Images Dated 23rd March 2005

Tourists visit El Tatio geyser field in Chile

Tourists walk amid the geysers and hot springs of El Tatio Geyser Field, in Chile's Atacama Desert some 1, 800 km north of Santiago, Chile, March 23, 2005. The El Tatio field has over 80 active geysers, making it the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world. Picture taken March 23. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado RR - RP6DRMVFWNAC

Exercise Magic Carpet 2005

A Sea Harrier FA2 taking off from HMS Invincible during Exercise Magic Carpet 05.
Exercise Magic Carpet 05 (MC 05) was an Omani hosted and RAF Strike Command sponsored exercise. The exercise was an opportunity for RN, RAF, Omani, French Air Force, USAF and USN squadrons to deploy and practice heavy-weapon bomb drops, utilising the extensive ranges and relatively clear airspace available over Oman. There were a variety of aircraft which took part, including our own Sea Harriers, GR7s and SKASaC, USN F18 and S3 Viking, USAF F16, French Mirage 2000 and RAF Tornado F3, Jaguar, VC10 air to air refuelling and E3D AWACS. In total around 60 aircraft were in theatre, allowing for realistic exercising of a coalition forces.
The participation of HMS Invincible with her Tailored Air Group (TAG) gave an excellent opportunity to prove the Strike Carrier concept within a controlled exercise environment and gain some useful general warfare training. It was be a good opportunity for the ship's company to progress training in an exercise environment

© Crown Copyright

Crop formation, Cheesefoot, Hampshire

Crop formation at Cheesefoot, Hampshire, England. Crop formations are patterns of flattened plants in crops such as wheat or barley. They started appearing frequently in the mid-1980s in south- west England. Their cause is unknown. Many theories exist, ranging from science-based physical explanations such as the "plasma vortex" theory based on the phenomenon of electrohydrodynamics (EHD) to unorthodox suggestions that they are created by extraterrestrial intelligences. Dumb-bell with circle and 2 antennae

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY