A prefab shed transformed into a summer retreat, complete with wood flooring and solar panels, by designer Linda Bergroth. Photo: unknown

Meandering riverbeds combine to form dense, branching networks across the desert landscape of southeastern Jordan. Photo: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

An orange-powered nightlight, made possible by a small electrical charge created when zinc nails react with critic acid in the fruit. By no means bright, this photo required a 14-hour exposure. Photo: Caleb Charland

Dreamy and surreal, this photo was taken with an infrared filter and film, which captures light of a different wavelength than traditional photography. Photo: David Keochkerian

Artist William Forsythe creates sensory experiences by filling large architectural spaces with thousands of suspended balloons and deep, resonating music. Video: Scatter Crowds

A busy day at Hanover Airport, this composite photo shows the air traffic over several hours. Photo: Ho-Yeol Ryu

This photo of a spooky eye, on close inspection, reveals itself to be just a draining sink. Photo: Liammm via Reddit

Life in a space colony as imagined by NASA scientists and sci-fi illustrators in the 1970s. Image: Don Davis for NASA

An interior view of Volkswagen’s 16-story car tower in Wolfsburg, Germany, where robotic arms stack, sort, and deliver cars at lightning speed. Photo: Volkswagen

Why do flamingos stand on one foot? Scientists suspect that it helps the birds conserve body heat during long hours spent feeding in cold water. Photo: Martin Harvey

Creatively using both negative and positive space, artist Peter Callesen constructs intricate 3D sculptures by precisely cutting single sheets of paper. Photo: Peter Callesen

Reimagining the traditional nude image, photographer Shinichi Maruyama captures the grace of the human body in motion. Photo: shinichimaruyama.com

Returning from the sea, penguins like this one rocket themselves nearly six feet in the air in order to land clear of any lurking seals. Photo: Paul Nicklen

Stacked, geometric forms, impossibly sharp edges, and smooth curves are all hallmarks of Calvin Seibert’s modernist sandcastles. Photo: Calvin Seibert

A single photo of the Chicago skyline. Filmmaker Eric Hines combined 30,000 such shots to create a time-lapse tribute to the Windy City. Check out the video.

In search of food, emperor penguins can dive to 1,750 feet and remain underwater for 20 minutes on a single breath. Photo: Paul Nicklen

The interior of a Google data center. Maybe the Internet really is made of a series of tubes. Photo: Connie Zhou

A girl celebrates Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, by lighting candles arranged in the shape of the deity Ganesh. Photo: Ajay Verma

A late summer thunderhead gathers strength above Banner Peak and Mount Ritter near Garnet Lake in central California. Photo: Peter Essick

Something not right about this image? Fred Lebian traveled New York City taking photos, later returning to superimpose the pictures over their original scenes. Photo: Fred Lebian

Armed with what appears to be an interstellar flashlight, photographer Jack Fusco points to Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky. Photo: jackfusco.com

These billowing ribbons and lacy swirls were created by dropping pigments into water and capturing the results with a high-speed camera. Photo: Albert Seveso

Short autumn days and cooler temperatures have caused the green chlorophyll in this leaf to break down, revealing the red pigments that were always there. Photo: Torsten Silz

An intricate labyrinth of poured salt arranged by Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto, who almost entirely improvises the designs. Photo: Motoi Yamamoto

The delicate dance of moths drawn to a floodlight, captured in this long-exposure photo by Canadian ceramicist Steve Irvine. Photo: Steve Irvine

Swimmers battle the turbulence of a breaking wave at Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Mark Tipple

Enhanced to increase contrast, this photo clearly shows giant arcs of solar material, known as coronal loops, studied by scientists. Photo: Goddard Space Flight Center

A fox photographed mid-leap as it hunts for small rodents under the snow in Yellowstone National Park. Photo: Richard Peters

Returning from the depths of the Red Sea, Italian freediver Linda Paganelli passes in front of a cave in the Ras Mohammed National Park in Egypt. Photo: Jacques de Vos

The dream-like quality of this photograph is the result of a controlled “mistake” with a slit-scan camera. Photo: Jay Mark Johnson

The Space Shuttle Endeavor on its slow, 12-miles trip through the streets of Los Angeles to it’s new home at the California Science Center. Photo: Kevork Djansezian

