Indoor rainbows and spotty seals: 22 amazing images in science from June 2021

The best images in science from around the world this June.

Published: June 28, 2021 at 11:00 pm

June has positively flown past, with over half of 2021 already over. And while we still wait for an end to the global COVID-19 pandemic, life has had to carry on as best it can. Thankfully, the world of science never fails to give us great images to share.

This month, we've had partial eclipses, supermoons, volcanic eruptions and a lot of sea snot in Turkey.

We've also had our fair share of extreme weather events, with California and other states in the Southwest of the USA experiencing a historic drought.

We bring you the best images in science that June had to offer...

That sinking feeling

An aerial view of a sinkhole that was found by farmers in a field of crops in Santa Maria Zacatepec, state of Puebla, Mexico on June 01, 2021. (Photo by JOSE CASTAÑARES / AFP) (Photo by JOSE CASTANARES/AFP via Getty Images)
An aerial view of a sinkhole that was found by farmers in a field of crops in Santa Maria Zacatepec, state of Puebla, Mexico, on 1 June 2021. Two days after first appearing, the hole had grown to a width of 80 metres. Photo by Jose Castanares/AFP/Getty Images

Given to fly

A man performs on a Flyboard in the Gulf Emirate of Sharja on June 3, 2021. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
A man performs on a Flyboard in the Gulf Emirate of Sharja on 3 June 2021. Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

Milky Way-cool

CONGJIANG, CHINA - JUNE 6, 2021 - The Milky Way is seen in the sky over Datang Miao Village in Bingmei Town, Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 6, 2021. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
The Milky Way is seen in the sky over Datang Miao Village in Bingmei Town, Congjiang County, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, 6 June 2021. Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

Plastic beach

Plastics figures, created by multidisciplinary artist, Caitlin Doherty, and made with plastics removed from Canadian shorelines, are seen at Kitsilano Beach to draw attention to plastic pollution on June 7, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Plastic figures created by multidisciplinary artist Caitlin Doherty, and made with plastics removed from Canadian shorelines, are seen at Kitsilano Beach to draw attention to plastic pollution on 7 June 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Artificial reefs

Divers taking part in a project to document shipwrecks in Cyprus with 360 degree images to promote the Mediterranean island as a dive destination for tourists, take photos of the Lef1 shipwreck off the coast of Larnaca on June 8, 2021. - LEF1, a 15 metre long vessel, was sunk on 10th December 2019 to a depth of around 15 metres and is one of several vessels sunk in the islands waters to create artificial reefs to promote marine life in the area. (Photo by Emily IRVING-SWIFT / AFP) (Photo by EMILY IRVING-SWIFT/AFP via Getty Images)
Divers taking part in a project to document shipwrecks in Cyprus with 360º images to promote the Mediterranean island as a dive destination for tourists, take photos of the Lef1 shipwreck off the coast of Larnaca on 8 June 2021. LEF1, a 15 metre long vessel, was sunk in December 2019 to a depth of around 15 metres and is one of several vessels sunk in the islands waters to create artificial reefs to promote marine life in the area. Photo by Emily Irving-Swift/AFP/Getty Images

A burning ring of fire

A partial solar eclipse is seen as the sun rises behind the United States Capitol Building, Thursday, June 10, 2021, as seen from Arlington, Virginia. The annular or “ring of fire” solar eclipse is only visible to some people in Greenland, Northern Russia, and Canada. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A partial solar eclipse is seen as the Sun rises behind the United States Capitol Building, Thursday 10 June 2021, as seen from Arlington, Virginia, USA. The annular or “ring of fire” solar eclipse is only visible to some people in Greenland, Northern Russia, and Canada. Photo by: NASA/Bill Ingalls

See more solar eclipse images in our gallery:

Complex farming

ZHANGYE, CHINA - JUNE 11, 2021 - Aerial photo taken on June 11, 2021 shows a landscape area of farmland complex under sunrise in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
An aerial photo taken on 11 June 2021 shows a landscape area of farmland complex under sunrise in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China. Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

Snotty seas

CANAKKALE, TURKEY - JUNE 13: A drone photo shows an aerial view of the mucilage (sea snot) partly covering the surface of sea in Canakkale, Turkey on June 13, 2021. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A drone photo shows an aerial view of the mucilage (sea snot) partly covering the surface of sea in Canakkale, Turkey, on 13 June 2021. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Bird simulation

Members of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces Rescue and Relief Unit take part in a biochemical simulation organized by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as part of the "African Lion" military exercise, in the port of Agadir, on 15 June 2021. Photo by Fadel Senna/Getty Images

Space selfie

Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) takes a space-selfie on 16 June 2021 with his spacesuit's helmet visor down during a spacewalk to install new roll out solar arrays on the International Space Station's P-6 truss structure. Photo by NASA/ESA

We may experience some turbulence

The uncrewed HiDRON stratospheric glider from Stratodynamics is designed to release from a sounding balloon at near-space altitude, enabling a controlled descent for technology payloads aboard. The glider also achieves higher velocity than a balloon flight alone – one of the reasons NASA-supported researchers from the University of Kentucky chose Stratodynamics as the flight provider for testing of turbulence detection instruments.
This image, released on 17 June 2021, shows the uncrewed HiDRON stratospheric glider from Stratodynamics in flight above the Earth. In a series of flights between 1 and 6 June 2021, Stratodynamics launched its HiDRON stratospheric glider from a high-altitude balloon to study turbulence. Photo by Stratodynamics/UAVOS/NASA

