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Apr 22, 2021Gazing down on planet Earth

It"s Earth Day today and we are high above the blue marble looking down on the border between Arkansas and Mississippi. Those small, blocky shapes are towns, fields, and pastures, and the teal green is the mighty Mississippi River. Anyone who has flown in the window seat of an airplane and gazed down at Earth below might wonder why the colors in this image look so unreal. That"s because they are. This image was taken in 2013 by Landsat 7, a NASA satellite that uses thermal infrared sensors to help scientists better distinguish flora, fauna, water, and manmade objects. For almost 50 years, NASA has been using satellite imagery to understand how climate change and population growth are affecting our fragile planet. These satellites help NASA see where deforestation and wildfires are happening, where glaciers are melting, and how rising waters are encroaching on cities.Desktop Version

Apr 29, 2019New beginnings

Spring means more than just April showers and May flowers. It"s also the season when many baby animals are born. The rainy, warmer days bring new plant growth, which means nursing and foraging moms can provide their newborns with larger amounts of higher-quality food. It also maximizes the "growing season" for spring babies, giving them time to increase in size and put on fat before winter arrives.Desktop Version

Jul 3, 2018To the 155th on the 155th

There are multiple monuments to the people who fought and died at the Battle of Gettysburg. Our photo shows the statue erected to honor the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry, a volunteer regiment that joined up with the Army of the Potomac, which was led by Union General George Meade. And 155 years ago today, the Confederate forces began to retreat to Virginia after three days of vicious combat. With total casualties on both sides of roughly 50,000 lives, the Battle of Gettysburg remains the most costly conflict in US history in terms of lives lost.Desktop Version

Jan 11, 2020Who s wearing such cute hats?

The stone figures lining the steps in today"s photo are among 500 rakan statues on the small island of Miyajima in Japan. The colorful knitted caps they"re wearing are offerings from people visiting the island, a tradition followed in other areas of Japan as well. Some believe this gift-giving is based on a children"s folk story of an elderly hatmaker who was unable to make it to market on a snowy day, so he placed his collection of hats on rakan statues to keep their bare heads dry. Later, the statues showed their appreciation by delivering gifts to the hatmaker and his wife so they could celebrate the new year properly. The statues in this photo were individually carved sometime between the 1780s to the 1820s, and no two are alike. They line the path at the base of Mount Misen that leads to the Daisho-in Temple, one of the many temples and shrines on the island.Desktop Version

Dec 30, 2020Winter in the Wild West

When considering the dramatically eroded canyons of southwestern Utah, snow may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But far-flung Bryce Canyon National Park gets plenty of the white stuff, owing to its elevation of 8,000-plus feet at the massive amphitheater"s rim. The cold not only provides scenic snowy views and great cross-country skiing, it"s responsible for the striking red-rock pinnacles—known as hoodoos—that make the park so unique.Desktop Version

Jun 25, 2019Sutherland Falls in Fiordland National Park

Sutherland Falls spills over the side of Lake Quill in the jagged, glacier-carved landscape of Fiordland National Park on New Zealand’s South Island. For years, it was believed to be the tallest waterfall in the world, thanks in part to a rough estimate by Scottish explorer Donald Sutherland, the first European to see the falls. Later, more scientific surveys proved this estimate to be significantly inflated, but Sutherland Falls is still 1,900 feet tall, which is plenty high in our book.Desktop Version

May 23, 2021A palace for the public

May 23, 2021 marks the 110th anniversary of the opening of the New York Public Library"s Main Branch (now known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building). Back just before the turn of the 20th century, a group of New York City business leaders decided that if their hometown was ever going to compete with Paris and London as a center of urban culture, it needed a great library.Desktop Version

Mar 18, 2020A stroll above the stratosphere

If this photo from 200-plus miles above Earth dizzies you, imagine how it felt to be Alexei Leonov on March 18, 1965. The Soviet cosmonaut achieved the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA—but you and I just call it a spacewalk). He spent about 12 minutes outside the orbiting Voskhod 2 capsule. It was the ultimate risk: No one knew just what could happen to a human body in the vacuum of space. Near heatstroke, drenched with sweat, and with his suit dangerously inflating, Leonov barely made it back inside the airlock.Desktop Version