Flamingos are very social birds, preferring to live in colonies that can number in the thousands. Photo: Klaus Nigge

The fiery tail of Space Shuttle Endeavor’s final flight reflected in the intercoastal waters of Florida. Photo: James Vernacotola

Illuminated by a projector, seemingly haphazard clumps of wood and detritus become incredibly detailed silhouettes. Photo: Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Moon power? This giant water-filled ball lens is capable of converting light—from both the sun and the moon—into power. Design: André Broessel

This avocado is a spooky example of Shawn Feeney’s food carvings, some of which have appeared in the White House. Photo: Shawn Feeney

Marking the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth, Indian children dressed as the famous leader and attended a peace rally. Photo: Ajit Solanki

Known as a blowfish or a pufferfish, the Tetraodontidae compensates for its slow locomotion by inflating into an unpalatable ball of spikes. Photo: Jason Moore

In search of good waves, some surfers are willing to brave the bitter cold and icy waters of the Great Lakes in the winter. Photo: Mike Killion

Powered by just lemons, limes, and oranges, this lamp draws energy from a chemical exchange that takes place between zinc electrodes and the citric acid in the fruit. Photo: Caleb Charland

Hitchcock-like in its inspiration, this art installation required that Carlos Amorales cover an entire Spanish church in black paper moths. Photo: Carlos Amorales

The Sphinx Observatory in Switzerland sits 11,715 above its immediate surroundings and provides unique conditions for research in various disciplines of science. Photo: Unknown

A liquid when at extremely low temperatures (-321 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact), nitrogen can cause rapid freezing and have shattering results for living tissue. Photo: Jon Shireman

Swim with the whales in the safety of a wading pool at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in southern Taiwan. Photo: Jeffrey Hsu

Built in the middle of the Drina River, this house is able to survive the seasonal floods that can raise water levels to its front door. Photo: Irene Becker

A small hedgehog blows bubbles in a plate of (lactose free) milk while under the watchful gaze of photographer Cath Schneider’s daughter. Photo: Cath Schneider

No Photoshopping here. All it took to build this floating faucet was clear pipe and some creative engineering. Photo: Todd S. Klassy

Composed of a gelatinous bell and long trailing tentacles, a jellyfish is not actually a fish, a misnomer popularized by public aquariums. Photo: Alexander Semenov

A plaid shirt and Wayfarer frames adorn this piece of Lourve statuary in bit of deft digital manipulation. Photo: Alexis Persani and Leo Caillard

Pizza has become a truly global food, with countries and regions developing their unique tastes: In this case, a mussel pizza from the east coast of the United States. Photo: Andrew Scrivani

“Water wigs,” that’s what photographer Tim Tadder calls the hair shaped splashes captured on the bald heads of his models. Photo: Tim Tadder

Luminescent sea creatures? In fact, they’re fireworks photographed using a long-exposure and refocus technique. Photo: David Johnson

Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap” onto the surface of the moon in 1969 marked a milestone in human history. Photo: Buzz Aldrin

With just eight different colored ballpoint pens, artist Samuel Silva uses a crosshatching technique to create photorealistic portraits of people and animals. Photo: Samuel Silva

Deep under the bustling streets of New York City, workers are busy digging a new subway tunnel with the assistance of explosives and excavators. Photo: Richard Barnes

Submerged cement sculptures become a home for coral, sponges, and other marine organisms to attach themselves. Photo: Jason de Caires Taylor

Every year, people young and old gather in Spanish Fork, Utah, to celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. Photo: Thomas Hawk

The green, rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy, as seen through the telephoto zoom lens of photographer Marcin Sobas: 500px.com/MarcinSobas

Nearly 20 percent of the world’s adult population is unable to read, even though it’s a skill that dates back to the 4th century BC. Photo: stevemccurry.com

The thrill of science: a captivated audience gathered in Times Square to watch as the Curiosity rover landed on the surface of Mars. Photo: Andrew Burton

Considerably harder to manage than horses, ostriches take a lap at an annual race in Ellis Park, Kentucky. Photo: Garry Jones

