FLO4637134: Colchid pheasant. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811. Ring or common pheasant, Phasianus colchicus. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. This plate was drawn by William Samuel Howitt, a sporting and natural history artist. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4637143: Heron ash or great heron. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811.Common heron, Ardea major, Grey heron, Ardea cinerea. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4637152: Autumn lactee route - Pointe du Raz - Autumn Milky way - Pointe du Raz - The lactee route above Notre Dame des Shipwrecks, Pointe du Raz. Brittany, 27 September 2008. Milky Way above the statue dedicated to “” Our Lady of the Shipwrecks”””. The zodiacal band is visible under the aspect of a fuzzy and pale band extending from the top of the statue to the upper right. A the top of the picture is the powerful lighthouse of the Sein Island. at Pointe du Raz, the western tip of France. Brittany, 27 September 2008 / Bridgeman Images

FLO4637173: Small murre or Greenland pigeon. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811. Little grebe, Colymbus minor, Podiceps minor, Tachybaptus ruficollis. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4637202: The Milky Way above The Isle of Sein, Brittany, 27 September 2008 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4637204: Autumn lactee route - Pointe du Raz - Autumn Milky way - Pointe du Raz - The lactee route above Notre Dame des Shipwrecks, Pointe du Raz. Brittany, 27 September 2008. Milky Way above the statue dedicated to “” Our Lady of the Shipwrecks”””. The zodiacal band is visible under the aspect of a fuzzy and pale band extending from the top of the statue to the upper right. A the top of the picture is the powerful lighthouse of the Sein Island. at Pointe du Raz, the western tip of France. Brittany, 27 September 2008 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4637219: Lactee route - Pointe du Raz - Milky Way - Pointe du Raz - The Great Bear is almost entirely masked by the semaphore tower at Pointe du Raz. The “Two Guards” located on the right of the tower point towards the Polar Star, vertical of the antenna. Higher, our eye cuts the lactee path near the zenith. As we descend towards the southern horizon, we can see the Great Galaxy of Andromede and that of the Triangle. Brittany, 27 September 2008. The Big Dipper is almost completely masked by the tower of the semaphore. Its two stars on the right are pointing towards the star Polaris, at the vertical of the antenna. Higher, our eye cross the Milky Way near the zenith. Then, descending towards the South, we can see the Great Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy. Pointe du Raz, Brittany, 27 September 2008 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4637237: Lactee and Jupiter - Milky way and Jupiter - The Lactee Way accompanied by Jupiter, the bright planet on the left, seen from Cherry Springs State Park in the United States. The center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, sets in the southwest as night begins at the Cherry Springs State Park, one of the darkest observing locations in the eastern United States. The Milky Way is a vast collection of more than 200 billion stars, planets, nebulae, clusters, dust and gas. Our own Sun and solar system are also part of the Milky Way galaxy. Seen as a luminous band of light and star clouds that stretch across the night sky, the brighter star clouds of the Milky Way are frequently mistaken for real Earth-bound clouds by observers who are unfamiliar with their appearance. Sometimes interrupted by dark nebulae and rifts, these star clouds are actually innumerable unresolved faint stars. The central bulge of the Milky Way, the brightest and most spectacular portion, is visible here in the Sagittarius region, seen at the lower left. Numerous dark nebula, clouds of non-luminous dust that obscure the stars behind them, are also part of the Milky Way and are scattered throughout the image. Brilliant Jupiter is the brightest “” star”” in the image, seen at left / Bridgeman Images