Feb 7, 2021It s superb owl Sunday

These two great gray owls look like they"re ready to play, which seems fitting on Super Bowl (or "superb owl") Sunday. Great grays are bigger than most other owls, with broad wings and long tails. But before you pencil them in at the offensive line, consider that most of their size comes from feathers—they"re relative lightweights, tipping the scales at under 3 pounds on average, less than most other large owls. They generally live in pine and fir forests with meadows nearby, hunting small rodents at night and avoiding areas with people. Great grays hunt by listening and watching from a perch, then swooping down on their prey—sometimes plunging into more than a foot of snow to make a diving catch.Desktop Version

Dec 4, 2019Protecting endangered giants

In honor of Wildlife Conservation Day, we"re looking at these two white rhinos strolling through the Amakhala Game Reserve in South Africa—with a friendly oxpecker bird on their tails. The large anklets they"re wearing are used to track the endangered animals and protect them from poaching. Both white and black rhinos live in open savanna, but the adult rhinos" only real predators are humans who hunt them for the illegal trade of their horns. Although they are known for being large, tough animals, rhinos are easily poached during their daily visits to the watering hole. Southern white rhinos now thrive in protected sanctuaries like the Amakhala Game Reserve. But the northern white rhino subspecies is believed to be extinct in the wild with only a few captive individuals remaining. Black rhinos have doubled from their low point over the past two decades, but still number only a fraction of their population in the early 20th century.Desktop Version

Mar 8, 2020Joan charges Riverside Park

Joan of Arc leads the charge through New York"s Riverside Park for our celebration of International Women"s Day. This year’s Women"s Day observance is particularly meaningful in the United States because 2020 marks 100 years since American women won the right to vote nationwide. That victory was the result of a long, difficult struggle by suffragists—women who faced ridicule, slander, imprisonment, and outright brutality for their efforts to claim the right to vote. These women often drew inspiration from Joan of Arc, who became a feminist symbol of the female warrior for universal rights. In their marches and demonstrations in the early 1900s, suffragists often dressed as Joan and invoked her heroism in defiance of a male-dominated culture.Desktop Version

Sep 23, 2018Ahh-tumn

To celebrate the autumnal equinox, we’re in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The park includes part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, and in fall, the forests of Shenandoah offer a kaleidoscope of red, gold, orange, and brown as the leaves turn and begin to drop. Skyline Drive, a highway winding across the mountains, will be crowded for the next few weeks as visitors make the trek to take in the view as the seasons change.Desktop Version

Apr 2, 2020Pascua Florida Day

We"re at the Ponce de León Inlet Light in Central Florida for Pascua Florida Day, which marks the anniversary of the Spanish explorer"s arrival here in 1513. Believing this stretch of coast to be an island, Ponce de León claimed the land for Spain and named it "La Florida"—because of the verdant landscape and also because it was during the Easter season, which the Spaniards called "Pascua Florida" (Festival of Flowers). According to legend, Ponce de León arrived here in search of the Fountain of Youth, a mythical water source said to restore the youth of those who drink from it or bathe in its waters. While that mission was unsuccessful, his name lives on in history–and on this lighthouse and the inlet where it shines.Desktop Version

Apr 28, 2019A good time in the Badlands

At the close of National Park Week, we arrive at Badlands in South Dakota. Our photo today shows a view from Castle Trail—at 10 miles round trip, it’s the longest marked hike in the park. Spring rain has revived the grasses across the prairie as the sun illuminates the pinnacle rock formations in the distance. Soon, grazing animals such as bison and pronghorn will begin feasting on the fresh crop of grasses. This is also a good time of year to spot some of the dozens of different butterfly species that live in the park and provide a delicate contrast to the park’s rugged landscape.Desktop Version

Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring

Welcome back, little mountain bluebird. Although this bright fellow may be enduring the last of this year"s snow in Yellowstone National Park, his presence means winter will soon be ending. The bluebird is a symbol of happiness and a welcome sign of spring in many cultures. Soon other migratory birds will arrive in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—an 18-million-acre tract that includes Grand Teton National Park and surrounding national forests. It"s the world"s largest intact ecosystem in the northern temperate zone. What exactly does that mean? Since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone 25 years ago, all the animal species that were first documented by European explorers can still be found here.Desktop Version

May 5, 2018Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo today, you may hear a mariachi band playing. The Mexican music style dates to at least the 1700s, but the modern version took shape in the 20th century. It usually features string and brass instruments and one or more singers, often putting a mariachi spin on traditional ballads and folk songs.Desktop Version