Built to welcome guests to the 1889 World’s Fair, the Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years. Photo: Unknown, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1972, this calculator was a groundbreaking accomplishment that shrank the power of a desktop computer into something that could be carried in a pocket. Photo: hp.com

Severe weather forms on the horizon as warm, moist air moves rapidly upward, only to cool, condense, and fall back to earth as heavy rain. Photo: Mitch Dobrowner

Constructed entirely from cardboard, this bicycle is designed for a rider up to 300lbs and contains just $9 in materials. Photo: vimeo.com/37584656

Over the years, the pigs of Big Major Cay, Bahamas, taught themselves how to swim as a clever means of scavenging for food from sailors and later tourists. Photo: echeng.com

Alive with 80,000 volts of electricity, these flowers were photographed without a camera using a technique called Kirlian. Photo: buelteman.com

The moon really is made of cheese (albeit not green) in this photo from a series by artist Christopher Boffoli, who stages miniature people alongside common foods. Photo: bigappetites.net

City lights, star trails, aurora, and lightning flashes blend together in this long exposure photo taken from the International Space Station by Astronaut Don Pettit. Photo: http://bit.ly/Jp9ARz

Meant to resemble an eye, the L’hemisferic of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain, sits at the edge of a reflecting pool lined in glass, creating the illusion of the eye as a whole. Photo: cac.es

Sometimes called an ecoduct, wildlife crossing like this one in Alberta, Canada, gives animals a safe means of crossing busy highways. Photo: Joel Sartore

An emblem of the Swiss Alps, Matterhorn derives its name from the German words "matte" and "horn," meaning “meadow peak”, respectively. Photo: Nenad Saljic

Cuts, slices, and folds reveal hints of orange, transforming a thick sheet of white paper into a pair of Japanese Koi fish. Photo: lisarodden.com

A false-colored scan of a caffeine crystal (the same caffeine found in a cup of coffee) under intense magnification. Photo: Annie Cavanagh and David McCarthy

A small forest of mechanical supertrees tower over Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay generating solar power, collecting rainwater, and providing shade from the sun. Photo: Glen Espinosa

Rendered in hyper detail, these mouthwatering Italian pastries by painter Luigi Benedicenti look as though you could eat them. Photo: albemarlegallery.com/artists/luigi-benedicenti

Five fish become the living instruments of a concert as their vertical movements are translated in musical sounds. Listen: quietensemble.com/quintetto

A spectacular display of the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, photographed from the window of the International Space Station by Astronaut Andre Kuipers. Photo: Andre Kuipers

The beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are home to some giant fish constructed using discarded plastic bottles. Photo: Victor R. Caivano

Constructed entirely from paper, these intricate models of motorcycles were designed by Paperobean to require no cutting or glue. Photo: facebook.com/ipapero

Twice a year the setting sun aligns with the main east–west streets of New York City, an event dubbed “Manhattanhenge.” Photo: Steve Kelley

Revealing the fine detail of the Australian jumping ant for the first time, a team of scientists is traveling the world with the goal of 3D photographing every species of ant. Photo: Antweb.org

Just a bottle, or is it Coca-Cola bottle? Brand Spirit is a project exploring our relationships with the brands that surround us. Photo: brandspirit.tumblr.com

Surfers know they’ll be spending a few moments underwater, but when surfing big waves it’s not uncommon to be held down a minute or more. Photo: Tony Heff

Floating in a sea of clouds, the 1,300-foot sheer cliffs of Mount Roraima mark the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Photo: Uwe George

Bacteria sample or your favorite vino? Actually it is both. Photographed through a microscope, red wine takes on a new look. Photo: legoullonphotography.com

An annulus, or ring of fire, occurs when the moon does not completely cover the sun during a solar eclipse. Photo: Colleen Pinski

When technology meets culinary experimentation, the result is a deep-fried iPad. Look delicious? Photo: Henry Hargreaves

The persistent winds of Mars sculpt these large sand dunes into flowing, drop-like forms that change with the seasonal winds. Photo: nasa.gov

Gale-force winds directly to the face do not make for a flattering portrait, but that was likely not the point. Photo: tadaocern.com

By color-coding numerical digits 1 through 9, designers Two-N, Inc. created a visual representation of Pi to four million decimals. This image is just a small detail. Photo: two-n.com

