Gallery: Beautiful, Strange and Geeky: Top Science Image Galleries of 2011
01geekiest-equations
Many of our readers' favorite Wired Science posts each year are image galleries. These collections of visually interesting subjects are a great way for us to put the news in a broader context, or to get away from the daily news cycle and explore topics we find intriguing in a different way. Usually these stories are driven by the images, but sometimes the images are there to add another dimension to the story. Either way, we love putting them together, and our readers apparently love to read them. To help you get the new year started with a great procrastination opportunity, we've collected our most popular galleries of 2011. __Above:__ 9 Equations True Geeks Should (at Least Pretend to) Know -------------------------------------------------------- It turns out that our readers have strong opinions about which equations true geeks need to know, or at least feign knowledge of. When we published [this collection of some of our favorite equations](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/equations-for-geeks), which landed at the top of the list of most popular Wired Science galleries for the year, the reactions were plentiful and opinionated. So we followed up with [a list of readers' picks](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/equations-for-geeks-2/ ), which in turn provoked another round of opinions (many of which comically complained this list was missing equations that were in our original collection). [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/equations-for-geeks)
Visual Science Company02science-visualizations
10 Stunning Science Visualizations ---------------------------------- Short of first-hand experience in a lab or in the field, few things can bring science to life like a well-conceived visualization. A good graph, plot or representation can help explain a scientific concept or experiment, but beautiful visuals can do much more. They make the science real and appealing and can sometimes draw in otherwise uninterested people. The [winners of the 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/science-visualizations-gallery) are great examples of this and made up our second most popular image gallery of 2011. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/science-visualizations-gallery)
03uncontacted-tribes
Uncontacted Tribe Photographed in Brazilian Jungle -------------------------------------------------- [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/uncontacted-tribe) New Uncontacted Group Confirmed in Brazil ----------------------------------------- [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/new-uncontacted-photos) Our third and fourth most popular image galleries both featured remote, uncontacted tribes in Brazil photographed from the air. Only around 100 uncontacted tribes are thought to exist worldwide, and it's not hard to understand the appeal of these images. The [images of one tribe](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/uncontacted-tribe), spotted at the mouth of the Envira river near the Peruvian border, were released in January. The [images in the second gallery](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/new-uncontacted-photos) were made public in June.
04national-parks-from-space
Most Beautiful National Parks Seen From Space --------------------------------------------- Our long-running series of satellite images of Earth is always popular, and this year, the shots of some of America's [most beautiful national parks from space](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/national-parks-from-space) topped the list and was our fifth most viewed gallery of the year. These places are undoubtedly scenic from the ground, but the view from space gives a new perspective on their beauty. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/national-parks-from-space)
05unique-animals
11 Animal Wonders of Evolution ------------------------------ Unusual animals are always popular with our readers, and the sixth most viewed gallery of the year includes some of the strangest creatures around. These [evolutionarily distinct species](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/unique-animals) are sometimes referred to as living fossils because of their incredible longevity and ability to survive mass extinctions. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/unique-animals)
06sand-patterns
Photographers Capture Mysterious, Beautiful Patterns in Sand ------------------------------------------------------------ Some of the patterns in our seventh most viewed gallery are so impossibly strange, it's hard to believe they are [natural sand formations](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/sand-patterns-gallery). Shaped by wind and water, the intricate patterns range from tiny ripples to enormous dunes. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/sand-patterns-gallery)
07camera-traps
Camera Traps Reveal Secret Animal Worlds ---------------------------------------- Seeing animals in the wild is an elusive treat. This collection of [photos and video of rare animals](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/animal-camera-trap-gallery) from camera traps around the world offers an elusive glimpse through an actual window on nature. The eighth most popular gallery of the year has images of giant pandas, ocelots, a jaguar, a takin and other animals you may never have even heard of. A second [collection of camera trap images](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/camera-traps) was also very popular this year. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/animal-camera-trap-gallery)
08photo-alteration
Image Tool Catches Fashion Industry Photo Alterations ----------------------------------------------------- A study in November exposed the depths of alteration many photographs undergo before they arrive on the newsstand. The scientists' new photograph-analyzing tool quantifies [changes made by digital airbrushers](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/photo-alteration-analysis) in the fashion and lifestyle industry, where image alteration has become the psychologically destructive norm. The examples in this gallery, the ninth most popular of the year, are both impressive and unsettling. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/photo-alteration-analysis)
09top-scientific-discoveries
Top Scientific Discoveries of 2011 ---------------------------------- One of our final galleries of the year, an annual collection of [the year's biggest scientific breakthroughs](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/top-discoveries-2011), was the 10th most viewed. This year we included the faster-than-light neutrinos, the extinct ancestors that live on in our genes, a triumph for chimpanzees used in research, the seven billionth person on the planet, and the exoplanet Kepler 22b. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/top-discoveries-2011)
10electron-microscope-images
Scorpions, Spiders and Sharks: Electron-Microscope Images --------------------------------------------------------- Spiders and sharks are always popular with our readers, and this year they make an appearance in extreme close-ups in this bunch of [images from scanning electron microscopes](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/sem-gallery), our 11th most viewed gallery of the year. These images were selected for Wired Science by the scientists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/sem-gallery)
11adorable-spaceship-models
NASA's Most Adorable Model Spaceships ------------------------------------- This was going to be a gallery of the top 11 galleries of 2011, but we couldn't resist including the 12th. Something about [the models NASA makes while planning missions](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/adorable-model-spaceships) makes them irresistibly cute. From lunar landers to space stations to crew capsules, the models we featured are truly adorable. [*Full Gallery*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/adorable-model-spaceships)
