Images Dated 3rd December 2003

SNOWBOARDER TAKES SOME AIR OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF LAKE LOUISE ALBERTA

A snowboarder takes some air over the local mountains in Lake Louise,
Alberta December 3, 2003. Snowboarders from all over the world visit
the resort to take in snow and view. Lake Louise is also a regular site
used for the World Cup Downhill circuit. NO RIGHTS CLEARANCES OR PERMISSIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS IMAGE REUTERS/Andy Clark AC

Sauropod dinosaurs

Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus dinosaurs, computer artwork. These are both sauropod dinosaurs, enormous herbivores with long necks and tails. Brachiosaurus held its neck nearly vertically, and was the tallest dinosaur, standing up to 16 metres tall. Diplodocus held its neck horizontally. It is thought that Brachiosaurus fed on the high leaves of trees, as giraffes do today, while Diplodocus fed on lower plants. These dinosaurs inhabited what is now North America in the late Jurassic period, between 155 and 145 million years ago. It is thought that sauropod dinosaurs lived in herds, although a fully-grown adult would have had little to fear from predators

© CHRISTIAN DARKIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Optical image of the galaxies M81 & M82

Galaxies. Optical image of the spiral galaxyM81 (NGC 3031, lower centre) and M82 (NGC 3034, upper centre) in the constellation Ursa Major.North is at top. These galaxies are about 150, 000light years apart, and recently passed close toeach other in space. This meeting distorted theshape of M82, the smaller of the two, giving itits irregular appearance. They lie around 12million light years away, quite close in galacticterms. M81's spiral arms are dominated by hotyoung blue stars, and several large pink nebulaeare seen, which are enormous starbirth regions.The nucleus appears yellow as it is mainly made upof older stars and dense dust

© Tony and Daphne Hallas/Science Photo Library