Looking to boost sales, a Japanese seaweed shop has begun laser cutting intricate designs into the sheets of nori used to roll sushi. isbbdo.co.jp

Triggered by the shattering sound, a camera captures to two porcelain figures in a delicate battle with one another. Photo: martin-klimas.de

Workers, dwarfed by their surroundings, sort and stack orders into an enormous wall of shelves at a Microsoft shipping facility. Photo: christian-stoll.com

Reaching for light, a tree grows from the top of an abandoned chimney in Luque, Paraguay. Photo: Jorge Saenz

The sweet anatomy of a pinata as imagined by the creative company Carmichael Lynch. Photo: carmichaelcollective.com

Sheep now inhabit Hobbiton, the fictional town build for the “Lord of the Rings” in Matamata, New Zealand. Photo: Tara Hunt

Appearing 16 percent larger than average, a “supermoon” occurs when the moon’s closest point of orbit coincides with a full moon. Photo: Quynh Ton

How does she hover? An optical illusion is a trick played on the eye when visual perception differs from objective reality. Photo: Unknown

A Rube Goldberg machine is a complex contraption designed to perform a simple task, in this case write a letter. Watch the video: mini.melvinthemachine.com

In the hands of artist William Miller, a broken polaroid camera turns out amazing abstract art. Photo: williammillerphoto.com

The pleasing symmetry of this geometric pattern is actually the vault of York Minster cathedral, built by hand in 1286. Photo: davidstephensonart.com

“One Steak” spelled out with 1,500 one-liter bottles of water, the amount of water needed to produce a 4-ounce steak. Photo: Reuters

Drawn by hand, the art of Paul Cadden is rich with meticulously details that border on hyperrealism. Photo: paulcadden.com

A boy pauses as sheep and goats take to the streets in protest in the French city Brignoles. Photo: AFP

The wind passing through the Sagano bamboo forest has been identified as one of “one hundred must-be-preserved sounds of Japan.” Photo: Donna & Stephan

Beginning with layers of wire mesh, sculptor Seung Mo Park slowly snips away areas to create giant ephemeral portraits like this one. Photo: Seung Mo Park

Space shuttle Discovery, retired after 39 trip to space, rides atop a 747 on its way to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.. Photo Tracy A. Woodward

Using only the focused rays of the sun, designer Markus Kayser created this bowl by melting layers of sand into glass, a process similar to 3D printing. Photo: markuskayser.com

Battered participants in 115 cities across the globe took part in fifth annual International Pillow Fight Day, April 7, 2012. Photo: Olivia Harris

Powered by a single off-the-shelf drill on a flowing plywood chassis, this electric vehicle hits top speeds of 15mph for up to 10 minutes at a time. Photo: rennholz.com

An optical illusion makes this lake in the Faroe Islands appear to tower above the sea. Photo: Jan Egil Kristianson

The dew drenched face of a insect, captured by photographer Ondrej Pakan. Photo: biker11.500px.com/portfolio/

Using what is referred to as “soup,” Mandy Barker transforms the plastic debris found floating in the sea into ingredients for her art. Photo: mandy-barker.com

Every year the city of Valencia in Spain celebrates Las Fallas, a noisy week of festivities climaxing in the burning of large papier mache figures. Photo: AFP

Although it appears to be a wave, this Lego surfer is actually riding an underwater plume of ink. Photo: Alberto Seveso

An intricate industrial landscape created from the negative space of a cut leaf, part of an ad campaign for Plant for the Planet. Photo: Legas Delaney

The other-worldly nature of this octopus is the result of a negative imaging process, in which all colors are reversed, with red appearing cyan, green appearing magenta, and blue appearing yellow. Photo: Sarah Jackson

The small town of Asiago, Italy shrouded in fog. Photo: Vittorio Polli

Lit from above and rotated to a particular angle, these seemingly abstract hand-carved sculptures by scientist and artist John Muntean suddenly cast discernable images. Photo: jvmuntean.com

The trained eye of photographer Bjoren Ewers rendered the cramped interior of this cello into a voluminous interior. Photo: Bjoren Ewers

