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Apr 4, 2021A yearly sign that spring has sprung

If you find yourself in Germany or Austria around Easter, you"ll see trees, bushes, and cut branches decorated in colorful eggs such as these. The Ostereierbaum (aka Osterbaum or Easter egg tree), is a German tradition dating back centuries, though no one"s quite sure of the exact origin. Eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth and spring, and the sight of colorful eggs hung by ribbon can melt even the coldest of hearts.Desktop Version

Feb 13, 2019Life goes on at the Beatles Ashram

In 1968, the four members of the Beatles traveled to this site on the banks of the Ganges River in Northern India to study transcendental meditation. It was a time of prolific songwriting for the group, and 18 of the songs composed here were later recorded on their self-titled album, also known as The White Album. Their time at the ashram was brief and the facility itself was abandoned in the 1990s, left to become derelict and overrun by the encroaching jungle. It nevertheless remained a popular destination for Beatles fans and in 2015, it reopened to the public. Today, visitors will see fan tributes and several murals created by visiting artists.Desktop Version

Apr 16, 2018The Bazaruto Archipelago of Mozambique

Those turquoise waters are a particularly fetching corner of the Indian Ocean, lapping at the white-sand islands of Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago. The islands have been a national park since 1971, protecting the delicate ecosystem and the rare animals that live here, both on land and in the coral reefs below the surf.Desktop Version

Jan 18, 2019An opulent backdrop for a historic event

We’re at the Palace of Versailles for the 100th anniversary of the Paris Peace Conference, which convened here in January 1919, marking the end of World War I. Diplomats from 32 countries and nationalities attended to negotiate terms of peace. They ultimately signed five treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles, which ordered Germany to take responsibility for losses and damages in the war and to pay reparations. The conference also established the League of Nations, the first intergovernmental organization dedicated to preserving world peace. The organization was later succeeded by the United Nations.Desktop Version

Apr 24, 2019Cool water in the Quinault

The Quinault Rainforest is in one of four lushly forested valleys on western Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Lying within both Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest, this temperate rainforest gets anywhere from 12 to 14 feet of rain per year. All that water means the Quinault bursts with greenery, especially in spring as mountain snow melts and the river begins to flow with gusto.Desktop Version

Jan 3, 2019How do ladybugs winter?

Our photo shows a single ladybug taking a winter’s nap near Tewin, England. That’s right, many species of ladybug hibernate over the winter. In Redwood Regional Park near San Francisco, this time of year is ‘ladybug season’—when hikers in the cool, damp woods may spot a large group of ladybugs—called a ‘loveliness’—huddled for warmth and safety, snoozing until spring. They’ll wake up, and get back to eating more crop-killing aphids—seems reason enough to let that loveliness of ladybugs into your yard.Desktop Version

Jan 6, 2022Kochelsee in Bavaria

To English speakers, this is Lake Kochel. To German speakers, it"s Kochelsee. Whatever you call it, this popular recreation spot in Bavaria looks great all decked out in winter white. Imagine how quiet it must be when the lake is blanketed by snow. Now stretch your imagination further to the warm summer months when the shores of Kochelsee are busy with tourists out to get a dose of nature. The lake is just an hour"s journey by car or train, south from Munich. Visit during summer and you"re likely to see windsurfers gliding across the surface of the lake.Desktop Version

Mar 20, 2018Celebrating the first day of spring

March 20 marks the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, meaning that for the next six months daylight hours will outlast nighttime darkness, and we’ll see plenty of beautiful blooms like the tulips shown here. They were photographed in Drenthe Province of the Netherlands, a country that’s been famous for tulips since the 17th century. That’s when the price of tulip bulbs climbed to astronomical heights and then dramatically collapsed in what’s since become known as the first economic bubble, dubbed ‘Tulip Mania.’Desktop Version

Mar 25, 2018Jan van Eyckplein in Bruges, Belgium

Float down Spiegelrei canal in Bruges, Belgium, and you’ll arrive at the town square called Jan van Eyckplein. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Venice of the North,’ Bruges has numerous canals that once fueled the historic city’s shipping economy. Jan van Eyckplein is named for the influential 15th-century Belgian painter, Jan van Eyck. A statue of him stands in the middle of the square.Desktop Version

