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Nov 28, 2019Wild turkeys in repose

The only difference between the wild turkeys in our photo today and the domestic turkeys many of us are preparing for the Thanksgiving meal is that domestic turkeys are raised on farms. Scientifically speaking, they’re the same species. The wild turkeys—like these two in Winter, Wisconsin—demonstrate how incredible these birds are in their natural environment. Adult turkeys have some 5,000 to 6,000 feathers, which work kind of like cat whiskers, helping the birds sense their environment. It’s the tom turkeys who have these large tail feather displays—they use them to attract hens. Wild turkeys don"t fly far and don"t migrate, but they are agile and can cover short distances quickly. They’re also highly adaptable to new environments, ranging throughout Mexico (where they originated) and the contiguous United States, and into several Canadian provinces as well.Desktop Version

Oct 22, 2018We did not invent this, honest

Wombats, like kangaroos and koalas, are native only to mainland Australia and some of its surrounding islands, including Maria Island National Park, where this photo was taken. We bring you a wombat in celebration of Wombat Day. Why Wombat Day? Why not? Wombat fan groups—which are a thing—loosely tie the October celebration to spring planting festivals from Australia’s past. (Yes, it’s spring in the Southern Hemisphere.) But many admit that it’s also just a good excuse to share photos of wombats and eat cake, preferably chocolate.Desktop Version

Mar 13, 2020Jerte Valley in bloom

As winter turns to spring in the Jerte Valley, all eyes are on the cherry blossoms. This tiny region in the province of Cáceres, Spain, has the perfect microclimate for cherry trees, and there are more than 1.5 million of them here in 23 square miles. The cherry blossoms last just two weeks before the petals rain down, covering the entire valley. About 40 days later, the first cherries are ready to be picked. Locals make wine, beer, and various foods with them. Cherries are also used for spa and beauty treatments, since they have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to vitamins and ellagic acid.Desktop Version

Jan 19, 2020Ready. Set. Snow.

Far above the clouds, an adrenaline-seeking skier glides past the jagged Crater Rock on Oregon"s Mount Hood. He"s practicing a relatively young sport known as speed riding—similar to paragliding but with more emphasis on high velocity than altitude. Skiers with parachute-like "wings" launch downslope at high speed, navigating runs partly on skis and partly in the air.Desktop Version

Apr 19, 2021Rays on parade

The feeding frenzy is on! Each spring and fall, the waters off Mexico"s Baja California Peninsula become the perfect place to spot Munk"s devil rays in massive schools like this one. Unlike stingrays (and perhaps the devil), devil rays lack fearsome pointy tails. In fact, these fish are pretty gentle all around, feeding mainly on plankton. And for them, mealtime is party time: During huge devil ray gatherings like this, rays are seen continually bursting out of the water and landing with loud bellyflops.Desktop Version

Jul 23, 2021Let the games (finally) begin!

Shining like an incandescent Olympic torch, the Tokyo Tower is our cue to finally say, "Let the games begin!" Along with so much else, the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed last year (as you probably heard). Despite the long delay, the Summer Olympic Games begin in Tokyo today, almost exactly one year after the games were originally due to start. But these Olympics will look a little different from past games. A recent spike in coronavirus cases has led to a state of emergency in Tokyo, so Olympic organizers have barred spectators from most events. Nevertheless, officials are determined that the Tokyo Olympics will be a demonstration of fortitude in the face of adversity.Desktop Version

Sep 6, 2018Feeling chic on Fashion Week

This northern rockhopper penguin might just be our spirit animal–especially for New York Fashion Week. The feisty bird is clearly feeling confident: Just look at that windswept hair! But while fashion models walk the runways in Manhattan this week, this rockhopper will be chilling in the South Atlantic. The rocky terrain on Gough Island, where northern rockhopper penguins live, prevents them from sliding on their bellies–a typical form of land-based penguin transportation. They tend to hop around on the uneven turf of Gough, hence their name.Desktop Version

Oct 27, 2020A bridge of Madison County

Framed here for the season by fall foliage, the Cambron Covered Bridge is located along a nature trail in Madison County, *Alabama*—not Iowa, which is the setting of the bestselling romance novel "The Bridges of Madison County." It"s believed there were once about 14,000 covered bridges in the US, but fewer than 900 or so remain today, a quarter of which can be found in Pennsylvania. But Alabama has covered-bridge bragging rights, too. The state has 11 historic covered bridges. Built in 1974, the Cambron Covered Bridge doesn"t make the official "historic" list, but it does offer hikers a peaceful passageway with great views of Sky Lake.Desktop Version

Apr 14, 2021Nothing plain about it

The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a unique attraction in California—not just because of its breathtaking, colorful views, but also due to its quiet, isolated feel. Just a few hours north of Los Angeles, it covers almost 250,000 acres along the base of the Temblor Mountains, giving visitors a chance to escape the crowds and experience nature. In spring, wildflowers cover the hills and valley floor, creating the amazing scene pictured here. The area also features other diverse plant species, including several listed as threatened or endangered. Wildlife includes antelope and elk, as well as rare species such as the San Joaquin kit fox, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and the giant kangaroo rat.Desktop Version

Dec 31, 2021New Year s Eve

The Land of Fire and Ice earns its nickname from the unique landscape of volcanoes and glaciers here, but Iceland"s white-hot celebrations in the dead of the Nordic midwinter also evoke the phrase. The tradition of New Year"s Eve bonfires in Iceland is said to date from the 18th century, when a group of schoolboys heralded the new year by scrounging up and torching a huge pile of wood scraps. The unruly teenagers" celebration sparked the general public"s interest, and annual fires—like this one in Reykjavik—became an internationally noted tradition for Icelanders. Huddle up to the fire and raise a toasty-warm toast to the new year!Desktop Version

Jun 6, 2019Engineering an artificial harbor in Normandy

For the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the end of WWII, we’re focusing on the remains of a Mulberry harbour—one of the most impressive military engineering feats of the war. Knowing that the ability to land huge numbers of men, vehicles, and supplies would be crucial to the Allies’ success in the invasion of Normandy, Winston Churchill challenged his forces to come up with artificial harbors that could be towed into place and operational within days of the initial landings.Desktop Version

Jan 19, 2022Kluane National Park

What looks here like an ice road for 50-foot-tall truckers is really Kaskawulsh Glacier in Canada"s Kluane National Park. This corner of the Yukon is home to the largest ice field on Earth outside of the poles, with the slow, steady flow of more than 2,000 glaciers continually carving these vast canyons amid the peaks.Desktop Version

Oct 17, 2020Fog above the forest

Today we"re looking out over Pisgah National Forest, which was established on this day in 1916. One of the first national forests established in the eastern United States, it comprises more than 500,000 acres of mountainous peaks, cascading waterfalls, and heavily forested slopes. With hundreds of miles of trails, Pisgah is a popular place for hiking, backpacking, road biking, mountain biking, fishing, and rock climbing.Desktop Version

Aug 18, 2021Pearl of the Adriatic

Jutting out into the sparkling Adriatic Sea, the medieval city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia displays its centuries-old charm. Here at the heart of the city is the Old Town, paved with limestone and surrounded by medieval walls that encircle its historic core. Visitors can walk along the walls, which stretch over 6,000 feet and were built to defend Dubrovnik from pirates and other unwelcome guests during the Middle Ages. Dotted by fortifications, bastions, and towers, the walls offer breathtaking views of the brilliant blue waters of the Adriatic on one side, and the Old Town"s distinctive terra-cotta roofs on the other.Desktop Version

Nov 24, 2020Feel the spray in Monterey

Fantasizing about warm, sandy beaches with gently lapping waves? Well, we decided you could use a shake-up—so here we are on California"s Monterey Peninsula for a glimpse at the ocean"s raw, unadulterated power. Asilomar State Beach"s mile-long coastline trail offers views like this one of seas crashing on jagged shores. Below the frothy surface swim innumerable ocean organisms protected by the massive Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest marine preserve in the contiguous United States. Behind us, a rich dune habitat supporting its own delicate flora and fauna can be explored via a boardwalk trail.Desktop Version

Feb 16, 2021Mardi Gras flower power

While the purple flowers and green ironwork may not look overly festive to the untrained eye, residents of New Orleans will no doubt spot the significance of both, especially today, on Mardi Gras, the final day of Carnival. Purple and green are two of the three official colors of Mardi Gras, together with gold, and in a normal year the streets would be full of revelers decked out in all three colors as they dance and parade down the streets of the city. Due to COVID-19, there won"t be any parades this year, but the colors will still be on full display in the city"s famous French Quarter and elsewhere, including as colorful icing atop king cakes, a beloved treat that"s associated with the Carnival season.Desktop Version

Jul 18, 2020The moth wonderful time of the year

You"re forgiven if this is the first you"re hearing of National Moth Week, even though it"s been going strong for eight years as a global call to learn about and observe the fuzzy little insects. All too often dismissed as pesky, drab counterparts to our brightly fluttering friends the butterflies, moths seem to hog every light but the spotlight. But they don"t need flashy marketing to win the numbers game: With an estimated 160,000 moth species (though some estimates go up to half a million), they vastly outnumber their swaggering butterfly cousins in the Lepidoptera order.Desktop Version

