SPECTACULAR SCENERY AT CHILEAN OBSERVATORIES

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert. Surrounded by vast desert and distant snow topped mountains, the enormous satellite dishes, dome-shaped buildings and telescopes are run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) , an intergovernmental body dedicated to observing space. Photographer Alberto Ghizzi Panizza was granted access to several observatory sites.

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BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

POLAR BEARS HAVE A SPLASHING TIME

Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .

MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION

An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .

COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL

GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .

CUDDLY TRAVEL BUNNY IS STOLEN AFTER JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

An intrepid explorer hopes to be reunited with his travel partner, after his cuddly toy companion was stolen .

KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER

THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .

UNLIKELY PLAYMATES: BRAVE CHICKS PLAY WITH A PYTHON

A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .

STUNNING ICEBERGS

In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .

ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP

STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .

FIGHTING BLACKBACK GORILLAS

FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .

THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES

WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .