Images Dated 20th May 2003

Halo planet

Halo planets. Artwork showing the sky of a planet in the outer halo of a galaxy (seen from far left to upper right). The planet's moon is seen at centre left. This might be part of the planetary system of a brown dwarf, an object that forms like a star but does not emit light because it is too small to sustain nuclear fusion. Concentrations of dim objects such as brown dwarfs in galactic halos are one candidate for "dark matter", mass that is predicted by theory but cannot be observed. Such objects are termed MACHOs (Massive Astronomical Compact Halo Objects)

© JOE TUCCIARONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Emperor penguins diving {Aptenodytes forsteri} Antarctica

Emperor penguins diving {Aptenodytes forsteri} Antarctica. Emperor penguins are the bird diving champions and can acheive a depth of 500m. Humans can only descend 150m before the water pressure collapses the lungs

© www.naturepl.com

Action, Antarctica, Aptenodytes Forsteri, Birds, Diving, Feeding, Flightless, Groups, Marine, Outstanding, Penguins, Seabirds, Swimming, Underwater, Vertebrates

Artwork of Saturn seen from its moon Dione

Saturn. Artwork of Saturn, seen against the star clouds of the Milky Way (blue) from the planet's moon Dione. The planet's famous rings of dust and ice particles are seen edge-on as a titled line. In the same plane as the rings are some of Saturn's spherical inner moons. Bands and swirls of colour in Saturn's atmosphere reveal the presence of weather systems. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, and is the second-largest in the solar system. Saturn is mostly comprised of hydrogen and helium gas, whilst its moons are largely made of ice and rocks. Dione orbits Saturn at an average distance of 377, 000 kilometres, about the same distance as the Moon is from Earth

© JOE TUCCIARONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY