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Sep 29, 2018Vietnam’s new bridge deserves a big hand

When Vietnam’s Golden Bridge opened this summer in the Ba Na Hills near Da Nang, images of the stunning structure went viral, and it’s no wonder. The bridge is cradled by ancient-looking hands that look like they were carved out of the mountain centuries ago–the perfect backdrop for a stunning selfie. Those big hands are actually made of wire mesh and fiberglass, fashioned around towers that support this tourist attraction that sits 3,200 feet above sea level. The pedestrian bridge offers some of the region’s most dramatic views of the Trường Sơn Mountains here in Central Vietnam. The architect is reportedly working on a sister bridge, but it will be silver, not gold.Desktop Version

Mar 2, 2020And to think that I saw it in Cappadocia

The fantastical "fairy chimneys" found in central Turkey"s historical Cappadocia region were formed by a collision of the natural and the man-made—and they form a scene that seems straight out of a Dr. Seuss illustration. The landforms were created when volcanoes deposited mounds of soft, porous rock called tuff, which was later covered with hard basalt. In the 10th century (though possibly starting up to 5,000 years ago) humans excavated the tuff to create caves and catacombs that could fit thousands of dwellers. Through not only the astonishing ruins but the many "cave hotels" hewn into rock in the city of Göreme, the memory of those ingenious city planners lives on.Desktop Version

Feb 9, 2018Speed skaters in the Gangneung Oval, Pyeongchang, South Korea

The Gangneung Oval in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is where all the speed-skating action of the 2018 Winter Games will happen. Long-track skaters wear spandex suits to help reduce friction and maybe skate just a bit faster as a result. But the short-track skaters at the games wear Kevlar suits to protect against cuts from other skaters’ blades. Those tight turns can result in collisions, so the cut-proof suits are true lifesavers.Desktop Version

Mar 9, 2020This grizzly has Napping Day down

Like the napping grizzly cub in today"s image, we"re guessing you might feel tired after losing an hour of sleep to the start of daylight saving time. So, we"re giving you a great reason to get your nap on—it"s National Napping Day. This sleep-inducing day was created by Boston University professor William Anthony in 1999 and always occurs the Monday after "springing forward." The idea is that losing even just an hour of sleep renders most of us in need of some extra shut-eye. If that describes you, then maybe it"s time to give napping a try.Desktop Version

Jun 2, 2020Falling for the Canadian Rockies

Sunwapta Falls is one of several spectacular waterfalls in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. It"s actually a pair of waterfalls, a lower and an upper one, on the Sunwapta River. Their water comes from the Athabasca Glacier, so volumes are higher in the summer due to seasonal glacial melting. Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, with more than 4,000 square miles for camping, hiking, water sports, and other activities. Wildlife in the park includes elk, grizzly bears, moose, bighorn sheep, and caribou.Desktop Version

Dec 22, 2019You ve never seen anything like this

This macrophotograph of a snowflake shows the classic, six-sided structure that we"ve come to associate with the tiny winter marvels. Until the advent of macrophotography and microphotography in the late 1800s, it was impossible to study the structure of snowflakes—they melted too quickly to be accurately sketched under a microscope. Enter Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley.Desktop Version

Mar 30, 2018The Vestibule at Diocletian s Palace, Split, Croatia

You’re looking at the view from the Vestibule inside Diocletian’s Palace, an ancient landmark in the city of Split, Croatia. Built in the early 4th century, the building served as the beachside retirement home for Roman Emperor Diocletian. As much a fortress as a palace, it also housed Diocletian’s military garrison. Built mainly of limestone and marble, the palace also features Egyptian granite columns and originally contained several 3,500-year-old Egyptian sphinxes, three of which remain today. Look familiar? The site was a filming location for the fourth season of the TV series ‘Game of Thrones.’Desktop Version

Feb 6, 2021Where is this gorgeous peak?