Volcanic lighting, thought to be caused by colliding dust particles, is not a completely understood phenomena. Photo: EPA

Bedouin pose in front of the great pyramids of Egypt in this photograph from the 1870’s. Photo: New York Public Library

From Miles Davis to Kraftwerk, photographer Martin Klimas creates explosive sound paintings by playing music at high volume. Photo: Martin Klimas

Photographer Sannah Kvist invited friends to gather all of their belonging and pose for a project entitled “All I Own.” Photo: Sannah Kvist

Diners sit in the sparkling wake of a waterfall as they local cuisine in the tourist town of San Pablo City in the Philippines. Photo: Na Sana

Maddie the coonhound is currently posing and balancing her way across the U.S. with photographer and owner Theron Humphrey. Photo: maddieonthings.com

“Alphabet Topography” is a physical examination of letters and their frequency of use—“R,” used more often than “G,” is taller. Photo: synopticoffice.com

Using a focus technique called bokeh, Lee Peiling creates macro photographs of insects that could be mistaken for paintings. Photo: flickr.com/photos/twomeows

The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, is named for the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek word for north wind, boreas. Photo: Ole Salomonsen

Designer Livia Ritthaler created a minimalistic gramophone from just three materials: paper, wood, and metal. Photo Livia Ritthaler

This Chameleon, the world’s smallest, was discovered off the coast of Madagascar and measures just 3cm long. Photo: Frank Glaw

Armed with LEDs and xenon flashlights, artist Trevor Willimas paints with light, using scenes from his adapted home, Japan, as a backdrop. Photo: Trevor Williams

The surface of Mars in false color, a technique used by geologists to study the mineral composition of landscapes. Photo: NASA

The treelike canopy of the Metropol Parasol is Seville, Spain invokes the sense of a shaded, open forest floor in the heart of the city. Photo: Hufton + Crow

“The Back Seat of My Car,” a series by Alicia Rius captures her vision of abandoned objects as hidden treasures. Photo: Alicia Rius

If human height varied as much as dogs, the smallest would be two feet tall and the tallest would tower 31 feet. Photo: Robert Clark

The personal kitchen of Gladys Valastro was influenced by her learnings as a designer of the first kitchen for handicapped living. Photo Sal Valastro

In 1848, a German glass blower invented marble scissors, a spherical mold that revolutionized the process of making marbles. Photo: whodeenee

Artist Max de Esteban meticulously disassembles old gadgets, photographing each layer, and then digitally constructs an x-ray like image. Photo: Max de Esteban

A calligrapher writes various characters meaning “dragon” to commemorate this year’s Chinese zodiac during lunar new year celebrations. Photo: Agence France-Presse

A top-ranked 400-meter runner and Olympic favorite, Oscar Pistorius had both lower legs amputated when he was 11 months old. Photo: Pieter Hugo

In 1978, a group of kids discovered a Ferrari buried in the backyard of their suburban LA home. Photo: Michael Haering

This unusual “blonde” penguin has isabellinism, a genetic mutation that dilutes the pigment of its feathers: Photo: David Stephens

Artist Tara Donovan transforms ordinary objects into imaginative forms, in this case styrofoam cups become buoyant clouds. Photo Tara Donovan

The International Space Station seems to hover over the moon’s surface, when in actuality the two are separated by nearly 240,000 miles. Photo: Lauren Harnett

Survivors of the Japanese tsunami visit the mangled remains of a pine tree that resembles a dragon, this year's Chinese zodiac symbol. Photo: Manichi Shinbun

Ben Bulben, a large rock formation thrust from the flat Irish countryside, is the setting of many Celtic legends. Photo: Unknown

Artist Brain Dettmer carves away at the pages of books, favoring out-of-date encyclopedias, to reveal the images within. Photo: Brain Dettmer

Light pillars, a natural phenomenon, are created by the reflection of light from ice crystals with near horizontal parallel planar surfaces. Photo: Tristan Greszko

Lucky pig (Glücksschwein) charms are believed to bring good luck in the New Year, the Swiss resort of Klosters goes one better with its annual pig race. Photo: Arno Balzarini

Tree-like shapes formed by rivers in Baja California desert, Mexico. Photo: Adriana Franco