SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Lone Scot's pine tree (Pinus sylvestris) and star trails with the north star, Abernethy forest, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK.

Juergen Freund / Timelapse of Boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) at night, with star trails, Kimberley, Western Australia, 2016.

Alex Mustard / Portrait of a Nudibranch (Flabellina pellucida) on a kelp frond with star trails. Gulen, Norway. North East Atlantic Ocean.

Wim van den Heever / Ancient dead Camelthorn trees (Vachellia erioloba) with red dunes, and star trails, Namib desert, Sossusvlei, Namibia. Composite.

Solvin Zankl / English oak tree (Quercus robur) silhouetted against orange sky with star trails, Nauroth, Germany, October.

Bence Mate / Star trails above forest at night, Hungary.

Sven Zacek / Ural owl (Strix uralensis) flying to nest with star trails in sky above, Estonia, May. Winner of the Birds category in the Melvita Nature Images Awards competition 2014.

Yukihiro Fukuda,Yukihiro Fukuda / Japanese fireflies (Luciola cruciata) in flight at night, endemic species, Yaku-shima UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kagoshima, Japan, May

Jack Dykinga / Star trails in sky over Alabama Hills, BLM eroded granite formation know as Mobius Arch. Eastern Sierra, California. May 2012.

Charlie Summers / Stars draw traces above Naabi Hill acacia trees, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Eric Medard / Natterer's Bat (Myotis nattereri) flying low over water to drink, with long-exposure star-trails. France, Europe, July.

Inaki Relanzon / Dolmen d'Eyna at night, with a long exposure capturing star trails. Eyne, Pyrenees, France, September 2010.

Inaki Relanzon / Star trails above Baobab trees (Adansonia za) at night, Zombitse National Park, Madagascar, June 2010

Floris van Breugel / An ancient Bristlecone Pine tree (Pinus aristata) under a clear star-lit night sky with star trails, White Mountains, California, USA. July 2007.

Floris van Breugel / Long exposure to capture star trails circling around the North Star, Polaris, at the "Racetrack," a remote desert playa (dry lake bed) in Death Valley National Park, famous for its mysterious moving r...

Wild Wonders of Europe / Schandy / Star trails over Mount Elbrus (5,642m) at night, Caucasus, Russia, June 2008

Jack Dykinga / Hoodoo formations of heavily banded sandstone at night with star trails, Navajo Reservation, Arizona, USA

Jack Dykinga / Saguaro cactus (Carnegia gigantea) lit up at night with star trails, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA

Jeff Vanuga / Historic Barn illuminated at night by the light of a full moon, Mormon Row, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA, May 2009

Wild Wonders of Europe / Popp-Ha / Matterhorn (4,478m) at night, with star trails, from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, September 2008

Wild Wonders of Europe / Popp-Ha / Matterhorn (4,478m) at night, long exposure with star trails, viewed from Gornergrat, Switzerland, September 2008, climbers in foreground with headlamps setting off to climb the Matterhorn from Hornli...

Wild Wonders of Europe / Döerr / Mountains with star trails in the sky, Cheile Bicazului-Hasmas National Park, Carpathian Mountains, Transylvania, Romania, October 2008. WWE OUTDOOR EXHIBITION.

Jose B. Ruiz / Aleppo pine tree {Pinus halepensis} photographed with long exposure at night with star trails behind, Torremanzana, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Aleppo pine tree {Pinus halepensis} photographed with long exposure at night with star trails behind, Torremanzana, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Aleppo pine tree {Pinus halepensis} photographed with long exposure at night with star trails behind, Torremanzana, Alicante, Spain

Jack Dykinga / Night sky with trails of stars rotating around the North Star with a Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) silhouetted in the foreground, Cabeza Prieta NW Refuge, Arizona, USA

Jose B. Ruiz / Olive tree {Olea europaea} at night with star trails in sky, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Dead Holm oak trees {Quercus ilex} in lake, at night with star trails in sky, Caceres, Extremadura, Spain

Jack Dykinga / Saguaro Cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) silhouetted against night sky with star trails, time exposure for 5 hours after midnight, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona. New Years 2000

Jim Brandenburg / Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and star trails in King's Canyon National Park, California

Jose B. Ruiz / White storks {Ciconia ciconia} at nest at night. Los Berruecos NP, Extremadura. Spain. Nesting on granite boulders to keep themselves safe from mammal predators. Winner of Innovation Award in Wildlife...

