46 amazing photographs from 2012

2012 has been a great year in it's own way. It may have been full of ups and downs, victories and losses, successes and disappointment (as with pretty much any year). But how ever you've found it. It's still been full of wondrous and wonder. Or something.

All of these photos came to light this year. Whether they have been found, released after years away from the public eye or just plain old taken, they all have one thing in common. They're kind of amazing.
So sit back and take it all in.

1. A pod of sleeping sperm whales.

2. Aurora Australialis (Southern Lights) from space.

3. Flight of the devil rays.

4. Galactic monsoon.

5. A recently released picture of 9/11 taken by the only American man not on Earth that day.

6. A sunset eclipse.

7. Elephant meets sea lion.

8. 7 hours in one image.

9. Base jumping from Christ.

10. Bora-Bora from space.

11. Chicago from a distance.

12. Monks being awesome.

13. Felix Baumgartner prepares to jump from space.

14. First contact.

15. A cloud full of lightning.

16. This Filipino couple didn't let flooding stop them.

17. Patterns in dried out desert rivers.

18. A desert oasis in Libya.

19. A recently unearthed photo of workers on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1914.

20. One hot model shoot.

21. A recently found photo of the now demolished Metropolitan Opera House.

22. Living on the edge.

23. Meditating monks at Pongour falls.

24. Moth trails caught at night.

25.Mount Rainier casts a shadow.

26. Now that's graffiti.

27. One boat, 145 water-skiers.

28. The sun flares up in this enhanced colour photograph.

29. Putting the size of whales into perspective.

30. Salar De Uyuni after rain.

31. Preparing to snow-mobile the Norway-Sweden border.

32. A composite of hundreds of take-offs at Hannover Airport.

33. The amazing strength of ants.

34. A found photo showing the true extent of the bombing of Dresden during WW2.

35. The Chicago skyline. This time across Lake Michigan.

36. A honey-bee uses it's last sting.

37. Walking the keel.

38. That's a lot of canoes and kayaks.

39. The most incredible Aurora of 2012.

40. The sea-horse watch inspector.

41. The Perseids Meteor Shower.

42. The rollercoaster submerged by Hurricane Sandy.

43. The end of the world (otherwise known as Beachy Head).

44. Moon Bridge in Dahu Park, Taipei.

45. Pixel perfect people.

46. The power of an orange.