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European hedgehog in Sussex, England
European hedgehog in Sussex, England
Join us for a trip across the pond as we take a moment to examine the prickly European hedgehog. Our friend in today"s photo is in Sussex, England, but European hedgehogs are widespread across the continent. They"re thought to be the largest and heaviest of the hedgehog family. A nocturnal creature, the hedgehog can often be found in gardens snacking on its preferred diet of insects.Desktop Version
Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
The bright light of the full moon is mirrored by lit lanterns launched skyward in the Thai festival of Yi Peng. It"s a beautiful celebration, as you can see, and it happens around the second full moon at this time of year ("yi" means "two" and "peng" means "full moon day"). Our photo shows the lanterns in Chiang Mai, Thailand"s second-largest city and the home of the most famous Yi Peng observance, which has strong ties to the Lanna people of northern Thailand.Desktop Version
Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
If you missed the first full lunar eclipse of the year back in May, you"ll get another chance tonight as the second blood moon (as lunar eclipses are often called) of 2022 takes to the sky over the Pacific region. Tonight"s display can be seen from Asia, Australia, North America, and parts of northern Europe and South America. If you"re lucky enough to find yourself under a clear sky, the view might look something like this image, taken over Mount Crested Butte, Colorado, during the lunar eclipse of September 27, 2015.Desktop Version
New York City Marathon
New York City Marathon
The route for the 2022 New York City Marathon starts right here at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, crossing from Staten Island into Brooklyn and eventually coursing through all five boroughs of New York. This photo gives you an idea just how many people will be running today. Because the race starts early on a November morning, many runners show up in layered clothing to beat the typical chill. But once they heat up from running, those layers come off and are often discarded on sidewalks. Race organizers collect the activewear left behind by 50,000 runners, about 26 tons a year, and donate it to charity.Desktop Version
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Fairy-tale castle? Check. Stunning Scottish backdrop? Check. Calm, tranquil loch? Check. If Tigh Mor looks idyllic to you, you"re not alone. Queen Victoria spent time here in its heyday, and though the old hotel (it was built in 1849) declined over the years, a multimillion-dollar restoration has brought it right back to its former glory.Desktop Version
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Fairy-tale castle? Check. Stunning Scottish backdrop? Check. Calm, tranquil loch? Check. If Tigh Mor looks idyllic to you, you"re not alone. Queen Victoria spent time here in its heyday, and though the old hotel (it was built in 1849) declined over the years, a multimillion-dollar restoration has brought it right back to its former glory.Desktop Version
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
Fairy-tale castle? Check. Stunning Scottish backdrop? Check. Calm, tranquil loch? Check. If Tigh Mor looks idyllic to you, you"re not alone. Queen Victoria spent time here in its heyday, and though the old hotel (it was built in 1849) declined over the years, a multimillion-dollar restoration has brought it right back to its former glory.Desktop Version
A century since Tut s tomb was discovered
A century since Tut s tomb was discovered
A hundred years ago today, British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, better known as King Tut, in Egypt"s Valley of the Kings. Though they first uncovered the tomb of the "boy king" on November 4, 1922, Carter and crew took years to excavate the burial site. What they found astonished the world. It was loaded with more than 5,000 artifacts, including a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, a lotus chalice, furniture, food, wine, sandals, gold caps to protect Tut"s toes, and fresh linen underwear. Because you should always bring clean undies, even when you"re crossing into the realm of the dead.Desktop Version
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
UNESCO designated November 3, 2022, the first annual International Day for Biosphere Reserves. Biosphere reserves are vast areas around the world used to promote biodiversity, cultural diversity, environmentally sustainable economic development, and research and education on how humans can coexist with nature.Desktop Version
75th anniversary of the Spruce Goose
75th anniversary of the Spruce Goose