FLO4637277: Pie grieche ecorcheur. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811. Red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4637302: The hulotte owl or the hut cat. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811. Tawny owl, Strix stridula, Brown owl, Strix aluco. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4637322: Sonnet starch. Coloured copper engraving by George Graves, in British Ornithology, 1811. Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by George Graves from “British Ornithology”” 1811. Graves was a bookseller, publisher, artist, engraver and colorist and worked on botanical and ornithological books. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639287: Lunar vehicle test. Program constellation - Lunar vehicle test. Constellation program - Lunar vehicle test as part of the Nasa constellation program that is expected to take men to the Moon around 2020. Here, a prototype of a pressurized vehicle (Lunar Electric Rover) that would allow future astronauts to travel long distances. For three days, astronaut Michael Gernhardt and geologist Brent Garry lived independently in the real conditions of exit to the Moon. Brent Garry gets out of the vehicle by putting on a pressurized suit. October 2008, Arizona, USA. During tests conducted for NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona, engineers, geologists and astronauts gathered to test two configurations of NASA's newest lunar rover prototype. The pressurized version, seen here and called the Lunar Electric Rover, includes a suitport that would allow crew members to climb in and out of spacesuits quickly for moonwalks. Here, Smithsonian Institution geologist Brent Garry donates his suit / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639316: Robonaut2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space. Robonaut2 - or R2 for short - is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use its hands to do work beyond the scope of previously introduced humanoid robots. Robonauts are designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639328: Robonaut2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space. Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639339: Robonaut2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space. Robonaut2 - or R2 for short - is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use its hands to do work beyond the scope of previously introduced humanoid robots. Robonauts are designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639389: Robonaut2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space. Robonaut2 - or R2 for short - is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use its hands to do work beyond the scope of previously introduced humanoid robots. Robonauts are designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639391: Permanent station between the Earth and the Moon - Artist view - Lunar cycler at apogee - Artist view - Lunar Cycler is a space station placed in orbit between the Earth and the Moon whose trajectory would alternate between the Moon and the Earth. Once positioned in orbit, this gravitational assistance vessel would use very little fuel. This project would make a permanent link between the two stars. A lunar cycler has reached its furthest orbital point from the Earth - the apogee - and is rounding the far side of the Moon to begin its fall back towards Earth. At apogee the lunar cycler is about 300 thousand miles from the Earth and 50 thousand miles beyond the orbit of the Moon (further from Earth than any human has ventured yet). If frequent manned trips to the Moon become a reality, the earlier “” throw-away”” technologies of the Apollo lunar missions will be impractical for the long term. More efficient and reusable systems will need to be developed in order to minimize the labor and resources required for these extraordinary voyages. A journey to the Moon can be broken down into three basic tasks: transfer between the Earth's surface and Earth orbit, transfer between Earth orbit and lunar orbit, and transfer between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface. While the simplest solution may be a single vehicle that could do all three, no technology today or in the foreseeable future can meet all these needs. One solution would be to dedicate separate vehicles for each the three tasks. A reusable space shuttle would lift explorers off the Earth's surface, a dedicated and reusable lunar shuttle would deliver explorers to the Moon's surface and back, and in between there would be a kind of orbital way station. One such way station is known as an orbital cycler. An orbital cycler is a vehicle that's in a permanent orbit around two celestial masses. In the case of a lunar cycler, the orbit would include both the Eart / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639402: Prortoceras, genus of artiodactyles, endemic to North America, during the periods from Oligocene to Miocene. Chromolithography by Heinrich Garden (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639434: Aepycamelus, kind of camelide, from the Miocene era. Chromolithography by Heinrich Guardian (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639445: Metamynodon, genus is of amynodont perissodactyls, from the Eocene period to the beginning of the Miocene years. Chromolithography by Heinrich Guardian (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639447: Travel lives to Mars -Illustration - Manned mission to Mars - Artist vie / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639465: Mission habitee vers Mars-View d'artiste - Manned mission to Mars - Artist vie / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639480: Tarsius, (tarsian or tarsier) primate of the genus Happlorhinian, which appeared 45 million years ago. Chromolithography by Heinrich Garden (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639498: Palaeotherium, perissodactyl ointment, resembling a primitive horse. Chromolithography by Heinrich Garderer (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639544: Permanent station between Mars and Earth - Artist view - Mars lander departs