Tui De Roy / Alcedo giant tortoise (Chelonoidis vandenburghi) in water at night, star trails in sky reflected in water. Alcedo Volcano, Isabela Island, Galapagos.

Christophe Courteau / Stars Trails around the North Star, above sea and National Fort, Saint-Malo, Brittany, France.

Bruno D'Amicis / Isolated centuries-old beech (Fagus sylvatica) silhouette with night sky and star trails. Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park / Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise UNESCO World Heritage...

Phil Savoie / English oak tree (Quercus robur) at night silhouetted against circle of star trails, Brecon Beacons Wales, UK. January 2017.

Phil Savoie / English oak tree (Quercus robur) at night with circle of star trails, Brecon Beacons Wales, UK. December 2016.

Ingo Arndt / Star trails in night sky Joshua Tree NP, California, USA

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) tree silhouetted against night sky with star trails, Kinveachy, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Star trails over Cul Mor reflected in water, Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Star trails above Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) woodland, Glenfeshie, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK, March 2017

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Night sky over Loch Morlich with star trails, Cairngorms National Park, Cairngorms, Scotland, UK, September 2015.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Bowfiddle rock arch with star trails in sky, Portknockie, Moray, Scotland, UK, August 2015.

Will Burrard-Lucas / Long exposure of star trails over Virunga volcanoes seen from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. November

Jeff Vanuga / Moonbow at night with star trails, Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, May 2014.

Jeff Vanuga / Park Avenue rock formation under night sky with star trails, Arches National Park, Utah, USA, September 2009.

Dong Lei / Mount Namjagbarwa and star trails at night, Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Park, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet, China. October 2010.

Vincent Grafhorst / Baobab (Adansonia sp) tree and star trails, Kubu Island, Makgadikgadi Pan, Botswana, Botswana

Bence Mate / House with star trails, Hungary.

Bence Mate / Fisherman at night on lake side, with star trails in background, Hungary.

Vincent Grafhorst / Quiver Tree (Aloe dichotoma) and star trails, Keetmanshoop, Namibia

Vincent Grafhorst / Quiver Tree (Aloe dichotoma) group and star trails, Keetmanshoop, Namibia, stacked image*

Theo Allofs / Star trails above red sand dune at night, Dorob National Park, Namib Desert, Namibia

Hougaard Malan / Two hour star trail over Hole in the Wall. Wild Coast, Eastern Cape, South Africa. May 2013. Non-ex.

Will Burrard-Lucas / Cooking hut lit inside by a small cooking fire, with star trails, Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia, December 2011.

Kirkendall-Spring / Camp site on Skyline Ridge in the Mount Baker Wilderness, Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Washington, USA, August 2013.

Floris van Breugel / Moonrise over the flooded Alvord Desert with photographer Floris van Breugel watching the sky. Long exposure. Harney County, Oregon. January 2010

Yukihiro Fukuda / Japanese fireflies (Luciola cruciata) in flight at night, endemic species, Yaku-shima UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kagoshima, Japan, May

Bence Mate / Star trails, 20 minutes exposure time, Pusztaszer, Hungary

Inaki Relanzon / Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) at night, with star trails, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA, June 2012.

Juergen Freund / Night over Mungerannie Wetland with a red dune over Derwent River, South Australia

Kirkendall-Spring / Elephant Canyon at night with star trails. The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, October 2012.

