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May 6, 2023Azaleas blooming on Hwangmaesan Mountain, South Korea

Vast colonies of royal azaleas paint the sides of South Korea’s Hwangmaesan Mountain a vibrant purple as summer approaches. Sightseers flock to see this striking pink and purple carpet of flowers which was created gradually as dairy cows and sheep ate the grass and plants, but left behind the poisonous azaleas which spread across the mountain.Desktop Version

Jul 22, 2022Our Lady of the Rocks

Local legend here in Perast, Montenegro, has it that two brothers were returning from a dangerous sea voyage in 1452 when they spotted an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child in the waters near Saint George, a natural island in the Bay of Kotor. One of the brothers had injured his leg on the journey, but in the morning it had healed. Taking this as an omen, they vowed to honor the Virgin Mary by building her a church on the spot where they"d found the icon. They began dropping stones there, and even scuttling old ships. A tradition was born, and over decades, the fishermen of Perast would drop a stone in the water at that spot before heading to sea.Desktop Version

May 6, 2022Bluebells in Hertfordshire, England

For just a few weeks every spring, across the pond in England and under the newly forming woodland canopy, one of the most enchanting flowers begins to bloom. The bluebell is known by many names but those who know it as the "fairy flower" might be the most prepared to withstand its strong, sweetly scented allure. According to British folklore, a blooming bluebell carpet on the woodland floor is a mystical place where fairies live. The legends hold that fairies hang their spells on the flowers to dry, and disturbing them would unleash the magic. In earlier times, children were warned that picking bluebells would cause them to be spirited away. Even adults could fall victim to the flower, being doomed to wander the woods and never escape. And heaven forbid you ever happen to hear the fairies ring the bluebells for their gatherings—it means your death is imminent, a belief that inspired another name for bluebells: "dead men"s bells."Desktop Version

Dec 26, 2023Happy Boxing Day!

The holiday season isn"t quite over! December 26 marks Boxing Day—a popular day to get outside and enjoy a walk after a day of indulgence. Our homepage image shows a wintry sunrise over fields near the village of Dedham, in Colchester, England¬—perfect walking country.Desktop Version

May 15, 2022Lunar eclipse

If you"re lucky enough to find yourself under a cloudless sky tonight, you"ll be able to see one of our solar system"s great wonders, a full lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon." The spooky nickname derives from the reddish hue the moon takes on when Earth casts its shadow upon it. Featured here is a blood moon over the Swiss Alps. A full lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth and moon align perfectly with the sun, and the moon falls directly behind Earth"s shadow. When Earth falls behind the moon"s shadow, a solar eclipse occurs.Desktop Version

Nov 14, 2019The perfect canvas for an ancient text

Since 2009, the city of Durham has served as a grand stage for the biennial Lumiere Durham festival. During four days in November, works of "son et lumière"—a French phrase that means "sound and light"—provide spectators with new ways of viewing public spaces and buildings. Artists from around the world design large-scale light shows paired with narratives and sound effects. It"s become the UK"s largest light festival, and Lumiere Durham"s 10th anniversary, which begins today, promises to attract more than 200,000 people to enjoy the illuminated artworks along cobbled streets.Desktop Version

Sep 7, 2020Take a break! It s Labor Day!

On this Labor Day, we"re paying homage to hard work, no matter what form it takes. In this case, a worker is applying a fresh coat of paint to the Hammering Man, a symbol of laborers everywhere. Hammering Man is a series of sculptures in varying sizes that depict a man with a motorized arm swinging a hammer in a slow, steady motion. American artist Jonathan Borofsky says he created the sculptures as tribute to working-class men and women around the world, and with that in mind, Hammering Man is our Labor Day hero.Desktop Version

Oct 9, 2022Earth Science Week

Hundreds of shades of blue are marbled together in this cool shot. No, it"s not a work of modern art, it"s right off the brush of nature. This is a satellite photo of phytoplankton blooming near Alaska as the cool, salty Chukchi Sea mingles with warmer, fresher water closer to shore.Desktop Version