Night eruption

Lava erupts from the South-East crater during a third paroxysmal nocturnal phase of Etna with ash emission dispersing in an East-North-East direction on June 19, 2021 in Catania, Italy. Volcanic ash from Etna caused airport runways to close. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)
Lava erupts from the South-East crater during a third paroxysmal nocturnal phase of Etna with ash emission dispersing in an East-North-East direction on 19 June 2021 in Catania, Italy. Volcanic ash from Etna caused local airport runways to close. Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images

Sharing is caring

Los Angeles, CA - June 19: Peregrine falcons transfer food to one another in San Pedro on June 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Nick Ut/Getty Images)
Peregrine falcons transfer food to one another in San Pedro on 19 June 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Photo by Nick Ut/Getty Images

Head for heights

ORDOS, CHINA - JUNE 20, 2021 - Tourists go sightseeing on the suspended viewing platform of the Zhunger Yellow River Grand Canyon scenic area in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, June 20, 2021. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Tourists go sightseeing on the suspended viewing platform of the Zhunger Yellow River Grand Canyon scenic area in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, 20 June 2021. Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

I spot a seal

PRIMORYE TERRITORY, RUSSIA JUNE 21, 2021: One of the six spotted seal pups of the Tyulen rehabilitation centre for marine mammals that has been released into the Peter the Great Gulf off Zheltukhina Island. Yuri Smityuk/TASS (Photo by Yuri SmityukTASS via Getty Images)
One of the six spotted seal pups of the Tyulen rehabilitation centre for marine mammals that was released on the 21 June 2021 into the Peter the Great Gulf off Zheltukhina Island, Primorye Territory, Russia. Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS/Getty Images

Juice-y mission

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) in the Large Space Simulator at ESTEC just before the chamber is closed for a thermal-vacuum test dry run. Once in the Jovian system Juice will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. The mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant exoplanets now known to orbit other stars. ESA/ SJM Photography
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) pictured in the Large Space Simulator at ESTEC just before the chamber is closed for a thermal-vacuum test dry run, on the 22 June 2021.Once in the Jovian system, JUICE will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. The mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant exoplanets now known to orbit other stars. Photo byESA/SJM Photography

If you are enjoying this image selection, then we have plenty more image galleries for you:

T-shirt is green

A commuter on a bicycle wears a green tee shirt reading car is over as he rides on a bicycle lane in central Berlin on 22, 2021 (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
A commuter on a bicycle wears a green tee shirt reading car is over as he rides on a bicycle lane in central Berlin, Germany, on 22 June 2021. Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Flood prevention

ZHENGZHOU, CHINA - JUNE 23, 2021 - Aerial photo taken on June 23, 2021 shows water discharged from Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. Since June 19, when the Yellow River started to divert water and sediment before flood in 2021, the discharge from Xiaolangdi Reservoir has been increasing day by day. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Aerial photo taken on 23 June 2021 shows water discharged from Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. Since 19 June when the Yellow River started to divert water and sediment before flood in 2021, the discharge from Xiaolangdi Reservoir has been increasing day by day. Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

Indoor rainbow

XUAN EN, CHINA - JUNE 23: A rainbow is seen at a 290-meter deep karst sinkhole, located near the village of Luoquanyan, on June 23, 2021 in Xuan en County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province of China. (Photo by Song Wen/VCG via Getty Images)
A rainbow is seen at a 290-metre deep karst sinkhole, located near the village of Luoquanyan, on 23 June 2021 in Xuan en County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province of China. Photo by Song Wen/VCG/Getty Images

Qingtian bridge is falling down

BINZHOU, CHINA - JUNE 23, 2021 - The Qingtian Floating Bridge is being demolished in Binzhou, Shandong Province, China, on June 23, 2021. Shandong's Yellow River Bureau has launched a mechanism to prevent major floods, and 54 Yellow River pontoon Bridges have been dismantled in the province. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
The Qingtian Floating Bridge pictured being demolished in Binzhou, Shandong Province, China, on 23 June 2021. Shandong's Yellow River Bureau has launched a mechanism to prevent major floods, and 54 Yellow River pontoon Bridges have been dismantled in the province. Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

Drought crisis

The tall bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell at Reflection Canyon on 24 June 2021 in Lake Powell, Utah, USA. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below-average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 34.56 per cent of capacity, a historic low. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The rocket now arriving at platform one...

AMUR REGION, RUSSIA - JUNE 28, 2021: The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage carrying 36 British OneWeb internet communication satellites is being transported to the launch pad at Vostochny Cosmodrome. The launch is scheduled for 1 July 2021. OneWeb is a global communications network powered by a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which provide a high bandwidth, low-latency communications service. In this mission, OneWeb 8 will boost the number of OneWeb satellites launched to 254. Roscosmos/TASS (Photo by Roscosmos Press OfficeTASS via Getty Images)
The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage carrying 36 British OneWeb internet communication satellites is being transported to the launch pad at Vostochny Cosmodrome, in the Amur region of Russia, 28 June 2021. The launch is scheduled for 1 July 2021. Photo by Roscosmos Press OfficeTASS/Getty Images