Phone Wallpaper - Bing Wallpaper Gallery

Jul 20, 2018Composite of photographs from the Apollo 15 mission

Today is National Moon Day, commemorating the day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. Eleven other astronauts have gone on to follow in his bootsteps, including Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin, who took these historic photos during the Apollo 15 moon mission in 1971. We’ve stitched together their images to create this composite panorama of the landing site, where they spent three days conducting research. (If only they had selfie sticks back then.) Look for the ‘play’ button on our homepage to hear actual transmissions between the crew and the Mission Control Center in Houston.Desktop Version

Mar 30, 2021Best fronds forever

Each of these tiny fern appendages, known as fronds, is made up of even tinier leaves—but they won"t be tiny for long. Ostrich ferns like this one, named for their tapering fronds that resemble feathery ostrich plumes, can be almost 6 feet tall once mature.Desktop Version

Nov 17, 2020Take a hike near Lovers Lane

For those of you who love getting outside, you"re in luck! Today is Take a Hike Day, an activity the American Hiking Society says will make you happier as you enjoy the great outdoors. And what better way to take a hike than a walk near Lovers" Lane in San Francisco"s Presidio? The sinuous trail we see in today"s photo is called "Wood Line" and was designed by the environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. By using felled eucalyptus trees, Goldsworthy intended this land art to eventually biodegrade and fade back into the forest floor. It"s one of four of his works within this national park that once served as a US military outpost.Desktop Version

Aug 17, 2021Wanderin Wawayanda

Preserving more than 35,000 acres of prime New Jersey highland wilderness, Wawayanda State Park brushes up against the state"s border with New York. The park"s name comes from a transliteration of the Indigenous Lenape people"s word for the area, said to mean "winding water" or "water on the mountain." A lake and a mountain within the park are also called Wawayanda—perhaps because it"s so fun to say?Desktop Version

Oct 29, 2019And the skies filled with bats…

As if right on cue for Halloween, this is the time of year when millions of straw-colored fruit bats begin to descend on Zambia"s Kasanka National Park. They come in such vast numbers that it"s thought to be one of the largest concentrations of mammals in the world. From the end of October to mid-December, these large fruit-eating bats pack into a small area in the forest to roost. But when the sun begins to set, they start to swarm, darkening the skies as they head out to gorge on fruit in the Mushitu swamp forest. Experts believe their migration starts about 2,000 miles north, in Congo.Desktop Version

May 26, 2021Behold the blood moon

We"ve heard the phrase "many moons," but never took it this literally. We"re looking at 28 merged photos of our one and only moon over Utah"s Monument Valley: 26 snapshots of its partial phases, plus two layered exposures of the eclipsing moon at center.Desktop Version

Oct 12, 2020Indigenous Peoples Day

With this image of totem poles, carved and erected by Haida people in British Columbia, Canada, we"re touching on two important events in North America today, one in the United States and the other in Canada. In the US, an increasing number of Americans observe the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day, a celebration of Native American peoples and an implicit (and sometimes explicit) critique of the Columbus Day holiday. Observations of Indigenous Peoples Day reflect an effort to honor the tribes, nations, and cultures that existed in North America before the arrival of European settlers and have endured since then.Desktop Version

Jul 25, 2021Illuminated Uluru

This landmark of the Land Down Under is usually pictured in sweltering desert sunlight. Now a 21st-century addition near the ancient rock of Uluru has people flocking here even at night.Desktop Version

May 27, 2021Listening to the sea

Two enormous horns like those of old-fashioned gramophones are pointed toward the North Sea along this stretch of the Belgian coast. At the end of one of the horns, a bronze figure of a woman sits on a bench, seemingly listening to the distant sounds of the sea, while the other horn invites a visitor to do the same. The woman"s antiquated clothing, the outsized bolts on the horns, and the fluted Victrola-like design all echo the Belle Époque style once prevalent here on the Flemish coast. (Click on the above image to see more detailed views.)Desktop Version