Aug 5, 2020Aw shucks, It s Oyster Day

It may look like we"ve led you into a squishy green minefield, but don"t worry, these clustered oysters will only explode with flavor. In honor of Oyster Day, August 5 of each year, we"re getting a glimpse of just one method of oyster mariculture, or farming in open seawater. The briny bivalves may be grown on beds, rods, racks, or—in this case—ropes, but the basic process is simple: Growing surfaces are "seeded" with whole or ground oyster shells before oyster larvae are introduced. The shells attract the larvae, which attach themselves and soon grow into a new layer of mature oysters. Humans have been doing this at least since the days of ancient Rome, but wild-picked oysters have been an important food source to many cultures since prehistory.Desktop Version

May 21, 2018Is that a face in the sand?

Though the coastal Namib Desert begins in the southwest of Angola, and creeps into South Africa, the largest stretch of the Namib makes up the coastline of Namibia. Parts of the Namib rise in steep elevation, while the northern portion is often shrouded in thick fog rolling off the Atlantic. The fog over the region called the Skeleton Coast is responsible for numerous shipwrecks, but the moisture it brings into the harsh desert landscape is crucial to the flora and fauna that thrive here.Desktop Version

Oct 26, 2020Corfe gets creepy

Spying the crooked silhouette of Corfe Castle above the rolling, foggy hills of Dorset, England, you might not guess at the ruin"s former palatial beauty—you"ll more likely sense its long history of intrigue, and maybe feel a chill down your spine.Desktop Version

Mar 23, 2018Happy World Meteorological Day

On this World Meteorological Day, celebrated each year on March 23, we climb far above the Earth for a view of the southern Peruvian coast courtesy of the Landsat 8 satellite. Below the clouds, at the bottom of those canyons, are the Yauca and Acarí Rivers, which drain into the Pacific. As any good meteorologist taking a break from today’s celebrations will tell you, warm air from the equator forms a layer over the cool coastal air here, pushing the clouds into the deep river canyons and covering the Pacific Ocean shore.Desktop Version

Sep 12, 2020A city, a cliff, a canyon…and cheese

Gazing down the lush Alzou river valley at the vertically-oriented village of Rocamadour, you won"t be surprised some regard the medieval French town as a holy site: Its beauty alone is mystical. The gorges of southwestern France are home to numerous striking historic hamlets built along and atop their steep edges. But Rocamadour is special as a stop for thousands of pilgrims on the Way of Saint James, a UNESCO-recognized traditional route through France and Spain that still draws journeyers both pious and secular. The town"s cliff-top sanctuary and the black-painted Madonna statue within have been purported to have healing powers. If you"re drawn to more earthly sources of good health, though, Rocamadour also lends its name to a delicious, locally crafted goat cheese.Desktop Version

Dec 6, 2021Computer Science EDU Week

In the decidedly pre-digital 19th century, English polymath Charles Babbage developed his design for an Analytical Engine, a machine that incorporates many of the functional ideas of modern computers. The diagram in our photo today shows the plans for the inner workings of Babbage"s mechanical computer. Construction was difficult and expensive, given the precision required for the crafted metal parts, so Babbage tinkered on his own but died before he saw his vision realized. Engineers have since built working models of Babbage"s machine.Desktop Version

Jul 5, 2019Peel Castle on St. Patrick’s Isle with the Isle of Man in the background

The Isle of Man has a long and complicated history of invasions, conquests, and systems of government. Pictured on today’s homepage are the ruins of the cathedral on the grounds of Peel Castle, on St. Patrick’s Isle (which is connected by a causeway to the rest of the island). Vikings built the original wooden fortification during the 11th century on a location that had older Celtic monastic structures made of stone, which were incorporated into the castle. Over the next eight centuries, the various Norse, Scottish, and English rulers of the area added battlements, towers, and the cathedral to the grounds.Desktop Version

Oct 7, 2019From the mind of Frank Gehry

Today"s image features the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry and his firm, Gehry Partners, in 2005. The building consists of three different elements: a medical building with spaces for patient care and research; the Life Activity Center, a for-hire event space which helps fund the center"s research; and a breezeway connecting the two spaces. Some have likened these elements to the hemispheres of the brain itself, with the medical building representing rational thinking and the event space (seen here) giving form to creative thinking.Desktop Version

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