memory for ever. Mick Ryan, judge – What a magical photograph and place. The Buddhist temples and pagodas fill the plains of Bagan in Myanmar at sunrise… the golden hour providing beautiful light to illuminate the retrogression of the temples and balloons toward a misty, mountainous distance. An excellent, exotic photograph that makes you want to book a flight”. (Photo by Alastair Swan/The Guardian)

What makes a watch the most valuable in the world? It’s supercomplicated – literally. In 1925 banker Henry Graves Jr. (considered the greatest watch collector of the 20th century) commissioned Patek Philippe to create a unique gold pocket watch. When Graves finally received it – eight years later – it was the most complex timepiece ever created by human hands... (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

Jenny Parks is a scientific illustrator that also happens to be a shameless nerd, with a penchant for drawing animals, dinosaurs, imaginary creatures… and occasionally, people as cats. Somehow, she found herself with a bit of internet fame with the illustration ‘Doctor Mew’, and has been baffled ever since. With a BFA in illustration from the California College of the Arts, and a graduate degree in Science Illustration from UC Santa Cruz, she now resides in San Francisco as a freelance illustrator, fulfilling her destiny to make a living drawing cute, fuzzy things.

A David Cameron look-alike poses with a polar bear model outside the Houses of Parliament as part of a Greenpeace protest on May 13, 2011 in London, England. The environmental charity Greenpeace arranged the protest to highlight the first anniversary of David Cameron’s speech when he pledged to make his new government the greenest ever. In April 2006 Mr Cameron traveled by huskie-drawn sledge when he visited the island of Svalbard in Norway to witness the effects of climate change. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Ever wonder what a human head would look like if he or she was turned into a pastry? Well now you can, thanks to the works created by the photographer Brandon Voges. Some of the pictures are light and funny, while others are pretty gruesome and outright disgusting. For example, the comparison of an old lady with some chunky, orange-colored pastry coated with what looks like syrup, really makes you lose your appetite. It is a wonder how they decided to use such an unappealing picture to promote an annual food show of the National Restaurant Association. (Photo by Brandon Voges)

“The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest-ever three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black holes, which will help astronomers explain the mysterious “dark matter” and “dark energy” that scientists know makes up 96 percent of the Universe”. – SDSS-III