James Brady and a police officer are seen lying on the ground after being shot while the suspect John Hinckley Jr. is apprehended,at right, moments after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, Washington, DC, March 30, 1981. (Photo by Dirck Halstead/Getty Images)

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station experiences months of darkness. The sun dips below the horizon on March 21, after which follows several weeks of twilight before complete darkness results. Photo taken on June 25, 2009. (National Science Foundation/Jeremy Johnson)

A group of hikers atop Mount St. Helens on July 21, 2016. Mount St. Helens or Louwala-Clough is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington, and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Raxit Kagalwala)

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)

A Hercules beetle, one of the largest species of its kind, in seen at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on May 23, 2023. In the Monteverde cloud forest, dense fog among the lush vegetation is increasingly rare and temperatures are increasing each year due to climate change. (Photo by Ezequiel Becerra/AFP Photo)

Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces take part in a military training in Panjshir province on August 30, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP Photo)

Dogs are seen at the 2021 Pawlidays celebration at Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles on December 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

A performer competes during the “Battle of the Legends” vogueing competition outside the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) on June 11, 2019 in New York City. In celebration of Pride month in New York the Museum hosted a vogueing competition, a highly stylized modern house dance. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)