cycler - Artist view - A landing ship (top left) leaves the Mars Cycler to land on the red planet. Mars Cycler is a space station placed in orbit between Mars and Earth whose trajectory would alternate between Mars and Earth. Once positioned in orbit, this gravitational assistance vessel would use very little fuel. This project would make a permanent link between the two planets. A manned Mars lander/return vehicle, upper left, disembarks from a Mars cycler for the surface of Mars. A Mars cycler is a permanently orbiting vehicle with a path that alternately brings it near Earth and Mars. Once a cycler has been accelerated into orbit it continues on its own momentum, going back and forth between the two planets, only requiring propellant for occasional course adjustments. A one-way trip between Earth and Mars involves six to eight months of space travel, therefore a large and well-equipped Mars cycler would offer space explorers, and possibly even space tourists, better accommodations for these long journeys. Smaller spacecraft would ferry travelers between the planets and the cycle / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639545: Wild horses from the late tertiary era, kind of equus ferus. Chromolithography by Heinrich Garden (1858-1935) (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1916, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639559: Astronauts inspect a ship before it departs for Mars - Mars lander pre-departure inspection - Artist view - Astronauts perform an extravehicular outing to inspect a ship mooring to the Mars Cycler before it leaves for the red planet. Mars Cycler is a space station placed in orbit between Mars and Earth whose trajectory would alternate between Mars and Earth. Once positioned in orbit, this gravitational assistance vessel would use very little fuel. This project would make a permanent link between the two planets. A pair of astronauts in MMUS perform a final inspection of a manned Mars lander/return vehicle before disembarking for the surface of Mars. A Mars cycler is a permanently orbiting vehicle with a path that alternately brings it near Earth and Mars. Once a cycler has been accelerated into orbit it continues on its own momentum, going back and forth between the two planets, only requiring propellant for occasional course adjustments. A one-way trip between Earth and Mars involves six to eight months of space travel, therefore a large and well-equipped Mars cycler would offer space explorers, and possibly even space tourists, better accommodations for these long journeys. Smaller spacecraft would ferry travelers between the planets and the cycle / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639588: Pteranodon Nyctodactylus gracilis, flying reptile disappeared from the Cretace period. Chromolithography of F. John (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1910, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4639593: Water varan (Varanus salvator). Chromolithography of F. John (series prehistoric animals of the Reichardt Cocoa Company), originally published in “Animals of the Prehistoric World”, 1910, Hamburg (Germany), text by Wilhelm Bolsche. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638214: Our galaxy-position of the Sun -Artist's view - Our galaxy, the Milky Way - Artwork - Representation of our galaxy, the lactee path, with the position of our Sun. Following observations made in infrared by the Spitzer space telescope, astronomers believe that our galaxy is a spiral galaxy consisting of two main arms (Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus) visible from the extremities of a large central bar. Two smaller arms (Norma and Sagittarius) are located between the main arms. The main arms contain the highest densities in stars, the other two are essentially gas. A new spiral arm, called the arm of the kiloparsec Far-3, runs along the bar of the galaxy. Our sun is close to a small interrupted arm called Orion's arm, located between the arms of Sagittarius and Persee. The Lactee Way was previously thought to have four main arms. Using infrared images from Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way's elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Previously, our galaxy was thought to possess four major arms. This annotated artist's concept illustrates the new view of the Milky Way, along with other findings presented at the 212th American Astronomical Society meeting in St. Louis, Mo. The galaxy's two major arms (Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus) can be seen attached to the ends of a thick central bar, while the two now-demoted minor arms (Norma and Sagittarius) are less distinct and located between the major arms. The major arms consist of the highest densities of both young and old stars; the minor arms are primarily filled with gas and pockets of star-forming activity. The artist's concept also includes a new spiral arm, called the “Far-3 kiloparsec arm,””” discovered via a radio-telescope survey of gas in the Milky Way. This arm is shorter t / Bridgeman Images

FLO4638231: Black elder tree, Sambucus nigra. Handcoloured lithograph by Henry Sowerby from Edward Hamilton's Flora Homeopathica, Bailliere, London, 1852. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638250: Landscape and Lake Way - Artist's view - Japan-Island of Sad / Bridgeman Images

FLO4638252: Sea squill, Drimia maritima (Scilla maritima). Handcoloured lithograph by Charlotte Caroline Sowerby from Edward Hamilton's Flora Homeopathica, Bailliere, London, 1852. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4638257: Seneca snakeroot, senega snakeroot, rattlesnake root or mountain flax, Polygala senega. Handcoloured lithograph by Charlotte Caroline Sowerby from Edward Hamilton's Flora Homeopathica, Bailliere, London, 1852. / Bridgeman Images

FLO4638282: Lie-bane or stavesacre, Delphinium staphisagria (Delphinium staphysagria). Handcoloured lithograph by Charlotte Caroline Sowerby from Edward Hamilton's Flora Homeopathica, Bailliere, London, 1852. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638293: Landscape and Lake Way - Artist's view / Bridgeman Images