There’s no doubt that there were many, many powerful and newsworthy images created during the eventful past 12 months. We applaud all these skilled photographers, not only for persevering and bringing life to vital stories, but also for not losing sight of the little curious and enchanting moments—like the ones below. At Atlas Obscura, we always celebrate images that make you see the world in a new, hopefully wondrous way. Check out this selection of our favorite eye-catching moments in another complicated year.

More than a hundred divers perform to set a new Guinness World Record for the "largest underwater mermaid show" at Atlantis Sanya resort on April 28, 2021, in Sanya, China.
More than a hundred divers perform to set a new Guinness World Record for the “largest underwater mermaid show” at Atlantis Sanya resort on April 28, 2021, in Sanya, China. Wu Wei/VCG via Getty Images
It's not King Kong, but a gibbon walking amid models of vehicles at a zoo in the park of miniatures in Bakhchisaray, Ukraine, on May 24, 2021.
It’s not King Kong, but a gibbon walking amid models of vehicles at a zoo in the park of miniatures in Bakhchisaray, Ukraine, on May 24, 2021. Alexey Pavlishak/REUTERS
These are not extras from a sci-fi movie, but participants in the annual Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, regarded as one of the most dangerous fireworks festivals in the world, on February 26, 2021, in Tainan, Taiwan.
These are not extras from a sci-fi movie, but participants in the annual Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, regarded as one of the most dangerous fireworks festivals in the world, on February 26, 2021, in Tainan, Taiwan. An Rong Xu/Getty Images
UFOs are not (yet) among us. Unless you count this murmuration of starlings above the Jordan Valley in the West Bank on February 7, 2021.
UFOs are not (yet) among us. Unless you count this murmuration of starlings above the Jordan Valley in the West Bank on February 7, 2021. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
A 39-foot violin-shaped boat with a string quartet on board, conceived by Venetian artist Livio De Marchi, floats near Venice's Accademia Bridge on September 18, 2021.
A 39-foot violin-shaped boat with a string quartet on board, conceived by Venetian artist Livio De Marchi, floats near Venice’s Accademia Bridge on September 18, 2021. Stefano Mazzola/Awakening/Getty Images
A hot air balloon created by Japanese art group mé floats over Tokyo's Yoyogi Park on July 16, 2021, as part of a project called <em>Masayume</em>, a Japanese word for a dream that becomes reality.
A hot air balloon created by Japanese art group mé floats over Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park on July 16, 2021, as part of a project called Masayume, a Japanese word for a dream that becomes reality. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images
The Kraken house float, on Memphis Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of thousands of homes decorated in celebration of Mardi Gras, on February 7, 2021.
The Kraken house float, on Memphis Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of thousands of homes decorated in celebration of Mardi Gras, on February 7, 2021. Kathleen Flynn/REUTERS
A Buddhist devotee lights a candle in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest flaming image (with somewhere between 250,000 and 330,000 candles) during Earth Day celebrations at the Wat Dhammakaya Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok on April 22, 2021.
A Buddhist devotee lights a candle in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest flaming image (with somewhere between 250,000 and 330,000 candles) during Earth Day celebrations at the Wat Dhammakaya Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok on April 22, 2021. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images
The Christ the Protector statue is under construction in Encantado, Brazil, on April 9, 2021. It will be larger than Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer, and the third-largest in the world.
The Christ the Protector statue is under construction in Encantado, Brazil, on April 9, 2021. It will be larger than Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, and the third-largest in the world. SILVIO AVILA/AFP via Getty Images
Innovative chef David Garcia checks a pizza he is cooking on a lava river from the Pacaya Volcano at Cerro Chino Hill in Guatemala, on May 11, 2021.
Innovative chef David Garcia checks a pizza he is cooking on a lava river from the Pacaya Volcano at Cerro Chino Hill in Guatemala, on May 11, 2021. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images
A diver uses a shopping cart at Deep Dive Dubai, the deepest swimming pool in the world at about 196 feet, complete with a "sunken city," on July 10, 2021.
A diver uses a shopping cart at Deep Dive Dubai, the deepest swimming pool in the world at about 196 feet, complete with a “sunken city,” on July 10, 2021. GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images
A woman shows matchboxes of pearl-sized micro-apples, grown on a tree that self-adapted to Siberian weather, on the outskirts of Yakutsk, Russia, on September 9, 2021.
A woman shows matchboxes of pearl-sized micro-apples, grown on a tree that self-adapted to Siberian weather, on the outskirts of Yakutsk, Russia, on September 9, 2021. Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS
Artist Luke Jerram's <em>Floating Earth</em>, a replica of our planet measuring 32-feet in diameter, floats for the first time, on an open expanse of water in Wigan, England, on November 18, 2021.
Artist Luke Jerram’s Floating Earth, a replica of our planet measuring 32-feet in diameter, floats for the first time, on an open expanse of water in Wigan, England, on November 18, 2021. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images