Not all that long ago, Ars was the rare outlet where your 5,000-word-plus treatise on some scientific techniques or operating system would be scant (or completely devoid) on images. In fact, it was only 2013 when a redesign required a new focus on visuals for all staff. In the years since, we like to think the pictures have slowly but surely caught up to the rest of the work done around the Orbital HQ. And while we can’t all be Aurich Lawsons (or Jennifer Hahns, to say nothing of our growing video cache), 2015 gave staff plenty of opportunity to flex their artistic muscles.

So to celebrate “the year that was” one final time, we’ve compiled a collection of our favorite pictures and images from 2015. You’ll find links to the relevant stories embedded in the image captions (and hopefully the sizes will be acceptable for all your Pinterest/Instagram/wallpaper/etc. needs). Let us know if we overlooked a particular looker in the comments, otherwise enjoy some of what stands out to the staff below.

Ars Visits…

If it wasn’t already evident, 2015 was a busy year here at Ars. We visited movie sets and fallout bunkers, poured molten lava, and toured a recycling plant among our many excursions. (No rest for the weary, however, as staff are set to attend CES this month.)