When one of the volcanoes on La Palma in the Canary Islands began erupting in September, photographer Arturo Rodríguez heard the frantic news broadcasts while in the shower at his home on the neighboring island of Tenerife. He quickly booked a flight and arrived in La Palma a few hours later, where he has worked around the clock to document the volcano’s power and devastation. “I never dreamed about being so close to something like this,” he told National Geographic. “It’s so big, so powerful.”

Rodríguez’s remarkable photographs of this eruption are just some of 23 images selected by National Geographic’s photo editors as our favorite science and technology photos of 2021. 

This year saw photographers chronicle the power and