Kirkendall-Spring / Camping tent at night in Sawtooth Lake area with Mount Regan on the skyline in the Sawtooth Wilderness. Idaho, USA, July 2011

Juan Carlos Munoz / Aurora borealis and star trails over Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. Southern Iceland, Europe, August 2012.

Kirkendall-Spring / Night time view of a campsite tent on the Death Canyon Shelf along the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. Wyoming, USA, July 2011

Kirkendall-Spring / Night time view of a campsite tent on the Death Canyon Shelf along the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. Wyoming, USA, July 2011

Floris van Breugel / A wide variety of fluorescent minerals including scheelite (blue/white), calcite (red), silica coatings containing uranyl ions (green), fluorite (pink), and 'desert varnish' (yellow/orange), populate...

Eric Medard / Whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus) drinking from water in flight, with star-trails in night sky. France, Europe, August.

Charlie Summers / Long-exposure night photography reveals the rotation of the Earth, producing star trails centred on the Northern Circumpolar Star, Polaris. Toadstool State Park, Nebraska.

Charlie Summers / Long-exposure night photography reveals the rotation of the Earth, producing star trails centred on the Northern Circumpolar Star, Polaris. Toadstool State Park, Nebraska.

Stefan Huwiler / Matterhorn at sunrise in autumn with reflection in the Riffelsee and star-trails. Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland, Europe, October 2008.

Charlie Summers / Star trails above Colorado. USA, April.

Charlie Summers / Star trails in a South Dakota sky over a Ogallala Lakota Sioux teepee. USA, April.

Inaki Relanzon / Thousand-year-old Sabina / Canary Juniper, (Juniperus turbinata canariensis) against a night sky with star trails. El Sabinar, El Hierro Island, Canary Islands, , February 2011.

Peter Cairns / Star-trails above dead trees in winter. Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, February.

Alex Hyde / Tree photographed with a long exposure at night, showing star trails. Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, UK, September 2009.

Matthias Breiter / Star trails over temperate rainforest, Petersburg, Alaska

Aflo / Y-12203 Timelapse of star paths above tents on mountain, Alaska USA

Aflo / Y-12202 Timelapse of star paths above mountain ridge

Aflo / Y-12201 Fish eye view of stars above Mt Fuji, Fujisan, Japan

Aflo / Y-12207 Timelapse of star paths in night sky above mountain summit

Aflo / Y-12206 Timelapse of star paths above Northern Japanese Alps peaks, Japan

Aflo / Y-12205 Timelapse star paths above Mt Fuji, Fujisan, Japan

Aflo / Y-12204 Timelapse view of star paths above forest, Japan

Oriol Alamany / Star trails at night in Kharrobh Wilderness Zone, Wadi Rum, Jordan, April 2009

Alex Hyde / Dead tree in snow photographed with a long exposure at night, showing star trails. Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, UK. December 2008.

Wild Wonders of Europe / Döerr / Mountains at night with star trails, Cheile Bicazului-Hasmas National Park, Carpathian Mountains, Transsylvania, Romania, October 2008

Jouan & Rius / Granite boulders of Devils Marbles at night with star trails, Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Granite boulder of Devils Marbles at night with star trails, Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Granite boulders of Devils Marbles at night with star trails, Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Star trails over the Gammon Ranges at night, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, South Australia, Australia

Jeff Vanuga / Chimney Rock at night, under moonlight and star trails, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

Jose B. Ruiz / Cork Oak trees (Quercus suber) photographed at night on low exposuure with star trails behind, Caceres, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Aleppo pine tree {Pinus halepensis} photographed with long exposure at night with star trails behind, Torremanzana, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Italian stone pine tree {Pinus pinea} photographed with long exposure at night with star trails behind, Torremanzana, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Italian stone pine tree {Pinus pinea} photographed with long exposure at night with moon and star trails behind, Villena, Alicante, Spain