These are the best science images of 2024

2024-12-18 00:34:00

The magazine Nature made a selection of scientific images to highlight the most representative or surprising ones from 2024. The snapshots include events such as the total solar eclipse on April 8 this year, which could be seen across much of North America, and other natural phenomena such as the Perseid meteor shower, the volcanic vortex rings that Etna produces or the torrential rains in Kenya (Africa), to other iconic photographs such as penguins rushing into the empty ocean, a stoat (Mustela erminea) climbing between rocks and the International Space Station during auroras on Earth. These are some of them.

Close-up of the species ‘Rhynchophorus ferrugineus’, an award-winning snapshot in the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest, taken by Sheriff Abdallah Ahmed.

An emperor penguin chick (Aptenodytes forsteri) dives into the ocean from the top of a 15 meter high cliff on the edge of the Ekström ice shelf in Antarctica. An image of Bertie Gregory for National Geographic.

A seagull riding a turtle in the Mediterranean Sea. The image was a finalist in Oceanographic’s Oceanographer of the Year competition and its author is Henry January

copy of Prestosuchus chiniquensisan archosauromorph that lived 237 million years ago. At his side, the paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Muller keeps one of the oldest fossils ever discovered, of the reptile species Gondwanax paraisense. Photograph From Diego Vara for Reuters.

Total solar eclipse in April. Pictured is a partial eclipse behind the Washington Monument in Washington DC. For scientists, the event was a unique opportunity to observe the Sun’s corona, its tenuous outer atmosphere. / Chip Somodevilla for Getty.

The International Space Station floats against the Northern Lights over Earth. The Sun is going through the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, so auroras have been seen on Earth at lower latitudes than usual. / Donald Pettit/NASA/Distributed via Reuters.

This year, heavy rains have devastated more than 80% of Kenya’s arid areas, affecting more than 1.5 million people. The country’s wildlife has also been affected. In this snapshot, a finalist in this year’s BigPicture Natural World Photography Contest, Buddhilini de Soyza captured cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from South-East Africa swept away by the current while trying to cross a river in the Masai Mara National Reserve./ Soyza buddhilini. /BigPicture Competition.

In April, Italy’s Mount Etna produced a rare display of “smoke rings.” These circles, called volcanic vortex rings, are produced when gas escapes through newly formed craters. /Fabrizio Villa for Getty.