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Dec 24, 2021Smoking nights in Austria

Behold the lovely Tannenbaum ("fir tree" for you non-German speakers). Here in Tyrol, Austria, Christmas Eve marks the first of three Rauchnächte, or "smoking nights." A long-standing Tyrolean tradition, people in this Alpine region burn frankincense and herbs in homes, barns, and stables to avert bad fortune. The custom is then repeated on the other two "smoking nights," New Year"s Eve and the night before Epiphany.Desktop Version

Jan 9, 2022Rice processing in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, a nation that"s never recorded a freezing temperature, rice growing is a year-round affair. But growing an aquatic crop in the dry season—October through March—is complicated, requiring high-yield plant strains and additional irrigation.Desktop Version

Jun 13, 2021Bear watching in the Finnish forest

If you go out to the woods today in parts of Finland, you might get a big surprise. That"s because about 2,000 brown bears can be found freely roaming the taiga—or boreal forest—which covers most of the country, making this rugged wilderness in northern Europe the perfect place to see these majestic animals in their natural habitat. And bear watching is a popular pastime in Finland. The bear-watching season begins in April—when the first bears emerge from hibernation in a white blanket of snow—and lasts until fall. Summer nights are the best time to spot the bears, even under the golden glow of the midnight sun for those who venture north of the Arctic Circle. Many observe the creatures from the safety of a "hide," a purpose-built wooden cabin offering visitors a close-up view of a real teddy bear"s picnic.Desktop Version

Jul 28, 2022Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park

One of the 53 "fourteeners" in Colorado—mountains that exceed 14,000 feet—Longs Peak still manages to reach higher into the heavens than any other mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park at 14,259 feet. Thousands of climbers set off every year to attempt the summit. Some climbers will try to reach the peak of every fourteener in the US during their lifetimes—that"s 96 different mountains.Desktop Version

Mar 27, 2022World Theatre Day

What better place to celebrate World Theatre Day than the ancient theater of Taormina, Sicily, an amphitheater built in the Hellenistic style of the Greeks in the third century BCE. The venue was later expanded by the Romans and is one of the signature sights in Taormina. And if you look in the upper-right corner of the photo, that"s Mount Etna giving a performance of its own, spewing a little ash and smoke.Desktop Version

Jan 18, 2023White Sands National Park turns 90

If today"s photo evokes some chilly feelings inside of you, surprise! That"s not snow, but part of the largest gypsum dune field on the planet. We"re at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, which was first established as a monument on this date in 1933 and then became a national park in 2019. Roughly 4.5 billion tons of gypsum sand has massed in the Tularosa Basin over the past 12,000 years, having worn off the surrounding mountains. Thousands of species live in the park, many of which have evolved to have white coloration, allowing them to blend into the environment.Desktop Version

May 9, 2023A castle fit for a count

Peeking out above the trees in the Făgăraș Mountains of Romania is Poenari Castle, a fortress steeped in history and legend. In the 15th century, this castle was occupied by the notorious ruler Vlad III, aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula.Desktop Version

Feb 18, 2022Great Backyard Bird Count

This colorful foursome resting on a tree limb during a winter in France is a group of great tits, one of the most common bird species seen across most of Europe and Asia and in parts of North Africa. Belonging to the same family as North American chickadees, great tits are beloved for their colorful plumage and acrobatic antics while feeding in backyards and in gardens, which makes them an ideal mascot for the Great Backyard Bird Count.Desktop Version

Jun 27, 2022Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France

We"re sorry. The scratch "n" sniff option was not ready in time for this photo, so you"ll have to imagine the intoxicating fragrance wafting over you... Today we"re in the lavender fields that carpet the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France. A rolling 300 square miles of flowers color the landscape as far as the eye can see. Vincent van Gogh spent time here, and featured lavender in some of his paintings. June is the start of the lavender season, and though it runs till August, peak viewing (and smelling) time varies a little with fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. There are lovely villages that you can meander while visiting the lavender fields, stopping for a pastry or crunchy-soft baguette at an outdoor cafe.Desktop Version