Aug 2, 2018The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan

From now until Aug 7, the northern Japanese city of Aomori is celebrating Aomori Nebuta, a festival (‘matsuri’) that features bright, colorful floats like the one seen in our photo. The history of how the festival began depends on who you ask and what you read. But the way to celebrate is to join or watch the parade that is the centerpiece of the observance. The floats depict mythic warriors and creatures, and they move through Aomori accompanied by musicians, often playing flutes and pounding on loud taiko drums. The goal? To ‘awaken sleepy souls.’Desktop Version

Mar 7, 2021Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment

Take a stroll through the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and you"ll likely spot great blue herons, like the fluffed-up pair we"re featuring today. Located in Delray Beach, Florida, and created on 50 acres of wastewater utility property, the park first opened to the public back in 1996. A three-quarter-mile boardwalk takes visitors over ponds and through marshes, offering the chance to see more than 150 bird species, plus turtles, fish, frogs, alligators, and other Floridian fauna. Every day, the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department pumps about 2 million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the wetlands. Then algae and other plants naturally finish the purification process before the water seeps back into the water table. Quite an upgrade from a yucky wastewater pond.Desktop Version

Jul 14, 2021A different view of sharks

They"ve long been treated as threats, portrayed as villains, and brutally hunted for their edible fins, so we think it"s only fair that sharks get their own day. Shark Awareness Day is meant to highlight the importance of the most fearsome fish in nature, from little dwarf lantern sharks to great whites to these blacktip reef sharks cruising the Tahitian coast.Desktop Version

Dec 23, 2019A Festivus for the rest of us

We didn"t have a Festivus pole handy, so we"re bringing you near the South Pole, where two gentoo penguins seem to be sharing a loud "Airing of Grievances." December 23 marks Festivus, a tongue-in-cheek observance created by writer Daniel O"Keefe. At first an O"Keefe family inside joke, Festivus was rebranded as a rejection of Christmas-season commercialism and written into a 1997 episode of "Seinfeld" by Daniel"s son Dan. The show introduced such goofy new traditions as the "Airing of Grievances," "Feats of Strength," and identifying "Festivus miracles."Desktop Version

Oct 13, 2018‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude

This laser projected from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, in London, England, marks the prime meridian, dividing Earth’s Eastern and Western Hemispheres and helping travelers to chart their courses by establishing a universally adopted 0 degrees longitude. The meridian itself is essentially an imaginary line, arbitrarily placed. By the early 19th century, most maritime countries had established their own prime meridians to aid in navigation. But on this date in 1884, delegates from 25 nations met at a conference in Washington, DC, where they established Greenwich as the international standard for mapping and timekeeping. The decision made sense, as the Greenwich meridian was already widely used. But there was one holdout: France abstained from the vote and used its own prime meridian for several decades before eventually joining other countries in recognizing the Greenwich meridian.Desktop Version

Jan 19, 2023Sundance Film Festival opens in Park City

As beautiful as this vista is, most of today"s visitors to Park City are there to spend the day inside. Sundance Film Festival, the nation"s biggest celebration of independent cinema, opens today and runs through January 29. The careers of Hollywood directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh were launched here, and every year a new crop of greenhorns arrives in this mountain enclave with the dream that they"ll leave with a distribution deal.Desktop Version

Dec 25, 2020Big dreams require a big sleigh

For Christmas Day, we traveled 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle to Ilulissat, Greenland. It"s the island"s third-largest city, though in almost any other region, it would be considered a small town—only 4,670 people live here. Until a few years ago, Ilulissat served as a key destination for that most important holiday correspondence: Thousands of letters sent from around the world to Santa Claus, North Pole, ended up being rerouted to this giant mailbox. Today the mailbox has moved farther north, to Uummannaq, ever closer to the jolly old elf"s magical domicile. If you"re celebrating Christmas today, we hope you have a merry one.Desktop Version

Nov 2, 2018Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

These dancers from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma are preforming a ceremonial Gourd Dance at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in New Mexico, an annual gathering that also includes art, demonstrations, a rodeo, parades, and other events. We’re featuring the image in honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month, which is observed each November. The commemorative month celebrates the contributions of Native Americans to our national culture. In honor of this event, we invite you to learn more about Native people in your region.Desktop Version

