Stars explode, wonders of all sorts rise from the ocean depths, and photo competitions supply breathtaking images galore for this month's Nature image selection.

Secrets from the deep

In a mission that saw the first archaeological use of the Exosuit, divers recovered more treasures — including a huge spear, a jug and a bronze rigging ring — from the ancient shipwreck that gave the world the Antikythera Mechanism (see 'Famed Antikythera wreck yields more treasures').  Credit: Brett Seymour/ARGO

Spineless but spirited

Move over sharks and dolphins — photographer Susan Middleton has put marine invertebrates such as this widehand hermit crab (Elassochirus tenuimanus) centre stage in the new book Spineless, dedicated to “the little things that run the world”. Credit: Susan Middleton, 2014

Japan’s volcano tragedy

Despite Japan’s experience with early-warning systems for earthquakes, there was no early eruption warning for the many hikers who were walking around Mount Ontake on 27 September. When the volcano erupted, 57 were killed (see 'Why Japan missed volcano's warning signs'). Credit: Kyodo News/AP

Death throes of a star

A still taken from a simulation of the explosion of a massive primordial star. The work suggests that a star about 55,000 times more massive than the Sun would have blown itself apart, leaving no remnant behind1, rather than collapsing into a black hole as astrophysicists have traditionally assumed. Credit: Ken Chen

Still a small world

Life through a lens

Opulent oceans