Today we"re looking back to a time when an eccentric billionaire"s dream of reaching new heights was still a novel idea. It was 75 years ago today that Howard Hughes" "flying boat," dubbed the "Spruce Goose," made its one and only flight. Officially named the Hughes H-4 Hercules, the press persisted in calling it the "Spruce Goose" even though it was constructed almost entirely of birch wood. The plane was commissioned in 1942 by American industrialist Henry Kaiser, who supplied ships to the US during World War II. Kaiser recruited Hughes—the film producer turned pilot, engineer, and business magnate—to build a flying cargo ship that could avoid German submarines while transporting troops and war supplies across the Atlantic. The contract called for three of the planes to be built within two years. Hughes was still working on the design when the war ended—in the end, he delivered only the one in our photo, two years after V-E Day.Desktop Version
Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
It may seem odd to celebrate death—after all, it"s the end of our personal era. But tell that to people who celebrate the Day of the Dead, or el Día de los Muertos, and they"ll smile. They may explain that death is part of the circle of life, and as natural as any other human milestone. As our photo shows, the Day of the Dead is a big holiday in Mexico, where calacas—skeleton figures of musicians, workers, and other folks in merry scenes of everyday "life"—lurk everywhere for weeks before the main event. Of course, living people also play dead for the day, donning skeleton outfits, masks, and grotesque makeup. Music, processions, and food add to the quirky, fun carnival atmosphere.Desktop Version
Wychwood Forest, Oxfordshire, England
Wychwood Forest, Oxfordshire, England
What better way to spend Halloween than with a ghostly apparition in a scary haunted forest? Today we"ve (ill-advisedly?) wandered into Wychwood, an English forest with more than its share of spooky backstory. Many people walking in these woods have reported unexplained phenomena, such as feeling a hand on their shoulder and turning to find…no one. Or hearing children wailing as they"re driven through the forest in a ghostly horse-drawn carriage.Desktop Version
Polar Bear Week
Polar Bear Week
The largest carnivore on land roams the icy north. Polar bears like this one spend much of their lives on sea ice rather than terra firma, stalking their favorite prey: seals. Superbly insulated against the cold, polar bears are uniquely suited for life on the ice—so they"re especially vulnerable to a warming planet. Their plight is the focus of Polar Bear Week, observed the first week of every November, bringing attention to these creatures who live far out of sight of most humans.Desktop Version
Sea Slug Day
Sea Slug Day
Swimming into view like an oceanic Halloween specter, today"s "sea angel" is one of about 3,000 sea slug species. Sea slugs can be found in all the oceans and seas of the world. Scientifically known as nudibranchs, sea slugs are mollusks and today is the day the world celebrates them. What, you didn"t know? Perhaps that"s because technically it"s the birthday of the premier authority on all things related to sea slugs, Terry Gosliner. Gosliner has identified nearly half of the known sea slug species in the world, has written 150 scientific papers about them, and has personally named around 350 individual species. "Everything about them just piques the imagination," he says. So, we"re saying "Happy birthday, Terry" by taking a moment to examine the sea angel.Desktop Version
Frankenstein Friday
Frankenstein Friday
If the sight of storm clouds gathering over Lake Geneva puts you in a dark mood, then you have an idea of Mary Shelley"s frame of mind when she conceived the story that would become her seminal work. While Shelley wrote several historical novels and travel books, it was this macabre story of a grotesque creature that made her legacy.Desktop Version
Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy
Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy
Beneath Venice"s Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) is a popular place to kiss your beloved as a gondolier guides you through the city"s canals. But the sighs that the name refers to aren"t from staring into your darling"s eyes. The enclosed bridge, completed in 1600, connects the Prigioni Nuove (New Prison) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge"s Palace, and it is said that a prisoner"s last look at beautiful Venice would be from that bridge. And that"s reason enough to sigh indeed.Desktop Version
Brocken spectre in Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria
Brocken spectre in Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria
With Halloween around the corner, we present the ghostly image of a Brocken spectre. Despite appearances and the season, there"s nothing paranormal about a Brocken spectre. It"s the magnified shadow of an observer cast in midair upon a cloud opposite a strong light source. Brocken spectres are rare but climb a mountain at dawn up to the misty slopes and you may be fortunate enough to witness the effect. The spectre, also known as a Brocken bow, mountain spectre, or spectre of the Brocken, can appear anywhere in which conditions are right—like here in the Balkans of Bulgaria. But it"s the thick fogs of the Brocken, a peak in the Harz Mountains in Germany, from which the phenomenon draws its name.Desktop Version
Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
Join us for a pre-Halloween trip to a small Italian town about 60 miles northwest of Rome. We"re taking you to Bomarzo, where a once-forgotten 16th-century garden holds monstrous sculptures that are meant to evoke anything but pleasure. In our photo, "The Mouth of Orcus," a Roman god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths, gives visitors the feeling of being swallowed into the abyss. During a visit to the Parco dei Mostri (Park of the Monsters), as it"s known, you"ll come across other grotesque sights such as a dragon being attacked by lions, a giant shredding a man, and Hannibal"s elephant snatching a Roman soldier.Desktop Version
Diwali lights in Guwahati, India
Diwali lights in Guwahati, India
The oil lamps called "diyas" have been lit for Diwali, the Festival of Lights, in Guwahati, India. Diwali is a five-day celebration of the symbolic victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Diyas are a traditional symbol of the festival, and they are arranged on a rangoli, a colorful pattern made on the floor using dried rice flour, colored powdered stone, flower petals, or other colorings. Rangoli designs are more than just attractive—they"re believed to attract Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. Each day of the festival has its own significance, but day three—called Lakshmi Puja—is considered the main event. To prepare for Lakshmi Puja, people clean their homes to welcome Lakshmi"s blessings of prosperity and happiness. A rangoli design is created near the entrance to a home or building, and families pass down traditional designs from generation to generation.Desktop Version
Mute swan
Mute swan
The mute swan is a symbol of beauty and elegance, thanks in no small part to the beloved fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling," about an awkward and unsightly duckling who upon growing up discovers he is actually a swan. The proverbial story is often used as a lesson in transformation and the relative nature of beauty. One glance at this swan, seen here holding a feather in a nature preserve in the Netherlands, and it"s easy to see how the idiom "graceful as a swan" came about.Desktop Version
Guilin and Lijiang River National Park, China
Guilin and Lijiang River National Park, China
Mountains pierce the mist like dragon"s teeth in this enchanting location. Though it may look like the setting of a fantasy story or science fiction epic, the remarkable Guilin and Lijiang River National Park is quite real.Desktop Version
Bald cypress trees in Georgia
Bald cypress trees in Georgia
Fall foliage is the hallmark of autumn, when thoughts turn to flannel and corduroy, pumpkin spice and s"mores. Sunny days and crisp nights invite us to step outside to enjoy the changing colors of the leaves. While some may consider the maples of New England the leaf-peeping gold standard, others would give the prize to the aspens of the Rocky Mountains or the cypress trees of the South.Desktop Version
International Sloth Day
International Sloth Day
Is there another animal that has as coveted a life as the sloth? Your answer depends on how highly you rate the ability to just laze around all day, but in honor of International Sloth Day, let"s all just embrace slothfulness. If you want to live the sloth life, head outside and hang upside down in the nearest tree. You won"t be able to dangle there as long as a sloth though, because they spend most of their lives doing it. Their arms, legs, hands, and feet evolved for literally "hanging around" like the pair of Hoffmann"s two-toed sloths in today"s photo.Desktop Version
Wartburg Castle overlooking Thuringian Forest in Germany
Wartburg Castle overlooking Thuringian Forest in Germany
As you glance over today"s photo of the trees changing color in the Thuringian Forest in Germany, make note of the castle in the distance. That"s Wartburg, a castle built in the Middle Ages that holds significance to Christians. It was the home of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (aka St. Elizabeth of Hungary), and later, where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German while in exile. Wartburg is the area"s most popular tourist attraction and has been recognized for its quintessential medieval architecture.Desktop Version
The Guggenheim Bilbao turns 25
The Guggenheim Bilbao turns 25
Considered one of the world"s most important architectural works of the past few decades, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao celebrates its 25th anniversary today. To commemorate the event, the museum has unveiled a slogan: "Art Inspires Future." The museum has also released a special edition of its logo in which the characteristic Gs of the Guggenheim brand move like gears to shape the number 25. Perhaps they"ll serve cake as well?Desktop Version