“Sokolica”. Sokolica, Poland. (Photo and caption by Marcin Kęsek/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.

M42 Subtle V1 cropped. One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is its home. This complex also includes another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard’s Loop and the Running Man Nebula, which can be seen to the left of this photograph. (Photo by Patrick Gilliland)

A mushroom cloud dwarfs a row of skyscrapers in what looks like a devastating nuclear bomb detonation. But thankfully this is just a spectacular weather-front blasting in from the tempestuous Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado, USA. The unbelievable shot is just one of many of the city's skyline taken by photographer Greg Thow. The 49-year-old has also captured equally stunning shots of lightning blasts and arching rainbows – all from the comfort of his balcony. (Photo by Greg Thow/Barcroft Media)

A man carries away an injured girl while walking through debris past in the Achrafiyeh district in the centre of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020, following an explosion at the nearby port of Beirut. (Photo by The Mega Agency/Stringer)

Japan Self-Defense Force members pay their respect to unidentified earthquake victims in vehicles during a mess funeral on April 8, 2011 in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake struck offshore on March 11 at 2:46pm local time, triggering a tsunami wave of up to ten metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan, and also damaging the Fukushima nuclear plant and threatening a nuclear catastrophe. The death toll continues to rise with numbers of dead and missing exceeding 20,000 in a tragedy not seen since World War II in Japan. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

A boy plays in a swollen creek under a bridge in Manila on October 16, 2016. Typhoon Sarika lashed the main Philippine island of Luzon on October 16, flattening homes and toppling trees and power pylons as more than 12,000 people fled to safer ground, officials said. Shanties built beside a river, under a creek are the usual victims of floodings. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

Palestinians fleeing Khan Yunis arrive in Rafah with their belongings in a damaged car on February 15, 2024, as battles raged in the sourthern Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo)