Computer whizzes can do wonders using photo shop software, but they still have a ways to go to catch up with Mother Nature.
Dramatic: Aerial pictures appear to show an ‘underwater vortex’ in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the tropical island of Mauritius. It is really an optical illusion and is caused by a build-up of sand and silt deposits along the coast of Mauritius
The heaven’s are open: It may look like the work a UFO, but this unusual cloud formation is perfectly natural and is known as a fallstreak hole. It is created when ice particles form quickly, causing a domino effect as the water droplets connect with the crystals. These start to fall leaving a large hole in the cloud
At first glance it looks like these two boys are jumping into the abyss, but they are actually only leaping into the crystal-clear waters of Jacob’s Well in Texas, which stretches down 30ft
They may look like an Impressionist masterpiece, but these rare nacreous clouds have been spotted ‘painting’ skies in a rainbow of colours. Officially known as polar stratospheric clouds, they are typically seen over Norway and other polar regions when the sun is just below the horizon
This bold image, taken in a place called Dead Vlei in Namibia, looks more like a painting than a photograph, thanks to the vivid red dunes juxtaposed with the trees
Light fantastic: This isn’t an alien planet with three suns, but an illusion known as a ‘sundog’ or ‘phantom sun’. It’s caused by small pockets of ice suspended in the air, created when temperatures plunged below -25C
Layers of sedimentary rock unevenly eroded away over millions of years in the Coyote Buttes of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona look like a giant painting
This stunning capture appears to show a dead tree in the snow. However, the ‘branches’ are actually caused by a weaving river snaking its way through the desert in Mexico’s Baja California
This hiker looks like he’s one step from certain death. Thankfully the man is actually calmly strolling along a river bed in Utah’s Glen Canyon
On the island of Heimaey in Southern Iceland, a rock formation has taken on quite a curious shape. The basalt rock on the ocean-side cliff bears an uncanny resemblance to that of a giant elephant – complete with wrinkled skin – reaching its trunk into the sea
You can see why this phenomenon has been called the Tornado of Fire. However, it’s not a column of flames, but mining waste flowing down the Rio Tinto in Spain
Making a good impressionism: These rolling hills in Washington State look like a painting when captured in the right light
This otherworldly cloud pattern is called Undulatus Asperatus. Named in 2014, the formation looks like waves crashing through the ocean
Kaleidoscopic hills: This terrain looks like an artist’s impression of an alien planet. However, the spectacular landscape, found at the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu Province, China, is actually the result of red sandstone and mineral deposits being laid down over 24 million years
Hot stuff: The Horsetail waterfall in Yosemite looks like free-flowing fire, but it’s actually an optical light illusion caused from the sun setting and hitting the mountain face at the right angle and time
While this may look like the aftermath of a battle on the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica, the red colouring is caused by iron oxide-tainted with saltwater