The year 2024 brought us face to face with nature’s most spellbinding moments, from tiny moths emerging after 17 years underground to orcas hunting the ocean’s largest fish. Scientists, naturalists and photographers ventured to Earth’s wildest corners – and sometimes just their backyards – to document fleeting seconds that tell bigger stories about our changing planet. This collection of photos, each capturing a precise instant in time, opens windows into worlds most of us will never see firsthand. Let’s look at what they found.