Jun 28, 2021A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean

That mighty fortress at the top of the hill is called the Cittadella—it"s a medieval fortified city at the geographical center of the island of Gozo. Gozo is the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago (after the island of Malta itself), and despite all appearances it"s the less densely populated of the two.Desktop Version

Oct 30, 2021Central Highlands of Vietnam

The woods are a tranquil place, but they can be scary for a lone wanderer. Out here, you could suddenly find yourself running from the Big Bad Wolf, trying to escape a witch"s clutches, or just plain old lost. Though often in the old stories, scary places like this are also where the hero overcomes a great obstacle or finds a valuable treasure. Could you be in luck?Desktop Version

Apr 14, 2023Mediterranean red sea stars

Sea stars—often called starfish—are some of the most fascinating creatures to live in our oceans. For starters, despite their name, they aren"t fish—they belong to a group of marine invertebrates called echinoderms. Like all echinoderms, sea stars are characterized by the radial symmetry of their bodies, which usually have multiple arms extending from the central disc.Desktop Version

Nov 29, 2023Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting

As December approaches, New York gears up for a sparkling spectacle. On November 29, the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting will bring you festive vibes. The roots of this holiday tradition go back to 1931, when builders put up a balsam fir to show gratitude for their jobs amid the bleakness of the Great Depression. That tree was decorated with paper garlands and tin cans and in 1933 the first tree-lighting ceremony took place. Today, this towering Norway spruce is adorned with over 50,000 multicolored LED lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star. The illumination of the 80-foot tree is a full-blown extravaganza with musical performances and celebrity sightings. Its mesmerizing glow marks the official arrival of the holiday season in the city that never sleeps, and you don"t want to miss it!Desktop Version

Nov 4, 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England

A place where poetry, history, and nature blend—welcome to Grasmere in England"s Lake District. The village was once the cherished residence of the celebrated poet William Wordsworth, who described Grasmere, with its valley and lake of the same name, as "the loveliest spot that man hath found." Here, visitors are greeted by old cottages and homes built from local bluish-green slate. Dove Cottage, Wordsworth"s humble abode from 1799 to 1808, and the adjacent museum offer a dive into the poet"s life. His later residence, Rydal Mount, continues the story just a short journey away. The heart of the village is St. Oswald"s Church, which dates to the 13th century and is Wordsworth"s final resting place. Not far from the church, the aroma of the renowned Grasmere Gingerbread, made from a secret recipe, will set visitors" mouths watering.Desktop Version

Aug 23, 2022Menton, France

Anchoring the eastern end of the French Riviera near the Italian border is Menton, the so-called Pearl of France. It"s prized for its beauty and incredible weather that features an average of 316 days a year with full or partial sun. That climate enables Menton to enjoy amazing lemon yields that have given rise to the annual Fête du Citron, or Menton Lemon Festival, a 17-day extravaganza in February featuring floats and sculptures created out of lemons and oranges. More than 200,000 visitors marvel at the nearly 150 tons of fruit used in the festival.Desktop Version

Jul 24, 2023Cousins Day

When it comes to honoring family members, parents and siblings get most of the attention—but today, let us sing the praises of our cousins on Cousins Day! These extended family members hold a special place in our hearts. They"re not quite siblings, but more than mere friends. When we"re young, they"re the buddies we go adventuring with, while the adults stay behind to make small talk. Maybe you"ve fallen out of touch with your cousins, or maybe you"re still close—either way, today"s a great day to reach out, say hello, and reminisce. That"s what it looks like these zebras are doing; there"s likely a set of cousins or two in this group that"s horsing around on the savannah in Tanzania.Desktop Version

Jul 27, 2021Maybe we should be looking up

When it first flicked on the projector lights in 1930, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago was the only one in the Western Hemisphere, and it featured an innovative new lens imported from Germany. But the American public"s fascination with stars and distant worlds, it turned out, was skyrocketing. By 1934, the Adler had welcomed over a million visitors.Desktop Version

Aug 10, 2021Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the institution s 175th anniversary