Mar 31, 2022Happy Birthday, Eiffel Tower

Locally, it"s called "La dame de fer," which translates to English as "The Iron Lady." To the rest of the world, it"s the Eiffel Tower, a landmark nearly synonymous with all things Parisian. It"s one of the most recognizable structures in the world and the most visited monument with an entrance fee. The Eiffel Tower took 500 workers two years, two months, and five days to complete. Most of the structural work was finished by the end of March 1889 and to celebrate, the builders led a group of government officials and journalists to the top of the tower on March 31. It was, at the time, the highest man-made structure in the world. With the addition of a new radio antenna on March 15, 2022, the Eiffel Tower grew an additional 20 feet and is now 1,083 feet tall, just in time for its 133rd birthday.Desktop Version

Mar 1, 2022Women s History Month

To celebrate the start of Women"s History Month, our homepage photo features a candid shot of members of the US Army Nurse Corps in 1944. The women are shown in between training exercises while they await deployment to the South Pacific near the end of World War II. At the time, all who served in the Army Nurse Corps were women, and the units were all segregated. And though the need for nurses was urgent, the army had set a quota for just 160 Black nurses. By the end of the war, that number had increased to nearly 500.Desktop Version

Jul 10, 2019Put your helmet on, we’re going for a hike

You’ll need to wear a safety helmet before stepping onto the cliff-hanging path that passes above the Gorge of Gaitanes in Spain"s Málaga province. Look around, but don’t forget to look down from the glass-floor observation platform. This is your opportunity to fully appreciate the 325-foot drop below and consider what life must be like as a mountain goat. The renovated path is far less dangerous than the original, which for many years had no guard rails. Made for workers back in 1905, the first walkway provided access between El Chorro and Gaitanejo hydroelectric power plants. After King Alfonso XIII visited in 1921, the walkway was given its nickname, El Caminito del Rey (The King’s Little Pathway). But after years of use and lack of upkeep, the nickname was updated to ‘The world’s most dangerous walkway.’Desktop Version

Jul 11, 2022World Population Day

The bustling city streets of Barcelona seem as good a place as any to mark World Population Day. More and more of us are heading to the city. It"s estimated that 2007 was the first year in which more people lived in cities than in rural areas. If current trends continue, by 2050 about two-thirds of the world population will be living in cities. City planners and government officials will need to account for this rapid increase as power grids, water supplies, public transit, and emergency services will all be stretched.Desktop Version

Jul 13, 2019Batten down the hatches

The athletes on these boats are jockeying for position at the start of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island (pronounced ‘Mack-i-naw’). The ‘Mac,’ at 333 miles long, is the world’s oldest and longest annual freshwater boat race. It’s an amateur event, but make no mistake, these sailors know their stuff. Many go on to race in the America’s Cup. This year’s race is held this weekend. The boats set sail—smallest to largest—just off Chicago’s Navy Pier, passing by the city skyline as we see in our image. When crews pass under the span of the mighty Mackinac Bridge—connecting the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula—Lake Michigan becomes Lake Huron, and the island appears.Desktop Version

Aug 27, 2018Tennis in the park

Here at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City, it’s the opening day of the US Open Tennis Championships. When it began back in 1881 as the US National Championship, it was one of the first tennis tournaments in the world and was limited to amateur players only. It’s been through many iterations since, but this year marks the 50th anniversary of the modern competition, now called an ‘open’ because both amateurs and pros can compete. The US Open completes the fourth and final tournament of the international tennis Grand Slam, the world’s most prestigious pro tournaments.Desktop Version

Mar 22, 2021Honoring some real heroes of World War II

In this photograph, likely taken in 1941, we see a group of cadets examining a map with their training instructor. They are (from left to right) Lieutenant John Daniels of Chicago, Cadet Clayborne Lockett of Los Angeles, Cadet Lawrence O"Clark of Chicago, Cadet William Melton of Los Angeles, and civilian instructor Milton Crenshaw of Little Rock. The pilots would later be known as the "Tuskegee Airmen," the first Black military aviators in the US Army Air Corps, a precursor of the US Air Force. During World War II, more than 1,000 Tuskegee pilots flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa, quickly becoming revered for their bravery and excellence.Desktop Version

