Dozens of brightly coloured hot air balloons took to the sky on 10 October for the ninth and final day of the 2015 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. Several hundred balloons were registered to take part in the nine day event, according to organisers.
As many as 550 can take off from the 365 acre Balloon Fiesta Park within a two hour period on days of "Mass Ascensions", a launch of all the participating balloons that takes places in two waves.
The annual event began in 1972 with just 13 balloons taking off from a parking lot in Albuquerque and has grown to include balloon pilots from more than 22 countries with more than 100,000 spectators visiting each year.
