Images Dated 24th April 2003

Us-Space-Hubble

This photograph released 24 April 2003, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in May 1999, captures a small region within M17, a hotbed of star formation. M17, also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, is located about 5, 500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius and is roughly 3 light-years across. The image is being released to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of Hubble's launch on April 24, 1990. AFP PHOTO/NASA
/ AFP PHOTO / NASA / NASA

© Agence France-Presse (AFP) - All Rights Reserved

Southern fur seal

Southern fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) diving in a kelp forest. The southern (or South American) fur seal hunts mostly at night, diving up to 170 metres to feed on fish and krill. It is preyed on by sea lions, sharks and killer whales. It is found around the rocky coasts of the southern part of South America, and southern Atlantic islands. It breeds in large, densely- populated colonies. Like sea lions, fur seals are members of the family Otariidae which is distinguished from the "true" seals by the presence of external ears. Hunting for fur reduced their numbers, but the population has since recovered. Photographed on South Georgia Island

© DOUG ALLAN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

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