2008 Pictures of the Year: Editors' Choice

• Aurora Borealis, Alaska
  The Aurora Borealis spins above the Talkeetna Range and a hay field on Farm Loop Road near Palmer, Alaska, on February 29. The center of the circular corona, usually near Earth's north pole, sometimes fluctuates further south and can be seen from a lower latitude as in this instance.
  
  
  

  Bob Martinson, AP

• Endeavour Lifts Off
  Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., March 11. Endeavour's seven-man crew delivered the first section of Japan's lab and Canada's two-armed robotic system to the International Space Station.
  
  
  

  Paul Sancya, AP

• Chilean Volcano
  Lava explodes from the Llaima volcano, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, in Cherquenco, Chile, early July 10. The 9,400-foot volcano grew more dangerous after activity had decreased in recent days.
  
  
  

  Sernageomin-Onemi / AP

• Spain's Tomatina Festival
  A reveler throws tomato pulp at another during the annual food fight, the Tomatina, in the small Spanish town of Bunol, Aug. 27. Each year, tens of thousands of people hurl truckloads of tomatoes at each other, sending knee-deep rivers through the small Spanish town. Local lore says it began in the mid-1940s with a food battle that broke out between youngsters near a vegetable stand on the town square in Bunol.
  
  
  

  Fernando Bustamante, AP

• Washington, D.C., Spelling Bee
  Lance Letson Hungar of McLean, Va., waits for his turn during the semi-final round of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington on May 30.
  
  
  

  Molly Riley, Reuters

• California Wildfires
  A firefighter walks out of a brush fire burning out of control in the Santa Ynez Mountains near Goleta, Calif., on July 5. A slew of wildfires, most ignited by lightning two weeks prior, had burned more than 800 square miles of land throughout California.
  
  
  

  Phil Klein, AP

• Brooklyn Bridge, 125th Anniversary
  A fireworks show bursts above the 125-year-old Brooklyn Bridge during the birthday celebration for it on May 22 in New York. The iconic bridge spans 6,000 feet and is one of the nation's oldest suspension bridge.
  
  
  

  Jin Lee, AP

• Palestinian Protesters
  Palestinian protesters take cover behind an olive tree as they get caught in a barrage of tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops during a demonstration against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin, near Modin, May 27. Israel says the barrier is necessary for security while Palestinians call it a land grab.
  
  
  

  Kevin Frayer, AP

• Mourning in Georgia
  A man tries in vain to comfort his wife after they just learned that their child had been killed Aug. 11 in a town neighboring Gori, Georgia, just outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
  
  
  

  Sergei Grits, AP

• Obama Hug
  Supporters engulf president-elect Barack Obama, who at the time of the photo was a Democratic senator and presidential hopeful, during a rally at the Xcel Energy Center June 3, 2008 in St. Paul, Minn. Obama captured enough votes in the day's primaries in Montana and South Dakota to earn the Democratic presidential nomination, bringing to a close his battle with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.
  
  
  

  Chip Somodevilla, Getty Image