Sep 24, 2020Till the cows come home

These stylish cows are decorated to celebrate their annual return from high Alpine pastures to the towns and villages where they spend the winter. Known as the Almabtrieb, the tradition is generally held in late September or early October throughout the Alpine regions of Europe. These cows are in the Tannheimer Tal, a valley of the Allgäu Alps in Austria, where more than 100,000 head of cattle make the seasonal migration.Desktop Version

May 6, 2020The (Inca) empire strikes back

It"s the 1530s. Spanish conquistadors are cementing their hold over the lands of the Inca Empire, including the massive 12th-century stone fortress in today"s image: Sacsayhuamán, in the old Inca capital of Cusco. The Spanish hold prisoner a man named Manco Inca, the puppet leader they"ve installed over the Incans. But in April 1536, he escapes.Desktop Version

Sep 26, 2018Art in the chapel

You have until Oct 31 to get to Governors Island in New York Harbor to see artist Jacob Hashimoto’s installation ‘The Eclipse.’ The Colorado native built this room-filling artwork out of rice-paper and bamboo kites, stringing the delicate pieces across the ceiling of the Chapel of St. Cornelius. ‘The Eclipse’ is accompanied by another of the artist’s works, ‘Never Comes Tomorrow,’ which is on display in Liggett Hall Archway, also on the island.Desktop Version

Oct 28, 2019A night on the (ghost) town

The spooky scene here might look like a place you"d want to avoid, but it"s not likely to scare you—not too much anyway. It"s the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum in central Oregon, a collection of abandoned homestead-era buildings from the area. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, people acquired federal lands around here for farms and ranches via the Homestead Acts. But most left within a few years due to the hot, dry summers and extremely cold winters. Today, the buildings are assembled as a ghost town and contain items from that period, including furniture, dishes, and tools. There"s also a nearby cemetery which, according to local lore, is haunted by the ghost of rancher and author Reub Long riding his horse.Desktop Version

Aug 20, 2018Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires

Nature’s resiliency is on full display here at Yellowstone National Park, where new growth has emerged among the trees charred by the massive 1988 wildfires. More than 1 million acres in the greater Yellowstone area were affected by the blazes that summer, scarring 36 percent of the park. Today marks the 30-year anniversary of Black Saturday, a day when the park saw some of the worst damage, with smoke and ash blackening the skies. But when cool, moist weather brought an end to the devastating fires in late autumn, the ecosystem immediately began to recover. Fire has long been part of the complex ecosystem at Yellowstone and many species have even adapted to rely on fire to open up the canopy, spread seeds, and diversify the habitat.Desktop Version

Apr 8, 2023The Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland

Throughout history, humans have crafted legends to explain natural phenomena that defy our understanding. A prime example is the Giant"s Causeway in Northern Ireland where some 40,000 basalt columns spring from the ground at the shore. Scientists tell us these columns developed 50 to 60 million years ago, when lava erupted from volcanic fissures, then cooled and contracted, cracking into hexagonal structures.Desktop Version

Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria

In modern German, the word for this month is "November." But an older German name was "Nebel-mond," which translates as "fog month" in English—it"s the time of the year when fog is most likely to roll in. In some parts of the world the topography and local climate make fog a regular feature of the weather, especially during certain times of the year. That’s called "fog season." San Francisco has a fog season. Tampa, Florida, does too. Is there a fog season where you live?Desktop Version

Nov 20, 2019Atop the roof of Africa

From their home in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, these rare gelada monkeys look like they"re on top of the world. Simien Mountains National Park has some of the highest elevations in all of Africa, marked by deep valleys, jagged mountains, and sheer cliffs. This harsh climate nurtures rare and endangered species, including our homepage friends. The gelada monkey lives only here in the Ethiopian Highlands, where it survives on a diet of mostly various grasses. Nicknamed the "bleeding-heart monkey," it"s recognizable by the bright red, hourglass-shaped patch on its chest. It has another claim to fame: This chatty species produces a diverse range of vocalizations so complex they"re thought to be similar to those of humans. So, what do you think they"re talking about?Desktop Version

Bing wallpaper for mobile