Aug 13, 2018Look to the north sky tonight for the Perseids

We can’t all gather on the southern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria to watch the Perseids meteor shower tonight, but perhaps this amazing photo from that location will inspire you to head outside for a look at your own skies. Every August, Earth passes through the trail of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. When Swift-Tuttle’s ‘dirty snowballs’ of dust, ice, rock, and other material hit Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up as the ‘shooting stars’ of the Perseids. If you can, get away from city lights any time between now and Aug 24, find a safe spot outside, and let your eyes adjust to the dark for about 30 minutes. Look to the northern portion of the sky, or find the Perseus constellation, and you’ll start seeing streaks of light tumbling through the sky.Desktop Version

Dec 24, 2018The birthplace of a classic Christmas carol

All is calm here in Salzburg, Austria, tonight–much like we imagine it was on this day 200 years ago, when the song ‘Silent Night’ made its debut in the world. This is the bicentennial of the popular carol, written by Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr, and first performed in a chapel in the nearby town of Oberndorf. The song has since been performed by artists around the world and was given intangible cultural heritage status by UNESCO. But the most popular recording of the song belongs to Bing Crosby, whose rendition remains the third best-selling single of all time.Desktop Version

Dec 28, 2018A species no longer at risk

This magnificent bird of prey flies over Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming. The bald eagle is part of a conservation success story, for our national bird was once headed toward extinction. A rapid decline in bald eagle populations was one of the motivating factors in establishing the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The chemical pesticide DDT, previously thought to be safe, was causing high mortality rates for bald eagle chicks, as well as many other birds exposed to the chemical. DDT was banned, and the eagles’ numbers began to rise again.Desktop Version

Jan 25, 2018Sami lavvu structures, Finnmark, Norway

It’s not a tipi, it’s a lavvu. We’re in Sami country here in Finnmark, Norway, and these temporary dwellings were used by the indigenous Sami people as they followed their reindeer herds across northern Scandinavia. The design has made its way into other symbols of the Sami culture, including the coat of arms for the municipality of Kautokeino and the design of the Sami Parliament building in Karasjok, Norway.Desktop Version

Apr 3, 2021A light at the edge of the world

Seemingly against all odds, the Aniva Lighthouse stands atop this rocky outcrop where it once lit the way for vessels navigating the fierce currents, hidden rocks, and frequent fogs of Cape Aniva on the island of Sakhalin. Russia"s largest island, Sakhalin lies off the mainland"s Far East coast, due north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The island was hotly contested by both Russia and Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the late 1930s, when the Aniva Lighthouse was built, Russia controlled the northern half of Sakhalin while Japan controlled this, the southern part—so it was a team from Japan that built this lighthouse.Desktop Version

Feb 17, 2019Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count

Both amateur and professional birders alike are invited to participate in the 22nd annual Great Backyard Bird Count, an online citizen science project that helps scientists monitor bird populations around the world. Participating is easy–just venture outside for as little as 15 minutes and record any bird sightings. Perhaps you’ll spot a black-crested titmouse, like this one photographed in Texas Hill Country. Last year’s event saw nearly 200,000 participants who recorded a combined 6,310 species.Desktop Version

Jan 29, 2021So, how long till springtime?

Winter often brings cold and snow to the uplands of England"s Peak District National Park, as this wee European robin surely knows. Here we see it puffing up its plumage to insulate its body against the wintry weather. Unrelated to the American robin, the European robin is commonly known in the British Isles as the robin redbreast. But it"s more orange than red, you say? That"s because when British people first named it the redbreast, probably in the 1400s, the word "orange" had not yet been introduced as a color name in the English language. Animals and other things were often named "red" even when orange or tawny: the red deer, Red Planet, and robin redbreast are all examples. Whatever you decide to call our diminutive friend, we appreciate its bright splash of color on an otherwise bleak wintry day.Desktop Version

Jan 27, 2019A memorial in Germany

We’re in Berlin for International Holocaust Remembrance Day today, looking at the monument called ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.’ The memorial looks rigid and ordered, with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern across 4.7 acres. But architect Peter Eisenman, who designed the work, purposely skewed some of the grid, so that spaces between the slabs may shrink or grow as you walk among the gray blocks. And the gaps are intentionally so narrow that they allow only individual passage. As the visitor navigates through the grid, the subtle shifts in these spaces are meant to shatter the illusion of order and security.Desktop Version

