A majestic manta ray is illuminated by rays of sunlight as it feeds near the surface of the ocean, off the coast of Queensland.

Gary Cranitch's photo - Alfred Manta Feeding - is one of three finalists and seven highly commended entries in this year's Eureka Prize for science photography.

The fascinating and sometimes intricate images show a range of scientific subjects, from the interior of milk-producing breast tissue to the moment a lightning bolt strikes over a music festival.

Scroll down to see the images and find out the story behind the photos.

Finalist, Alfred Manta Feeding: The Alfred Manta, Manta alfredi, one of the largest rays on the planet, is currently listed as vulnerable in eastern Australian waters with recorded individuals numbering in the few hundred. Gary Cranitch's awe-inspiring image is an important reminder that we still have much to do to ensure the survival of this beautiful species. (Queensland Museum: Gary Cranitch)

Alfred Manta Feeding, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prizes for science photography. ( Queensland Museum: Gary Cranitch )

Highly commended, Probing the Breast in 3D: This picture, taken inside human breast tissue, shows a 3D view of the elaborated milk-producing ductal network enwrapped within the blood vessels. This photo represents more than 100GB of data, obtained with a new, cutting-edge 3D confocal strategy developed at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research: Dr Anne Rios)

Probing the Breast in 3D, by Dr Anne Rios , a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research: Anne Rios )

Highly commended, An Ancient Landscape for Modern Science: Using a long-exposure and the light of the full moon to illuminate the landscape, Pete Wheeler has captured one of the 128 'tiles' of the radio telescope called the Murchison Widefield Array and a distant 'breakaway' beneath a star-studded Murchison sky. Located in the Western Australian outback, the Murchison Widefield Array is a precursor to what will be the largest telescope ever built, the Square Kilometre Array. (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research: Pete Wheeler)

An Ancient Landscape for Modern Science, by Pete Wheeler, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research: Pete Wheeler )

Highly Commended, Flight of the Samara: A composite of four frames from high-speed video showing the aerodynamics of an auto-rotating winged seed (samara) common to trees such as maple and ash. This seed was tagged with a theatrical smoke formula to show an integrated picture of the descent of the seed over several rotations. Understanding the aerodynamics of these natural helicopters has application in the bio-inspired design of micro air vehicles. (RMIT University: Phred Petersen)

Flight of the Samara, by Phred Petersen, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( RMIT University: Phred Petersen )

Highly commended, Bolt out of the Blue: This is the result of Peter Enright’s lucky four-second handheld exposure during a sudden summer storm at the Woodford Folk Festival. The image encapsulates the incredible power of nature. (Peter Enright)

Bolt Out of the Blue, by Peter Enright, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Peter Enright )

Highly commended, The Face of a Moth: Many animals, particularly insects, have the ability to perceive their surroundings in a totally different way to humans. Ralph Grimm’s textural, close-up image draws the viewer in to reveal the exquisite detail and complexity of a moth's head, thereby also encouraging people to not just see the surface but to look more closely at our amazing world. (Ralph Grimm)

The Face of a Moth, by Ralph Grimm, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Ralph Grimm )

Finalist, Wheat Through the Looking Glass: Dr Mark Talbot's scanning electron microscope (SEM) image shows young flower buds of wheat that will eventually become seeds. Using different modes of the SEM, two images of the same tissue were captured, superimposed and artificially coloured to highlight cell outlines (blue) and nuclei (orange). This unique way of creating SEM images unexpectedly revealed details normally seen only with a confocal laser microscope, even though the microscopes work in very different ways. (CSIRO: Mark Talbot)

Wheat Through the Looking Glass, by Dr Mark Talbot, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( CSIRO Plant Industry: Mark Talbot )

Highly commended, Thorny Problems: Crown-of-thorns sea stars have a justifiably bad reputation for causing damage to the Great Barrier Reef. Richard Wylie's photo, taken at Lizard Island, demonstrates that even one 40-centimetre wide crown-of-thorns can eat its way through a large area of reef. The white coral, which has been consumed by this sea star, is in sharp contrast to the healthy sections of reef. (Euakafa Island Research Centre: Richard Wylie)

Thorny Problems, by Richard Wylie, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Euakafa Island Research Centre: Richard Wylie )

Highly commended, Nanoparticle Planet: This image shows skin cells with internalised nanoparticles. The large circle is a 10-millimetre coverslip and the bright orange dots are the fluorescent and magnetic nanoparticles inside the cells. The cells are being induced to migrate off to the left of the coverslip via an external magnetic field. This kind of cellular control has implications in wound healing. (Michael Bradshaw)

Nanoparticle Planet, by Michael Bradshaw, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Michael Bradshaw )

Finalist, Unravelling a Basket Star: Charles Tambiah's striking image of a basket star, Gorgonocephalus sp., has been composed by 'painting' with micro-light to peel back layers of science. Utilising the full breadth of tools within imaging software, and fibre-optics for lighting hidden spaces, Charles has painted multiple layers of information out of blackness, unravelling a simple, yet complex, marine invertebrate. (Australian National University: Charles Tambiah)

Unravelling a Basket Star, by Charles Tambiah, a finalist in the 2014 Eureka Prize for science photography. ( Australian National University: Charles Tambiah )

The winner of the Australian Museum New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography will be announced on September 10 in Sydney, as well as a number of other Eureka Prizes for excellence in science.