The lower curtain of Russell Falls, a waterfall on the eastern boundary of Mount Field National Park, in Tasmania, Australia, 100 metres (330 ft) downstream from Horseshoe Falls. Accessible by a paved walking track, the falls are a popular tourist attraction.

Photo: JJ Harrison

Four mounted police officers of the Victoria Police in Victoria, Australia, during a peaceful protest at Hazelwood Power Station. The officers and horses are equipped with riot gear to protect them from any indirect projectiles or attempted assaults, as well as reflective tape to aid visibility. Mounted police are often employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage.

Photo: Mriya

The head of a female Clynotis severus species of jumping spider. The eyes of a spider are called simple eyes (as opposed to compound eyes) because in each eye, a single lens collects and focuses light onto the retina. In this spider, the two largest eyes in the middle are the most acute. The remainder on the sides and on the top of its head are "secondary eyes".

Photo: JJ Harrison

Panamanian baseball pitcher Mariano Rivera has spent his entire 16-year Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees. An 11-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Rivera has accumulated 559 saves, the second-most in MLB history, and he holds Major League postseason records for saves and earned run average, among other records.

Photo: Keith Allison

A specimen of white coral fungus (Ramariopsis kunzei), a species of coral fungus found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The fruit body is white to whitish-yellow in color and grows typically up to 8 cm (3.1 in) tall and 6 cm (2.4 in) wide. Older specimens may have a pinkish tinge. Although it is edible, the odor and taste are not distinctive.

Photo: Kaldari

A panoramic view of Valletta, the capital of Malta, as seen from Senglea across the Grand Harbour. The city is named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller who successfully defended the island from an Ottoman invasion in 1565. The City of Valletta was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.

Photo: Myriam Thyes

The Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia, New Caledonia and New Guinea. It ranges in size from 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in), with a wingspan between 123 and 146 cm (48 and 57 in). Males and females appear similar, with pale buff on the head, breast and tail, with browner wings and black flight feathers, but females are generally larger. It is named for its loud whistling call, which it gives in flight, while perched, and even while in the nest.

Photo: Fir0002

Under the Horse Chestnut Tree (1898), a drypoint and aquatint print by Mary Cassatt, an American painter and printmaker who lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children, on which her reputation is largely based. In recognition of her contributions to the arts, France awarded her the Légion d'honneur in 1904, but she never had as much success in her homeland, having been overshadowed by her brother, railroad magnate Alexander Cassatt.

Restoration: Lise Broer

A female Phaneroptera sp. of katydid (or bush-cricket) from the subfamily Phaneropterinae, which contains some of the largest winged katydid species. Like the grasshoppers they physically resemble, they feed on plants, but they live solitary lives and do not swarm like grasshoppers do, and as such are not considered to be pests.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

The Princess of Wales conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens located in the borough of Richmond upon Thames in South London. The building was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales, in commemoration of Princess Augusta's efforts to expand the garden in the 18th century. Of the buildings constructed during this time, only a few remain, including a ten-storey pagoda.

Photo: David Iliff

The 85 m (279 ft) tall Westertoren is the tallest church tower in Amsterdam. Part of the Westerkerk ("western church"), it was designed in the Renaissance style by Hendrick de Keyser and is topped by a replica of the Imperial Crown of Austria of Maximilian I. The Westerkerk is located close to the Anne Frank House where diarist Anne Frank and others hid for two years during World War II, and is mentioned frequently in her diary.

Photo: Massimo Catarinella