This spectacular landscape might just be the perfect place to celebrate Waitangi Day, New Zealand"s national holiday. It commemorates the 1840 treaty between Britain and some 500 Māori chiefs that established British law in the island nation. The Treaty of Waitangi is considered New Zealand"s founding document and a cornerstone in the country"s history. Another important legacy of the treaty is that it provided the framework for political relations between New Zealand"s government and the Indigenous Māori people.Desktop Version

Mar 31, 2021Paradise, found

If your dream is to experience a tropical paradise that"s still largely untouched by people, you could do worse than a trip to Raja Ampat, an archipelago in the province of West Papua, Indonesia. Most of the region"s 50,000 inhabitants live on or around its four main islands, Batanta, Misool, Salawati, and Waigeo. The remainder of Raja Ampat is made up of roughly 1,500 smaller islands, cays, and shoals—astonishingly, hundreds of these tiny islands have yet to be explored by humans.Desktop Version

Dec 9, 2021Glowworm caves in Australia

Down under the land in the Land Down Under, cave explorers may find these subterranean spaces illuminated by an unlikely light source. Fungus gnat larvae—more affectionately known as glowworms—speckle the walls and ceilings of caverns here in Australia during the warm season, from December to March.Desktop Version

Mar 11, 2020Anybody out there?

This is the time of year that polar bears emerge from their winter dens. In today"s photo, these adorable cubs are peeking out for the first time in their young lives. Polar bears don"t technically hibernate, but in fall, a pregnant female polar bear will dig a maternity den in the snow (although in some areas it"ll be under the peat soil). While in her small den, the bear enters a dormant state, sleeping nearly all the time, until she gives birth, usually between November and February. Then in spring she"ll dig herself out and emerge with her recently arrived cubs. Polar bear cubs stay with their mother for about two years as they learn to survive in the Arctic.Desktop Version

Jan 22, 2020A horse of many colors

Whitehorse, Yukon"s only city and the largest in northern Canada, will have just seven hours of daylight today, but nature has a way of compensating for this injustice. The area enjoys frequent and spectacular light shows, thanks to the aurora borealis. The mechanics of northern lights are still not fully understood, but scientists agree that solar winds—big pulses of energy from our sun—pass through the Earth"s magnetic fields, especially at the polar regions, resulting in shimmering colors.Desktop Version

Oct 10, 2018Space is for everyone

The end of World Space Week today comes with a message of hope. Fifty-one years ago, the pact known as the Outer Space Treaty went into effect. The US, UK, and USSR were the first parties to the treaty and at least 107 other nations have since joined them, with additional countries working on ratification. The treaty establishes ‘space law’—in essence, an agreement that space exploration should only be for the benefit of all of humanity. No weapons of mass destruction can be placed on the moon, or any other orbiting body.Desktop Version

Jan 2, 2022Prague, Czech Republic

As a haze of blowing snow diffuses the streetlights of Prague, try to count the steeples, belfries, turrets, and towers that make up the Czech capital"s skyline. You may lose count like 19th-century travel writers did when they dubbed Prague the City of 100 Spires. The number is closer to 500 currently.Desktop Version

Apr 24, 2020Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images

On this day in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope entered orbit in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery. Shortly thereafter, it began its continuing mission to capture images of our universe from low Earth orbit, free of the obstructions of clouds and the distortions of the atmosphere. Like its namesake, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. Some of the telescope"s greatest contributions include its Deep Fields images, which peer back billions of light-years and help astronomers measure the size and age of the universe and test theories about its origin. It"s also produced jaw-dropping images of objects closer to home, like the one on today"s homepage. Here we"re looking at a maelstrom of glowing gas and dark dust within one of the Milky Way"s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud.Desktop Version

Oct 27, 2021Pumpkin patch

It"s not too late to pick up a pumpkin to add some Halloween flair to your doorstep. Although pumpkins are grown across the country, most of the 2 billion pounds produced annually in the US come from five states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. While California grows the most pumpkins headed for the jack-o"-lantern market, Illinois wins in poundage, though most of its crop ends up as pie filling or other processed products—perhaps even in your pumpkin spice latte?Desktop Version

Feb 20, 2018Buddha in the roots of a tree, Ayutthaya, Thailand

This is the profile of Gautama Buddha, peeking out of tree roots at an ancient Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya in central Thailand. This city once served as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Ayutthaya, a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767 before it was destroyed by the Burmese Army. You can explore the city’s remains at the Ayutthaya Historical Park.Desktop Version

Jul 28, 2018Defying gravity on a swing ride

Can you smell the fried food and cotton candy? Fair season is upon us, and amusement rides are usually just part of the whole fair-going experience. The modern fair has roots in ancient times, tracing back to a variety of influences, from Roman religious festivals to temporary markets set up at crossroads along the trade routes from Asia to Europe. Today, county and state fairs often combine industry and agriculture exhibits with various entertainment options such as this swing ride. What’s your fair-season favorite?Desktop Version

