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‘The mountains are calling’
‘The mountains are calling’
Mountains matter—that’s the message from the United Nations for International Mountain Day, observed on December 11. More than half the world’s population relies on mountains for fresh water, food, and clean energy. When mountain ecosystems are threatened by climate change and land degradation, it endangers not just plants and animals, but also the people who depend on mountains to survive. Here at Mount Kilimanjaro, viewed from Chyulu Hills National Park in neighboring Kenya, the peak’s shrinking glaciers and ice fields are being closely monitored by scientists.Desktop Version
Feeling crabby?
Feeling crabby?
Bright red crabs like this one number in the tens of millions here on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean. It’s warm on the island this time of year, and these crabs are migrating to the sea, where they will mate and spawn. The event is quite a spectacle—onlookers will see rivers of crabs, thousands of them at a time climbing over fences and crossing roads on their journey, which attracts tourists to the remote destination. This isle itself was named by an English sea captain who discovered the destination on Christmas Day of 1643.Desktop Version
There’s treasure in them thar hills
There’s treasure in them thar hills
This wintry view comes from Oregon’s Painted Hills, part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and home to one of the most complete fossil records on the planet. Paleontologists have uncovered fossils here that date as far back as 44 million years ago, when this region had a hot, wet, subtropical climate, home to crocodiles and rhino-like plant eaters. And what’s above ground here is equally impressive. This is only a glimpse of the portion of the monument called the Painted Hills, named for its vivid colors that are a result of layers of sediment from various geologic periods.Desktop Version
How lovely are your branches
How lovely are your branches
While we are certainly fans of pretty lights and ornaments during the holidays, nothing could be lovelier than these evergreens in their natural setting, with just a dusting of snow. This wintry scene is from Two Jack Lake in the eastern part of Banff National Park, in Alberta, Canada. Banff, Canada’s oldest national park, is surrounded by other provincial and national parks, and together they make up a vast area of spectacular wilderness. Wintertime in this neck of the woods means plenty of skiing, snowshoeing, and if you’re lucky, glimpsing the northern lights.Desktop Version
Honoring our fallen heroes
Honoring our fallen heroes
For Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we’re at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, a landmark that sees more than 2 million visitors each year. The memorial can only be reached by boat, since it straddles the sunken hull of the Arizona, which was bombed in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941. The event killed 2,403 Americans, and many of their names are inscribed here. The Arizona memorial is undergoing repairs this winter, but it’s slated to reopen to the public in March 2019. A commemoration ceremony is planned nearby for today’s observance.Desktop Version
The owl that loved football
The owl that loved football
As the name indicates, you’ll find the Eurasian eagle-owl across Asia and Europe. The eagle-owl in our photo today lives near Helsinki, Finland. Why an eagle-owl on Finnish Independence Day today? When Finland’s national team was playing a qualifying match against Belgium in 2007, an eagle-owl flew onto the pitch, delaying the game for several minutes. Ever since, the Finnish team has been nicknamed ‘Huuhkajat’—the eagle-owls. The owl, called ‘Bubi,’ was later named Citizen of the Year in Finland.Desktop Version
’Chess on ice’
’Chess on ice’
Officially, summer began on December 1 here in New Zealand (where the first days of March, June, September, and December respectively are considered the start of autumn, winter, spring, and summer). But this icy view of Naseby, on New Zealand’s South Island, shows that harsh winters here offer 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. The second leg of the four-leg event brings the curlers to Omaha, Nebraska, today through December 9. Canada’s teams won the first leg, in Suzhou, China. Will they face stiffer competition in the Cornhusker State?Desktop Version
A viewer with a view
A viewer with a view
The Sphinx Observatory isn’t the highest astronomical observatory on Earth, but it might feel like it to the lucky travelers who visit. To reach the observatory, they take a train up into the Alps, alight at Europe’s highest railway station, and ascend in an elevator tunneled inside the mountain. Once on top, stargazing is the academic focus, but visitors can take in sweeping views from the Sphinx’s 11,716-foot vantage. On either side are the Jungfrau and the Mönch, both members of the ‘four-thousander’ club—mountains that tower at least 4,000 meters (that’s 13,123 feet) above sea level.Desktop Version
Computer science on the page
Computer science on the page
Computer Science Education Week begins today, and because the field can seem daunting to the uninitiated, we’re showing a very relatable document that humanizes the work behind computer science. The notebook in this photo contains equations and ideas crafted by Alan Turing, the British mathematician and early computer scientist who helped the Allies win World War II when he cracked the code of Nazi Germany’s Enigma machine. In 2015, Turing’s notebook, written while he was working on the Enigma code, was sold at auction for more than $1 million.Desktop Version
