National Geographic

The stars of the most watched videos on National Geographic News were a decidedly deep lot—hopping fish, countertop "sea monsters," underwater eruptions, and more.

A silvery meteor, a cosmic ''butterfly,'' and a rare green comet feature among the most beautiful, dramatic, or surprising space news pictures of the year, as chosen by National Geographic News editors.

View the most popular wallpapers from 2009, by National Geographic.

Etymology: from bi (as in “life”) + onics (as in “electronics”); the study of mechanical systems that function like living organisms or parts of living organisms

National Geographic provides free maps, photos, videos and daily news stories, as well as articles and features about animals, the environment, cultures, history, world music and travel.

Scientists are "blown away" by octopuses discovered tip-toeing with coconut-shell halves suctioned to their undersides, then reassembling the halves and disappearing inside.

A naked snail, a brightly colored jellyfish, and a ten-foot-long string of bell-like animals are among the odd discoveries—some only recently described by science—made during a 2005 expedition of the frigid and little-known polar waters.

See National Geographic News's most popular photo galleries of 2009, starring a fish with a see-through head, seven major missing links since Darwin, glowing animals, ten failed apocalypses, and more.

Once a scene of slaughter, icy South Georgia is awash with life again.

An unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography, the National Geographic Image Collection gathers together more than 11 million images chronicling the world from the end of the 19th century to the first decade of the 21st.