December Gallery

HST deep-view of several very distant galaxies

Distant galaxies. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) deep-view image of several thousand never-before seen extremely distant galaxies. This is the deepest view yet into the universe. The most distant of these galaxies are around 12 billion light years away, meaning their light has travelled across about three-quarters of the known universe to reach Earth. These galaxies lie in the southern constellation Tucana. This image, the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S), was produced by the Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) after a ten-day exposure in October 1998

© NASA/ESA/STSCI/R.WILLIAMS, HDF-S TEAM/ SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Swedish, American, Mexican and Australian tourists ride camels past river gum trees

Swedish, American, Mexican and Australian tourists ride camels past river gum trees on the dry bed of the Todd River near Alice Springs December 30. An enterprising tour company called "Take a Camel Out To Dinner", in its 16th year of business, offers tourists airport transfers, an hour's camel ride, admission to a camel farm and a three-course meal for $A80.00. In Australia's summer months, most tourists are from the northern hemisphere. ?? - PBEAHUMITDI

An Australian kite glides over the parched landscape beneath an almost-full moon outside

An Australian kite glides over the parched landscape beneath an almost-full moon outside Alice Springs in the central town of Australia December 31. Kites join other raptors, birds of prey, [searching for reptiles, rodents and small birds in the countryside surrounding towns and cities]. Alice Springs is a major site for foreign and domestic tourists keen to sample the wide open spaces, spectacular countryside and unique outback lifestyle.
?? - PBEAHUMITDE