1. Pluto as seen from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft
This amazing color photograph of Pluto, taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, really merits close attention. Not many people would expect a 'planet' so far from the sun to sport so many hues of red, orange, yellow and blue, but that is the wonder of science for you!
2. View of the interior of Nasir ol Molk Mosque, Shiraz.
The colors that the sun light makes when traveling through those beautiful stain glass windows and onto the luscious carpet make this one of the most gorgeous mosques in all the world.
3. Milky Way lying above a lady, California
This is the photograph that every cameraman dreams of taking. The Milky Way is the most amazing and spectacular vision that the night sky affords, all the more so for giving us incredible sites like this.
4. The Long Room of the Old Library, Trinity College Dublin.
It doesn't matter how incredibly compact and powerful computer chips become, sights like this of a stately library full of old tomes from years gone by are the greatest means of transmitting the importance of learning and the wisdom to be found in letters.
5. Sunset view from the back of a waterfall, Iceland
These cliffs used to be part of the coastline, but now they are surrounded by lush vegetation, which affords such colorful photographs here at Seljalandsfoss.
6. Pillars of creation
This Hubble Space Telescope image of the so-called Pillars of Creation is utterly sublime. Each one of these pillars of cosmic dust and stars is about five light-years in height.
7. Port and lighthouse overnight storm with lightning in Port-la-Nouvelle, France.
How rare it is to see a storm of such frightening but fascinating vigor! You can see why this image was prized so highly by the judges of this contest.
8. Macaca fuscata juvenile yawning, Nagano, Japan
This Japanese macaque was brilliantly captured showing its tiredness, a really quite human moment.
9. Sunrise with Paraná pines, Serra da Bocaina National Park, Brazil.
This picture is proof that sunrise is the most beautiful part of the day, full of promise and splendor.
10. Rådhuset metro station, Stockholm
Some say that underground railway stations are hideously ugly places that everybody tries to spend as little time as possible. This, on the contrary, looks like the lair of a distinguished Bond villain.
11. Las Lajas Sanctuary church, Nariño, Colombia
Have you ever seen a church perched in such a perilous location as this? I haven't, and I'm very impressed by how safe, secure and blended into the rocks this basilica is embedded.
12. Air to air image of a Spitfire, taken over RAF Coningsby
The Spitfire is the pride of the RAF and a true symbol of British patriotism and aviation excellence. This rare shot gives you a feeling of what it must be like to have this devastating beauty on your tail.
