A series of photos taken by Richard Heeks of Exeter capture the exact moment a soap bubble is burst...
...The second picture shows a soap bubble with one half still perfectly formed while the other shatters in a distinctive pattern of streaks...
...and the final shot captures the progress of the 'burst' as it engulfs the bubble
Australian motocross star Robbie Maddison leaping over the open span of London's Tower Bridge
Lightning strikes near the space shuttle Endeavour resting atop launch pad 39A during thunderstorms at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral
Lightning strikes over the Beijing skyline during a thunderstorm, near the city's tallest skyscraper, the China World Trade Center Tower 3
The sun shines down 42nd Street in New York City during Manhattanhenge, which occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan
A young elk rescued from a flooding river by a farmer in Inje, Gangwon Province, South Korea. It was adopted by a female dog that breastfeeds and guards him
A woman walks with a bichon frise and a poodle both coloured with various dyes on a street in Wuhan, Hubei province, China
Residents watch a huge blaze breaking in via dell'Almone, south of Rome, at a warehouse containing around 1,000 cars
An illegal immigrant escapes from a makeshift camp in flames in the portal zone of Patras, one of the biggest ports in Greece, often used as the entry point into Europe
Chinese police demonstrate an armed bank robbery during a drill in Beijing
A man struggles to paddle his sinking boat in a lake in Szandavaralja, Hungary
Thais wearing superhero costumes pose during a campaign promoting the use of face masks to prevent infection by the H1N1 flu virus, at a hospital in Nonthaburi province
Alex Tagliani of Canada interacts with a mascot before the IRL IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto race
Australian Federal Minister for Defence Greg Combet walks across a zebra crossing followed by a 'Packbot' robot in Melbourne. He earlier announced a competition calling for entries to build a fully autonomous ground robot for military use
A Chinese soldier carries two watermelons as he walks past two fellow soldiers in riot gear guarding a mosque in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region
Internally displaced siblings from Swat play on top their family tent at the UNHCR Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district, Pakistan
An angry mob of displaced people carry an injured man who, according to bystanders, was beaten by police on asking for food rations at the Yar Hussain UNHCR camp in Swabi district, Pakistan
A newly-hatched nightingale is seen in a nest in Jezerc, Kosovo