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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

Jul 8, 2018Travel Sunday: Flamenco in Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Flamenco is just one highlight of Spanish culture showcased in the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, which wraps up today. The festival takes place at venues throughout the city, including at the Alhambra, a fortified palace and high-profile tourist destination that’s steeped in history–just like flamenco. Here in the region of Andalusia, flamenco is more than just a dance. It’s a cultural expression that dates back centuries, to the Roma migration to Spain. Traditionally, the art focused on the cante–or singing–and was performed outside. The introduction of flamenco cafes in the 19th century saw the art form evolve to showcase baile (dance) and toque (guitar music).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

Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park anniversary

There"s a reason why famed American photographer Ansel Adams fell in love with Yosemite National Park: vistas like today"s image of Half Dome. The park, in central California"s Sierra Nevada range, has been a popular destination for artists, mountaineers, settlers, and nature lovers since the mid-1800s. To protect it from logging and overgrazing by cattle, Congress designated Yosemite a national park on this day in 1890. It"s one of the most visited parks in the US, with more than 3 million visitors a year.Desktop Version

May 25, 2020Here we mark the price of freedom

Today the United States marks Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those members of the US armed forces who have died while serving their country. While it was celebrated independently by various towns across the country in the aftermath of the Civil War, Union General John A. Logan was the first to call for a national day of remembrance on May 30, 1868. Originally called Decoration Day, it was a day set aside for the public to offer prayers and honors for those lost to battle and to decorate their graves with flags and flowers. On the first national Decoration Day, over 5,000 widows, orphans, and other mourners attended a ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery, and placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers interred there. Originally only a commemoration of those soldiers killed in the Civil War, by the end of WWI it had come to be a holiday honoring all American war casualties from the Revolutionary War onward.Desktop Version

Dec 3, 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona features sandstone rock formations, towering hoodoos, and surreal slot canyons. The monument, established in 2000, was named after the vibrant red hues that dominate this sandstone landscape. Once you get a permit to take part in this outdoor excursion, make sure to visit the "Wave." It"s a stunning geological wonder, with flowing layers of rocks that look like red liquid that has been frozen in time. Other visual treats include Cobra Arch and the White Pocket rock formations, featuring swirling patterns in white, red, and orange.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

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

Nov 28, 2022Red Planet Day

About 140 million miles away from Earth, the most relatable planet in the solar system orbits the sun. Mars, popularly known as the Red Planet, is the fourth planet from the sun, after Mercury, Venus, and Earth. We know more about Mars than any other planet but our own. That knowledge has been gained over centuries and has grown exponentially in recent years with the successful landings on Mars of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers in 2012 and 2021 respectively. Today we celebrate those and other accomplishments on Red Planet Day, which coincides with the launch of Mariner 4, the first probe sent to Mars, on this day in 1964.Desktop Version

Jul 17, 2019Nomads of the Gobi

The Gobi Desert stretches across 500,000 square miles, covering parts of northern China and southern Mongolia. Due to the Gobi’s high elevation and high latitude, it’s a cold desert. And while we tend to think of deserts as endless sand dunes, most of the Gobi’s topography is exposed rock.Desktop Version

Aug 26, 2020Spotted Lake emerges

This might look like the surface of some distant planet, but Spotted Lake is much closer to home. Just north of the US border in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, the lake"s strange coloration is due to its high concentrations of mineral deposits. It"s a protected cultural site of the Syilx/Okanagan Nation for its healing properties. Spotted Lake is an endorheic lake, which is a basin where water collects but has no river or sea to drain into. The water level rises with rainfall during autumn and winter, but when the days grow hotter and drier in the summertime, the water evaporates and the surface of the lake lowers. It"s during these hot, dry summers in the Okanagan when Spotted Lake earns its name—large "spots" in varying hues of blue, green, or yellow become more prominent as the water level drops. The area"s closed to the public, but you can get a decent view from the highway. Binoculars recommended.Desktop Version

Aug 21, 2021Ambassadors of the airwaves

Today we"re visiting the Petit Minou Lighthouse on the coast of northwest France to mark the relationship between lighthouses and the 20th-century technology of amateur radio, commonly known as "ham" radio. The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) is an event set up every August by a group of amateur radio operators from nearly 100 countries. Activities for this ILLW weekend are organized online with individual events held at various lighthouses around the world, where ham radio operators gather to broadcast and engage with fellow enthusiasts. The aim of these gatherings is to not only foster goodwill for ham radio around the world, but also to promote awareness of lighthouse preservation and restoration, and to honor the legacy these solitary structures have had on our collective maritime heritage.Desktop Version

Dec 18, 2021Full moon

Each month of the year has at least one full moon, and the occasion of that full moon often has nicknames related to the season. In the Northern Hemisphere, December is usually considered the start of winter, so December"s first full moon gets the chilly nickname "cold moon." It"s sometimes called the "long night moon," since the winter solstice is just around the corner.Desktop Version

May 8, 2019’Chess on ice’

Today our photo comes from Naseby, on New Zealand’s South Island. Winter in New Zealand begins on June 1—in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are inverted from our own. Soon, the lakes in Naseby will freeze over, creating great conditions for outdoor curling, or what competitors call ‘chess on ice.’ And when there’s a multi-game tournament going on, that’s a ‘bonspiel’ in curling lingo. This year marks the first ever Curling World Cup—with the fourth leg of the months-long event beginning today in Beijing, China. This ultimate bonspiel unites teams from around the globe, and on May 12, 2019, we’ll know which nation swept the competition. (Curling joke!)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

