Unforgettable Images That Capture a Planet in Flux — From Wildlife and Wonder to Human Discovery

Photographer Brian Skerry has been chronicling marine life for decades, but this is his first

picture of a great white shark off the coast of Maine, where he encountered one from four feet away. Sightings of sharks like this 10-footer are increasing from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, due in part to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which allowed seal populations to rebound.

Photo by Brian Skerry

With an eye toward solving the global energy crisis, scientists are developing powerful nuclear fusion devices called stellarators. This model was created at a German lab where international researchers built a much larger one that generated an astonishing 54 million-degree-Fahrenheit reaction. For a record-breaking 43 seconds, it was the hottest entity in the entire solar system—including the sun's center.

Photo by Paolo Verzone

The Solomon Islands are home to some of the most diverse coral reefs on the planet. Earlier this year, the island nation pledged to preserve 59 million acres of its marine waters—including the seas surrounding this lush isle—which make up part of a vital aquatic region called the Coral Triangle that spans six countries and contains 76 percent of the world's coral species.

Photo by Manu San Félix

For years, photographer Anand Varma has attempted to document when an egg yolk can still be seen but a bird form has clearly emerged. He experimented by incubating embryos in artificial shells before finally capturing the transformation at 12 days old. Varma separately raised some embryos to chicks, which he donated to people in the community.

Photo by Anand Varma

While monitoring the burrow of a rare giant armadillo in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, photographer Fernando Faciole came face-to-lens with a different vulnerable animal: the jaguar. Severe deforestation has decimated the population here, and today fewer than a dozen jaguars may remain in the state park where Faciole took this image.

Photo by Fernando Faciole