An image is a powerful tool for understanding. Whether it's a photograph that helps us see things not apparent to the naked eye, or an illustration that presents complex information in elegant simplicity, visuals show us what words often cannot express.

When those images are also beautiful, then you are talking about this year's winners of the 2013 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, announced February 6. The annual contest is run by the U.S. National Science Foundation and Science.

The first-place winner in the photography category, pictured above, reveals the mesmerizing patterns formed by the movements of two coral polyps. The photograph superimposes two images, taken 90 minutes apart, into one: Both show the water currents (gold and light