Apr 27, 2021Design for Each and All

Happy International Design Day! It"s been said the best designs are the ones you never notice, but this giant yellow polka-dotted pumpkin on Japan"s Naoshima Island is kind of hard to miss. The sculpture is the work of Yayoi Kusama, an avant-garde artist active since the 1950s and known for crafting outlandish, repeating patterns in bright colors. Polka dots and pumpkins are her most famous motifs, showing up not only on her sculptures but in her paintings, performance pieces, and films.Desktop Version

Dec 29, 2019Helloooooo, Innsbruck

Today we"re featuring the Four Hills Tournament, a set of four ski jump events that starts today. This image shows a jumper in the 2017/2018 competition. The annual tourney, which wraps up in early January, starts in the German towns of Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and then moves to Austria, with events in Innsbruck, like the qualification run in today"s image, and Bischofshofen.Desktop Version

Jun 19, 2020Celebrating freedom

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, originated June 19, 1865 to recognize the day the remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy were made aware of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years prior. This occurred in Texas—the most remote of the Confederate states—when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay and read federal orders declaring that all enslaved people were free. Once a mostly regional observance, Juneteenth has in recent decades become a much broader celebration of African American freedom. This year in particular, it"s seen as a way to express support for the African American and Black community during a time of widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality.Desktop Version

Sep 23, 2021Last stop before leaving the solar system

Official telescopic confirmation of Neptune"s presence in our solar system came on September 23, 1846, and it was a big deal partly because Neptune is the only planet in our solar system not visible with the naked eye. Credit for this discovery inspired a dust-up in the international astronomy community, as scientists from both Britain and France claimed they had been the first to predict the existence and position of the eighth and most-distant planet in our solar system before it was seen through a telescope. Eventually peace was brokered, and credit is now shared between the two factions.Desktop Version

Mar 27, 2021Blink and you ll miss it

The mountain hare is doubly hard to catch sight of, because along with its tremendous speed, it"s terrifically well camouflaged. These two traits help the iconic species survive in the rugged mountains and uplands of northern Europe and Asia—this hare is dashing across a heath in the Scottish Highlands. When they have to, these speedy leporids can dart away as fast as 50 mph, at least for short distances, allowing them to outrun predators and disappear safely into the heather. But a would-be predator may not even spy them to begin with—mountain hares change coats, or molt, several times a year, their fur going from brown and gray in summer, to white-gray in winter, helping them to blend into their surroundings whatever the season.Desktop Version

Sep 7, 2021Whale hello there!

It"s whale-watching season here off the coast of Massachusetts and these humpback whales and their seagull friends are in a feeding frenzy. Here"s a little tip if you ever find yourself seeking out humpbacks: Look for birds. Where there are swarms of dive-bombing birds, there will be fish, and where there are fish, there may be humpback whales.Desktop Version

Jun 8, 2019Diving into World Oceans Day

Humans have been trying to construct artificial coral reefs since at least the 1950s, with only marginal success. But in 1979, German scientist and inventor Wolf Hilbertz created ‘Biorock,’ also known as ‘Seacrete.’ Hilbertz found that by directing a low-voltage charge to a metal frame submerged in seawater, calcium and other minerals in the water would build up on the frame. This mineral coating is so similar to the mineral composition of natural reef substrate that it creates a good habitat for the growth of corals. After the minerals have begun to coat the surface, divers transplant coral fragments from other reefs, attaching them to the structure’s frame. These coral pieces begin to bond to the accreted mineral substrate and start to grow, typically faster than in natural environments. Eventually the reef looks and functions like a natural reef ecosystem rather than an artificial one.Desktop Version

Jan 14, 2023Feast of the Donkey

This fuzzy donkey feeding on the leaves of a cherry tree probably doesn"t know that today was once celebrated as the Feast of the Donkey. We think any day is a good day to celebrate donkeys. They"ve carried the load for humans for more than 7,000 years, so let"s give them some love. More than 40 million donkeys do the heavy lifting around the world today, with 11 million in China alone.Desktop Version

Oct 14, 2019Canadian Thanksgiving

We"re looking at a fall sunrise in Alberta, Canada, in honor (or should we say "honour") of Canadian Thanksgiving. The holiday is officially celebrated on the second Monday in October, though many families gather the previous day. The first known Thanksgiving celebration in Canada was organized by English explorer Martin Frobisher in 1578 when he reached Newfoundland. Years later, American loyalists who were faithful to England during the Revolutionary War moved to Canada and brought traditions with them, such as eating turkey on Thanksgiving. As in the US, a Canadian Thanksgiving table is likely to have a horn-shaped cornucopia filled with festive-looking fruits and grains. The menu often includes turkey, but also regional dishes like salmon and Nanaimo bars—a layered chocolate dessert.Desktop Version

Jul 8, 2019Make your way up a picturesque passageway of Chefchaouen

You may not be familiar with the name Chefchaouen but its blue beauty is immediately recognizable. Nestled against the Rif Mountains, the city is well known for the medieval walls washed in a hue that mimics the sky on a summer day. There are many theories as to why the walls are this color—some suggest it was thought to repel mosquitos; others say it follows religious beliefs that associate blue with heaven. No matter the reason, the blue creates photogenic passageways, one of which we are admiring here. As you wander through the city, you’ll find the market filled with handmade textiles and other colorful local goods. The locals are mostly Berber, Jewish, and Muslim people who are famously friendly and laid back. Chefchaouen is also brimming with aromatic cuisine that draws visitors from their explorations to the many popular bakeries and restaurants.Desktop Version

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