Aug 9, 2020A peek at an explosive peak

We"re looking at Lassen Peak, a volcano also known as Mount Lassen, and its reflection in Manzanita Lake. This stunning scene can be found in Northern California"s Lassen Volcanic National Park, which was established on this day in 1916. The volcano erupted between 1914 and 1917 (with some activity as late as 1921), but these days the surrounding area is a calm destination of trails, lakes, and stark lava beds. One of the least visited parks, Lassen was the first national park in California to fully reopen after being closed for COVID-19, although it implemented some restrictions to park services and facilities. The park also includes acres of mud pots, hot springs, steam vents, and fumaroles to remind you of the heat that"s below you, including Boiling Springs Lake—one of the largest boiling lakes in the world at over 500 feet wide.Desktop Version

Jul 30, 2020International Day of Friendship

Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe"s Mana Pools National Park, the hamerkop, a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn"t reach.Desktop Version

Apr 14, 2018It’s National Dolphin Day!

We’re celebrating National Dolphin Day by heading to the waters offshore from Kaikoura, New Zealand, where a pod of dusky dolphins is surfacing along South Island’s Pacific Coast. The ‘dusky’ descriptor comes from the dark gray, sometimes black coloring on the marine mammal’s back. Dusky dolphins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere.Desktop Version

Jan 20, 2023Penguin Awareness Day

We"re celebrating Penguin Awareness Day in the Falkland Islands, taking a stroll with some king penguins. Kings are the second-largest penguin species, only outranked in stature by their emperor penguin cousins. And while the kings" tuxedo coloring gives them a dash of the debonair, it also provides an important and more practical purpose: camouflage. When the birds dive deep into the ocean looking for food, their black feathers disguise the birds from predators above, while their white undersides do the reverse. Kings are legendary for their diving prowess—in their quest for tasty squid and lanternfish, they can dive to depths of 300 feet, and some have even been spotted nearly 1,000 feet beneath the surface. Underwater, these flightless birds are the epitome of grace. On land, however, they are not so graceful, and waddle or "toboggan" on their bellies to get around.Desktop Version

May 5, 2021The birthplace of Cinco de Mayo

The church we see on the grassy hill was built after Hernan Cortez and his Spanish army conquered Cholula one October day in 1519. The Spanish ravaged the Aztec holy city that day, murdering 10% of its population and burning down the many pyramids that dotted the area. But just underneath this church, buried for centuries, lay an ancient secret never discovered by the Spanish. It"s the largest pyramid in the world, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, so large its enormous base would span several Olympic-sized swimming pools.Desktop Version

Jul 9, 2018Gauchos showcase Argentina’s independent spirit

Gauchos are a national symbol here in Argentina, which celebrates its independence today, 202 years after it broke free from Spanish rule. These gauchos are showcasing their skills in the town of San Antonio de Areco, home to an annual gaucho festival that draws people from all over. The gauchos gather to share traditional food, folklore, and competition. Since the 18th century, gauchos have been known as skilled, brave horsemen and their exploits are celebrated in South American literature and popular culture.Desktop Version

Apr 23, 2020Duck, duck. duck, duck, duck...

When king eider males line up in a dandy display like this, it"s likely because they"re courting a hen (or what birders call a "queen eider"). These colorful drakes aren"t your regular ducks. They"re sea ducks, a group that includes several large duck species that feed off the coast in salt water. As you can see, male king eiders have striking multicolored plumage and yellowish knobs above their bills that are said to resemble crowns. They, and the less-ornate brown females, make their home in the frigid waters along the Arctic coasts of northern Europe, North America, and Asia.Desktop Version

Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct

Muggles from around the world flock to this iconic scene at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland to marvel at the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, also known as the "Harry Potter bridge." The curving structure was made famous in the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling"s novels as part of the route taken by the Hogwarts Express, which carries students to and from the wizarding boarding school at the start and end of every term. And today is a reason to celebrate for Potterheads, as we are marking the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter"s big-screen debut.Desktop Version

Apr 6, 2021On the rebirth of the Olympic Games

Today marks the 125th anniversary of the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896—1,500 years after they were banned by the Roman emperor. (The original games were held at least as far back as 776 BCE and probably earlier.) The 1896 Games were held in the Panathenaic Stadium, in the shadow of the Acropolis of Athens, shown here. Those newly revived games of 1896 included athletes from 14 countries, with the largest delegations from Greece, Germany, France, and Great Britain. The 43 events included a marathon, tennis, cycling, fencing, shooting, Greco-Roman wrestling, and swimming. And while some things haven"t changed over the years, some were pretty different back then. Swimmers were taken out to sea by boat for the longer races and had to swim back to shore. Winners were given a silver medal (copper for second place), as well as an olive branch and a diploma.Desktop Version

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