In 1846, when Congress authorized an institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge," no one could have predicted what the Smithsonian Institution would eventually become. Today, on our 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian is the world"s largest museum, education, and research complex. And in the decades that I have worked here—as an educator, curator, museum director, and now as Secretary—I have watched us grow into a vital and vibrant 21st-century institution: conducting groundbreaking research, becoming a national leader in K-12 education, creating new museums that represent the American experience more fully, and equipping our audiences to tackle the world"s most pressing challenges.Desktop Version

Oct 16, 2022Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland

The sheer size of Greenland is hard to put in perspective. The world"s largest island is more than 836,000 square miles—that"s more than three times the size of Texas and 170,000 square miles larger than Alaska. It is a land of deep fjords and thick ice that must have made the Norse explorers feel right at home when they landed there a thousand years ago.Desktop Version

Jul 26, 2019The party’s just starting

To usher in the summer music festival season, we take you to a pastoral hillside in the Swiss Alps for the International Alphorn Festival held each summer near the town of Nendaz. Musicians are gathering here this weekend to celebrate and blow these enormous traditional horns of the Alps. No one really knows the origin of the alphorn. We do know that for centuries, European mountain folks from the Alps and east to the Carpathian Mountains used this horn to signal to each other across great distances and to call in animal herds. Even though the horn has no valves or keyholes, it’s not easy to play and requires great lung power.Desktop Version

Nov 19, 2021Zion National Park, Utah

Today, we"re celebrating the 102nd anniversary of southwest Utah"s Zion National Park with a visit to its Subway slot canyon. Zion is defined by its breathtakingly steep red cliffs, its maze of sandstone canyons, and its waterfalls with colorful hanging gardens. Visitors here can trek for miles, ducking into crevices and resting in canyons once occupied by the Ancestral Puebloans.Desktop Version

May 10, 2023Cordouan Lighthouse, France

Built between 1584 and 1611, the Cordouan Lighthouse is France"s oldest working lighthouse and the only one in the country that is still inhabited by keepers. For centuries, this maritime marvel has watched over the Gironde Estuary, on France"s Atlantic coast, a treacherous area where shipwrecks were once common.Desktop Version

Sep 19, 2019Fall for birding

This common loon is spreading its wings in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, near the US border with Canada and along the northern bank of Lake Superior. As temperatures cool, the protected area becomes a birder"s paradise while migrating flocks stop over on their flights south. The Superior National Forest’s 3.9 million acres and 2,000 lakes offer the right combination of water, woods, and wetlands to support over 155 species of birds, the most avian diversity found in any US national forest.Desktop Version

Feb 20, 2022World Whale Day

As surely as some tourists return to Hawaii each and every year, thousands of humpback whale families, like the one seen in this photo, make an annual winter visit to the waters off Maui. They"re the reason behind today"s cetacean celebration: World Whale Day. While the observance honors whales of all kinds in all the world"s oceans, it was here in Maui that the Pacific Whale Foundation first held the event and timed it to match the yearly return of the humpbacks.Desktop Version

Dec 23, 2022Gentoo penguins in Antarctica

For the uninitiated, the origins of the made-up holiday Festivus can be traced back to an episode of the hit "90s show, "Seinfeld." Based on the real family tradition of one of the show"s writers, Festivus has taken on a life of its own in the real world and provides fans with a fun, tongue-in-cheek way to celebrate the holiday season while ignoring its pressures and commercialism.Desktop Version

Nov 17, 2023National Take a Hike Day

Take a hike, buddy! No, not the "get out of here" version but the "get out there" version. It"s time to lace up those boots and take advantage of our national trails, which span over 91,000 miles. Back in the 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Trails System Act into law, to preserve, promote, and develop scenic and historic trails across the country. Can"t decide where to start? Our homepage image offers up one option which is awash with fall colors—Copper Falls State Park in Wisconsin. With 17 miles of trails along the Bad River, past waterfalls and ancient lava flows, this park has a lot to offer. Whether it"s a rugged mountain path, a serene forest walk, or an oceanside stroll, this country has a trail waiting for you. But remember to respect nature, follow "leave no trace" principles, and take nothing but photographs. Happy hiking!Desktop Version

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