Jul 21, 2021An octagonal architectural treasure

Built in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in southeast Italy, Castel del Monte (Castle of the Mount) features an unusual octagonal design. Eight stone walls stretch between eight octagonal towers and enclose an octagonal courtyard. Each of the two floors also has eight trapezoidal rooms. Acclaimed and protected as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the castle symbolically reflects a harmonious integration of classical Roman, Arabic, and medieval architecture and design—and to some, its octagonal symmetry suggests a connection between heaven and earth.Desktop Version

Jul 19, 2018Cosplay strongly encouraged

The first San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) was a single-day event for comic book fans on March 21, 1970. After that successful trial run, the organizers staged a three-day event featuring celebrity appearances later that year. Comic-Con grew quickly from a modest gathering of dedicated fans to the massive multimedia spectacle of SDCC that begins today. Each year, more than 100,000 Comic-Con attendees dress as their favorite characters from the books, television shows, and movies that they love.Desktop Version

Jul 30, 2018Children at play for International Day of Friendship

Does this photo of kids at play in Kolkata, India, prompt memories of fun times you had as a child, when the world didn’t extend much further than you and your friends? If so, you’re in the right frame of mind to celebrate International Day of Friendship, or just Friendship Day. The idea began in a bid of crass commercialism: The holiday was invented and marketed by the founder of Hallmark Cards. But the public saw through that and it didn’t take. Decades later, a peace-promoting group called the World Friendship Crusade relaunched Friendship Day in Paraguay as a way to foster peace. It’s been gaining traction ever since.Desktop Version

Sep 17, 2018Gateway to America

We’re here at Ellis Island in honor of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, an annual observance that recognizes both the adoption of the US Constitution and those who have become US citizens. For more than 60 years, Ellis Island served as a gateway for millions of immigrants arriving in the United States—and it’s easy to imagine them gazing at the Statue of Liberty from this very window, while contemplating their new lives in the United States. These days, Citizenship Day is a popular time for federal courts to hold naturalization ceremonies, when new American citizens are sworn in. These free, often celebratory events are open to the public, and are often attended by students learning about citizenship.Desktop Version

Oct 15, 2020A star is borne by seaweed

With a little "kelp," this starfish is enjoying a change from its typical view of craggy tidal beds. Both passenger and vehicle in this photo, taken off California"s coast, play important roles in their ecosystems.Desktop Version

Sep 13, 2018They’re grrrape!

When you hear wine experts talk of ‘Burgundies,’ they are referring to wines made in this French region. The most common varieties are Pinot noir and Chardonnay, but farmers here grow many different types of grapes. September and early October is grape harvest time in France, so the usually quiet rows of grape vines we see in this photo are probably very busy with workers gathering the fruit to be crushed and fermented. We’re thinking about putting together a bread and cheese plate right now…Desktop Version

Feb 8, 2024Mount Hood, Oregon

Mount Hood graces Oregon"s skyline with a pointed, snow-capped peak. At nearly 11,250 feet high, this dormant stratovolcano is the tallest mountain in the state, drawing adventurers and nature aficionados alike. With 12 named glaciers and numerous snow fields, Mount Hood offers a wintry playground all year round. It also nurtures ancient forests and provides a haven for wildlife, including cougars and wolves. Over the past 1,800 years, the volcano has erupted three times. While considered dormant, there is still a chance that it could erupt one day.Desktop Version

Apr 12, 2022International Day of Human Space Flight

Sixty-one years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to see Earth from space, with a view likely similar to this image of the waning gibbous moon taken from the International Space Station. With a call of "Poyekhali!" ("Off we go!"), Gagarin launched into low Earth orbit in his Vostok 3KA spacecraft, making history in less than two hours with a complete trip around the planet. Landing in rural Russia, he became an instant worldwide celebrity—that is, after convincing puzzled locals he was a comrade and not a space alien.Desktop Version

Dec 31, 2023Happy New Years Eve!

It"s the final countdown! Tonight is New Year"s Eve, time to see out the old year and welcome the new. But how you celebrate depends which country you"re in. If you"re not in the US watching the Times Square Ball Drop, you might smash crockery in Denmark, eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight in Spain, or hang onions outside your door in Greece. In Thailand, you might watch the fireworks illuminating Phra Nakhon Khiri, or "holy city hill," a historical park spread over three peaks overlooking the city of Phetchaburi. Wherever you celebrate, have a great one. See you next year!Desktop Version

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