Winter in Old Nuuk
Winter in Old Nuuk
It may not look like a bustling metropolis, but Nuuk is Greenland’s largest city and capital. Fewer than 56,000 people live in Greenland, and nearly a third of them reside in the modern comfort of Nuuk. Greenland is a constituent country of Denmark, and in Nuuk, the Danes have been a modernizing influence on the city, even here in Old Nuuk, a part of town established in the 1740s. Despite the Danish presence, the majority of Greenland’s population is Greenlandic Inuit. Nuuk began as a coastal fishing settlement, and much of Greenland’s commercial fishing fleet is still based out of the city’s harbor, which is also used as a shipping port.Desktop Version
A treaty for science
A treaty for science
Twelve nations signed the Antarctic Treaty System on December 1, 1959, establishing the ice-covered continent as a place for scientific study open to all nations and banning any military activity there. Since then, additional countries joined in the treaty—now 53 nations participate in activities at the various research stations there. Our photo shows the northernmost part of Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula, south of Chile and Argentina.Desktop Version
In the Highlands for Saint Andrew s Day
In the Highlands for Saint Andrew s Day
Clan Campbell built this castle on the shore of Loch Awe in the Highlands of western Scotland during the mid-15th century. Kilchurn Castle withstood numerous structural changes and battles, but it couldn’t survive a lightning strike in 1760, and by 1770 the roof was gone and the castle in ruins. In the summer, you can hike to the site and explore.Desktop Version
A Christmas market with a long history
A Christmas market with a long history
We think even Scrooge would delight in the Frankfurt Christmas Market, or Christkindchesmarket (gesundheit!), a tradition that’s been traced back to 1393. Here you can shop for goods from artisans, binge on marzipan candies, and sip a warm cup of mulled wine. Locals can even shop for Christmas trees, a tradition that is said to have originated in this part of the world. The modern Christmas tree tradition as we know it started in the 15th and 16th centuries in northern Germany and Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia). It’s believed the Protestant reformer Martin Luther was the first to add lighted candles to an evergreen. Sidenote: That had to be a fire hazard, right?Desktop Version
Christmas comes to New York City
Christmas comes to New York City
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree draws throngs of people to Midtown each year to celebrate the holidays. The tradition started in the 1930s, when construction workers at Rockefeller Center pooled their money to buy a tree. Officials at Rockefeller Center later formalized the event, especially today’s lighting ceremony, which will be attended by thousands of onlookers. Each year’s tree is selected by the head gardener at Rockefeller Center and topped with a huge star adorned with Swarovski crystals. This year, the tree introduces a new star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind—it weighs 900 pounds, is more than 9 feet in diameter, and features 70 spikes and three million crystals outfitted with LED lights to emit rays in all directions. In January, the tree is milled, and the lumber donated to Habitat for Humanity. We think Santa would approve.Desktop Version
The fantastic winter fox
The fantastic winter fox
Animals have many adaptations for winter weather, such as migration, hibernation, and growing thick fur. For the small but mighty Artic fox–the change in seasons means changing colors. Its thick fur coast transitions from brown and gray to a snowy white as a form of camouflage when colder temperatures arrive at its tundra habitat. Other animals that turn white in winter include the snowshoe hair, and several species of weasel–but we’re partial to this noble-looking fox. Stay warm, buddy!Desktop Version
A little bit of Wonderland in New York City
A little bit of Wonderland in New York City
This statue of Alice in Wonderland is found on the east side of New York’s Central Park, near 75th Street. It was commissioned in 1959 by a philanthropist whose late wife had enjoyed reading ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ to their children. "Alice" was first published on this day in 1865 by the English writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. His story of a little girl who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world was inspired by a real girl, Alice Liddell, and it went on to become a classic, inspiring films, television shows, and artwork like this.Desktop Version
‘Ciao’ from Varenna
‘Ciao’ from Varenna
Scenic Lake Como in Italy’s Lombardy region is where the rich and famous come to play. The lavish historic villas are home to an increasingly well-heeled cosmopolitan set, including celebrities like George Clooney, who owns a summer house in the lakeside village of Laglio. As it happens, most tourists visit Lake Como in the summer, but we think winter looks magical as well, particularly here on the Riva Grande, the shoreline promenade of Varenna. Como’s picturesque landscape has served as a filming location for many popular movies over the years, including ‘Ocean"s Twelve,’ which Clooney starred in, as well as ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.’ Even Jedi knights aren’t immune to the region’s charms. In ‘Star Wars: Episode II,’ Lake Como was the site where Anakin Skywalker falls in love with Padmé Amidala.Desktop Version
The tortoise and the finch
The tortoise and the finch
