D Usk Gallery

The pier at Lytham St Annes N990008

LYTHAM ST ANNES, Lancashire. The pier at Lytham St Annes, viewed here at sunset. First built in 1885 and subsequently remodelled, it is made of conventional iron column with a lattice girder design. The pier pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1974

© Historic England

Beach, Coast, D Usk, Leisure, P Ier, Recreation, Sand, Sky, Victorian

Krakatoa sunsets, 1883 artworks

Krakatoa sunsets. Artwork of the spectacular red and orange sunsets caused in London, England, by the August 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, a volcano thousands of kilometres away in Indonesia. The ash thrown up by the eruption caused sunsets like these for years afterwards. These three artworks are a sequence, showing twilight and afterglow effects at Chelsea, London, on 26 November 1883, at around: 4.40pm (top); 5pm (middle); and 6.15pm (bottom). These are among the thousands of sunset sketches made by the British artist William Ashcroft. Krakatoa's eruption prompted many reports and investigations. These artworks formed the frontispiece for The Report of the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society (1888)

© ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Hale-Bopp comet

Hale-Bopp. Artwork of the comet Hale-Bopp above an ocean shore. Hale-Bopp was one of the brightest comets of the 20th century, and was seen for much of early 1997. A comet is a lump of ice and rock. Its tail is formed as its ice evaporates as it nears the Sun. The tail always points away from the Sun, and may stretch for millions of kilometres

© CHRIS BUTLER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY