Images Dated 23rd August 2004

Andromeda Galaxy with brightness contour lines

Great Andromeda Galaxy. Optical image of the Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31; NGC 224) overlaid with contour lines which link areas of equal brightness. Andromeda has a bright, dense central bulge surrounded by dimmer spiral arms. The galaxy is located 2.2 million light years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda, & is the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye. It is the nearest galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. At about 200, 000 light years across Andromeda is the largest galaxy in the "local group", the cluster of around 25 galaxies that includes the Milky Way

© LAGUNA DESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

North American lupin stem

North American lupin aphids, Macrosyphum albifroms, feeding on a lupin stem. The large female on the left is giving birth to a live nymph. Unlike most aphids, which have alternating generations which feed on two different hosts, this species feeds only on the lupin. Commonly known as plant lice, greenfly or blackfly, aphids extract the sap of their host plant via sucking mouthparts. Their immense reproductive capabil- ities make many of them serious pests. The two short horns at the aphid's rear are cornicles. These are utilised when the aphid is threatened; blood containing wax-filled blood cells is released to coat the mouthparts of the attacker

© Vaughan Fleming/Science Photo Library

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2004 British Touring Car Championship
Brands Hatch, England. 21st - 22nd August 2004.
Jason Plato (SEAT Toledo Cupra) leads Matt Neal (Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type-R) and Yvan Muller (VX Racing Vauxhall Astra), action.
World Copyright: Jeff Bloxham/LAT Photographic
ref: Digital Image Only