Feb 5, 2020Frozen beauty

Located on the North Saskatchewan River, Abraham Lake is an artificial lake and Alberta"s largest reservoir. Even though it"s man-made, it takes on the blue color of other glacial lakes in the Rocky Mountains. In winter, the lake draws nature photographers interested not just in the wildlife and spectacular landscape, but also the lake"s odd appearance when it freezes over. Bacteria on the lake bottom feed on dead organic matter and release the methane bubbles you see here. When the surface water freezes, the bubbles get trapped, creating a photographer"s dream. They may be beautiful, but these frozen bubbles can be dangerous because they"re highly flammable. If you happen to be lighting a match nearby, you"ll want to watch out or the released methane could explode. The bubbles aren"t so friendly to the environment, either; methane in the atmosphere is a major part of global greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.Desktop Version

Dec 2, 2018Winter 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

Feb 5, 2018Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica

There’s more than meets the eye in this image of an iceberg floating off the coast of Antarctica. That’s because about 90 percent of every iceberg exists beneath the surface of the water—and it can be hard to gauge its shape from the surface. The largest recorded iceberg, known as B-15, had a surface area larger than the island of Jamaica (just imagine what that baby looked like under water!). On the other end of the spectrum, hunks of ice smaller than 16 feet across are known as ‘bergy bits’ and ‘growlers.’Desktop Version

Jun 15, 2018Ready for takeoff

Anybody with a camera can celebrate Nature Photography Day with us today. That element of inclusion is one of the main points of this observance. Chances are your mobile device has a camera, so you’re already equipped to participate. And even if you live in the deepest reaches of the urban jungle, somewhere near you is a place where you can get a dose of nature—a park, for example, or even the planter box on your fire escape. Go to that spot with your camera, and start snapping photos. They don’t have to be works of art. It can be an exercise in paying attention to the natural world, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll end up with something like this shot of a seven-spot ladybug, wings unleashed and about to take flight. Have fun!Desktop Version

May 16, 2021A magnificent monolith

Towering more than 650 feet, El Peñón de Guatapé (The Rock of Guatapé) is an inselberg, which is geologist-speak for a stone monolith that stands alone amid relatively flat surroundings. This huge rock is found in northwest Colombia, a region once inhabited by the Indigenous Tahamí people, who are said to have worshipped El Peñón, as many locals now call it. Probably because it"s so smooth, no one is known to have climbed the rock until 1954, when a small group of friends scaled it by wedging a series of boards into a vertical crack. It took them five days to reach the top.Desktop Version

Jan 10, 2019‘You should see the one that got away!’

Don’t be fooled by the modest size of these ice-fishing shanties near the village of L"Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Modern day ice huts are often tricked out with big-screen TVs, underwater cameras, sonar fish-finders, and even bathrooms with hot showers. Some fishermen and women spend entire weekends out on the lake, warm and dry. Here in the Saguenay region of Quebec, they may be fishing for walleye, redfish, cod, or black turbot, which are reeled in after drilling a hole in the ice and casting a line in the frigid waters. Brrrr!Desktop Version

Apr 23, 2019A legend and a legendary home

To celebrate Sant Jordi’s Day today, we’re studying the intricate façade of Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain. The holiday is the Catalan celebration of Saint George’s Day, which is observed throughout Europe. According to legend, Jordi (Catalan for ‘George’) saved a princess from the clutches of a terrible dragon. After rescuing her, the knight gave the damsel a red rose, which has become an important symbol of the holiday in Catalonia. As it happens, Spaniards also celebrate April 23 as Book Day, marking the anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the famous 16th- and 17th-century Spanish writer. So here in Barcelona, both roses and books are given to loved ones on Sant Jordi’s Day, while music and dancing fill the streets. We might pause in our revelry to spend some time taking in Casa Batlló, designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. The building is heavily inspired by Sant Jordi’s legend, with red roses on the balconies, and a roof made to look like dragon scales.Desktop Version

Jan 16, 2019Up on the glacier

The Athabasca is the most-visited glacier in North America. Located in Canada’s Jasper National Park, it’s one of the six ‘toes’ of the Columbia Icefield, a natural feature of the Canadian Rockies. The Athabasca has receded by nearly a mile in the past 125 years, losing about 16 feet of ice each year. And that"s not all that"s moving in the Columbia Icefield—there"s also an icefall that travels downslope (the way a waterfall would) between 50 and 400 feet per year.Desktop Version

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