That’s a type of Darwin’s finch perched atop a giant tortoise on Isabela Island, the largest of the Galápagos Islands. The Galápagos form an archipelago more than 500 miles off the west coast of the South American mainland, and the islands are home to many species found nowhere else on earth. The bird is named, of course, for Charles Darwin, the naturalist who traveled here in 1835. His observations of several finch species and other wildlife endemic to the Galápagos contributed to his theory of natural selection, which he documented in ‘On the Origin of Species,’ a book that’s considered a cornerstone of biology. It was first published on this day in 1859.Desktop Version
Let the holiday shopping commence
Let the holiday shopping commence
Were you among the crowds camped outside retail stores early this morning, hoping to cash in on Black Friday deals? Perhaps you can even see yourself reflected in these Christmas ornaments hanging in New York City’s Macy’s department store. The day after Thanksgiving is big business for retailers. Last year, 174 million Americans shopped on Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation, presumably moving retailers’ balance sheets from red (losses) to black (profits). But the term ‘Black Friday’ has a darker history. It was originally used to describe a financial crisis in 1869, and later adopted by Philadelphia police to describe post-Thanksgiving chaos at department stores in their city. Retailers later co-opted the phrase ‘Black Friday,’ giving it more positive connotations–a shift toward profitability at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.Desktop Version
Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
The Tom Turkey float has been in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1971, missing only one outing in 2003. The hat-wearing turkey flaps his wings and rolls out as the lead attraction in the parade, with Santa Claus bringing up the rear to bookend this holiday tradition. Long before Tom joined the lineup, and a few years before giant balloons shaped like animals and cartoon characters came along, live animals from the Central Park Zoo were a big feature in the parade. Did you watch the procession today?Desktop Version
A showcase for future fame
A showcase for future fame
The now legendary Apollo Theater first opened in 1914 as Hurtig & Seamon"s New Burlesque Theater. It became the Apollo in 1934, when it was opened to black patrons, who by then had transformed Harlem into a thriving center of African American culture. Amateur Night at the theater began the first year the Apollo opened, and it’s been a defining part of the Apollo experience ever since. Amateur Night has also been instrumental in launching the show business careers of numerous stars, including Jimi Hendrix, and on this day in 1934, a teenage Ella Fitzgerald, who won the amateur contest, starting her down a path toward becoming one of the most iconic singing voices of the 20th century. Tonight, the Apollo is hosting its Grand Finale for the 2018 Amateur Night season. Perhaps somebody taking the stage tonight will go on to greater fame?Desktop Version
Flamingos of the Chilean desert
Flamingos of the Chilean desert
Chilean flamingos fly past the Paine Massif, an eastern outcropping of the Andes Mountains in Torres Del Paine National Park. Below the towering peaks is the western edge of the Patagonian Desert in Chile. Despite the ‘desert’ designation, the Chilean portion is a large drainage basin for numerous glacier-fed lakes and rivers. These shallow waters are an ideal habitat for Chilean flamingos—they dip their comb-like bills into the water to filter out tasty plankton and algae.Desktop Version
A narrow passage
A narrow passage
Utah’s Zion National Park, established 99 years ago today, is one of the most visited national parks in the US. It’s full of amazing southwest scenery, including Zion Canyon. Our photo today shows The Narrows, a trail through the tightest gap in the canyon. Roughly one-third of The Narrows is under the waters of the Virgin River. For portions of the hike, the river fills up the passage, from wall to wall, leaving hikers no choice but to wade in and keep walking—not an unwelcome prospect on a hot day, even in November.Desktop Version
An inland ocean
An inland ocean
When the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta opened in 2005, it was the largest in the world. (China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom now takes the prize.) If you are spending time in Atlanta, even on a layover during holiday travel, make your way to the amazing exhibits in the Georgia Aquarium. Perhaps the most distinctive of the aquarium’s exhibits is its giant tank of whale sharks. The 6.3-million-gallon tank houses four whale sharks—the world’s largest fish—as well as four manta rays and thousands of other fish. The tank is so massive, the rest of the aquarium was designed around it.Desktop Version
A bird of beauty
A bird of beauty
As its name suggests, the Mandarin duck comes from East Asia and is arguably one of the most beautiful ducks in the world. The ornate waterfowl became established in other regions following escapes from captivity, and a handful of small, isolated populations exist in the US. This fall, a Mandarin duck made headlines and blazed across social media when it appeared in New York City’s Central Park. The bird attracted crowds of onlookers hoping for a glimpse and a photo, while debates raged on how the bird may have ended up so far from its native territory. But Paul Sweet from the American Museum of Natural History"s Department of Ornithology explains on the Gothamist blog that ‘the black cable tie on its right tarsus clearly mark it as an escapee.’ Well done, lovely Mandarin!Desktop Version