Best Photos 2013

J. W. Draper—London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images One of the first pictures ever taken of the moon by Dr. J. W. Draper of New York, 1840. Read more: The First Photograph of The Moon – LightBox http://lightbox.time.com/2013/12/20/the-first-photograph-of-the-moon/#ixzz2obPduQnN

Ultra Sonic 4 D Image of a Fetus.

Taslima Akhter Taslima Akhter. Savar Dhaka, Bangladesh. April 24, 2013. April 24, 2013, still remains fresh in my memory. At 9 AM when I got the news, I rushed to Rana Plaza. That morning I did not understand what a brutal thing had happened, but within hours I grasped the enormity and horror of it. The day passed with many people helping survivors and taking photos. At midnight there were still many people. I saw the frightened eyes of the relatives. Some were crying. Some were looking for their loved ones. Read more: TIME Picks the Best Photos of 2013: Bangladesh, Syria, and More – LightBox http://lightbox.time.com/2013/12/02/time-picks-the-top-10-photos-of-2013/#ixzz2obRemBa1

Skogafoss Waterfall, Iceland Margagnoni’s long exposure photos capture icebergs, waterfalls and glacial lagoons with such dreamy accuracy that what’s real and imagined becomes indistinguishable. Margagnoni’s images are captured in foreign lands from Norway to Iceland, though they seem more like locales found in fairy tales than on a geographic map. The stark photos remind us of the big wide world waiting beyond our iPhones and computers, and, quite miraculously, compel us to look outside and see it for ourselves .

Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Iceland

Tyler Hicks—The New York Times/Redux Tyler Hicks. Nairobi, Kenya. Sept. 21, 2013. It was clear that something catastrophic was developing when I arrived at Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall. Gunfire had been reported, and I witnessed hundreds of victims streaming out of the building, many of them shot and bloodied. I realized this was the attack people had warned about since I moved here two years ago. Al Shabab militants were waging a violent attack on a crowded target frequented by foreigners. Read more: TIME Picks the Best Photos of 2013: Bangladesh, Syria, and More – LightBox http://lightbox.time.com/2013/12/02/time-picks-the-top-10-photos-of-2013/#ixzz2obTheDXN

Emin Özmen. Keferghan, Syria. Aug. 31, 2013. I took this picture on August 31 in Keferghan, a town near Aleppo, in northern Syria. It was the fourth and last execution of the day committed by Al Qaeda-linked ISIS militias. There were people of the village with their children, observing the scene in silence. A man, covered with black clothes except for his eyes, read his crimes for a long time. After the execution in Ehtemlat, the body was put on a pick-up and was taken to another village. The next was the execution in A’zaz, and the scene was repeated once again. The bodies were being taken from village to village. There was another execution right after A’zaz, and then Savran, and then Keferghan. Read more: TIME Picks the Best Photos of 2013: Bangladesh, Syria, and More – LightBox http://lightbox.time.com/2013/12/02/time-picks-the-top-10-photos-of-2013/#ixzz2obUDG3ed

Sky Above Rattlesnake Lake Photograph byhisao mogi, National Geographic Your Shot

A star called Fomalhaut and its surrounding disk of debris have made astronomers sit up and take notice. That’s because this picture, released January 8 by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals that the debris field—made of ice, dust, and rocks—is wider than previously thought, spanning an area 14 to 20 billion miles (22.5 to 32 billion kilometers) around the star.