Apr 10, 2020Brotherly cubs

They"re adorable to be sure, but we"re betting these two Kermode bear siblings are a handful (hang in there, mama bear!). We"re featuring them in honor of Siblings Day, an annual celebration of the bond between children who share one or more parent in common. Kermode bears are a subspecies of the American black bear, although they"re obviously not always black. They have a recessive gene that sometimes results in fur that"s cream- or white-colored. While most Kermode bears are black, scientists estimate that between 10% and 20% of the population have ivory coats. Known as "spirit bears," they are special to the indigenous peoples of the British Columbia coastal regions where they live.Desktop Version

Nov 5, 2020A medieval Moorish gem

Originally founded as the capital of a small Moorish kingdom in the 10th century, Albarracín remains one of the most perfectly preserved medieval towns in Spain. The town"s narrow, winding streets, centuries-old architecture, and dramatic defensive walls were all constructed with the pink-hued gypsum found throughout the region. Aside from its historical charms, Albarracín is also a popular destination for rock climbers who come to scale the red boulders and cliff faces outside the village"s fortress walls.Desktop Version

May 7, 2019Spring comes to Glacier National Park

You can almost hear the rushing water in this picture of St. Mary Falls at Montana’s Glacier National Park. To get to this picturesque waterfall and its aqua-blue pools you’ll need to journey to the east side of the park near St. Mary Lake. Glacier is home to 700 miles of hiking trails, including the short day hike that leads to St. Mary Falls, taking visitors through conifer forests. If you feel like chasing more waterfalls, you can extend the hike and journey to nearby Virginia Falls. Don’t forget your camera and be on the lookout for woodpeckers, moose, and wildflowers.Desktop Version

Jan 30, 2021Even nature needs a backup plan…

This glittering concrete monolith is a lot like that still-sealed emergency survival kit languishing in your basement since 1999: Reassuring to have around, but a bummer when you actually have to use it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault—better known by its cute nickname, the "Doomsday Vault"—was established on this far-northern Norwegian isle in 2008 to archive frozen genetic copies of seeds already housed in seed banks around the world: a backup of all the backups. Kept at minus 0.4 degrees F within the seed vault, precious botanicals from food to fibers to flowers are safe from disasters, even of the apocalyptic variety. Lucky us: It"ll take a healthy diet of veggies to fight off the zombies.Desktop Version

Oct 4, 2020Infrared Jupiter, erupting Io

To celebrate World Space Week, we"re featuring this montage of images of Jupiter courtesy of the New Horizons probe"s flyby of the planet in 2007. If Jupiter looks a little different than you"re used to seeing, it"s because it was imaged using the space probe"s near-infrared imaging spectrometer. In this false-color image, Jupiter"s high-altitude clouds, like its stormy Great Red Spot, are rendered white, while deeper cloud formations take on reddish hues. The planet"s innermost moon, Io, is captured in a true-color composite image during one of its frequent volcanic eruptions. A close look will show lava is glowing red beneath the blue and white plume of particles being ejected into the moon"s thin atmosphere.Desktop Version

Apr 1, 2021Why do elephants hide in trees?

…Because they"re so good at it. Although none are as skilled at self-concealment as this specimen from the Loxodonta genus of African elephants—namely the species laprofolis, better known as the common chia elephant. While it"s the well-known habit of other pachyderms to paint their toenails red and hide in cherry trees, the chia elephant"s defense is even more unique: After a nice roll in the mud, the elephant charges through patches of seeding chia plants, picking up thousands of seeds that stick on its grooved hide. In under a week—just add water!—the seeds sprout and develop into dense, leafy growths that allow the elephant to conveniently camouflage itself as it wanders the savanna. The curious creature has even been reported to disguise itself as a houseplant, duping homeowners into hosting a literal elephant in the room.Desktop Version

May 2, 2019Making it work—in Norway

Springtime is high-fashion season for the ruff. In wetlands across northern Europe and Asia, these medium-sized waders gather in marshes to form leks, which are small breeding areas used for courtship displays. Dominant males (also called independents) like the fancy fellow on our homepage, fluff up their colored and intricately patterned capes and collars and mock fight with each other. Their aim? Each wants to secure a prime spot on the lek to showcase his finery and entice watching females to choose him as a mate.Desktop Version

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