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Life goes on at the Beatles Ashram
Life 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
Cue up the tango music
Cue up the tango music
Happy Valentine’s Day to all you lovebirds out there! Our featured birds today are grey crowned cranes that live in the savannas and marshlands of East and Southern Africa. Both males and females of this species will dance to attract a mate, but the dancing behavior has also been observed outside of mating season, and in juveniles as well as adults. Even two males may pose like this, while they size each other up as competition.Desktop Version
Snow aglow in central Japan
Snow aglow in central Japan
Here at Yunishigawa Onsen, a hot spring spa town in central Japan, the Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival lights up the countryside each winter. Kamakuras are snow huts that range in size from these small, candlelit structures along the river banks to large igloo-like domes. People gather in the larger kamakuras to worship, socialize, or share a meal. The entire community pitches in to build and light the kamakuras during the festival, which runs from late January to early March.Desktop Version
It’s not a pinecone, it’s a pangolin
It’s not a pinecone, it’s a pangolin
Today is World Pangolin Day, an event dedicated to highlighting this unique and rare mammal. Eight different species of pangolins live in Asia and Africa, and all are known for their solitary, nocturnal lives. Those sharp, protective scales are made of keratin, the same stuff as your hair and fingernails. Pangolins also have short legs and long, curved claws that come in handy when digging into an ant mound or a termite nest for food. By curling into a ball, the pangolin protects its belly and the inner parts of its limbs—the only areas of a pangolin’s body not covered by thick scales. But that defense is useless against its biggest threats, which include deforestation and poaching. We’re grateful for the conservation organizations around the world that are working to protect this species and its habitat.Desktop Version
Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
Flock 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
Presidents Day in America’s front yard
Presidents Day in America’s front yard
For Presidents Day, we’re at the National Mall, the downtown park in Washington, DC, that’s known as ‘America’s front yard’ and serves as home to some of our nation’s most iconic landmarks. On the left, we see the Lincoln Memorial, which honors Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president; the right side of the panorama shows the Washington Monument, the tall obelisk that memorializes George Washington, our first president. In fact, the two landmarks are on a direct east-west axis across from each other. The Lincoln Memorial sits at the western end of the National Mall, while the Washington Monument lies due east, across the Reflecting Pool. Presidents Day was originally established to honor Washington’s February 22 birthday, but has evolved to be a celebration of all the US presidents. How will you spend the holiday?Desktop Version
A dreamy start to the Year of the Pig
A dreamy start to the Year of the Pig
We’re in Taipei, Taiwan, for the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, an event that’s lauded by travel writers as a ‘bucket list’ experience. Traditionally, lantern festivals like this one mark the end of Chinese New Year celebrations. The Chinese New Year began on February 5, ushering in the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese zodiac. At the Pingxi Lantern Festival, participants will write wishes and prayers onto rice-paper lanterns before releasing them into the night sky. Thousands of people descend on Taipei for the event. What destinations are on your must-see list?Desktop Version
An unlikely friendship in the wild
An unlikely friendship in the wild
The raven and the wolf are companions for the ages. The two species are often depicted together in mythology and lore. In modern accounts, if there’s a wolf around, there’s likely a raven nearby. The highly intelligent birds are known to attach themselves to wolf packs in the wild and scavenge off carcasses left behind after a hunt. Ravens have even been observed playing with the wolves, pulling on the tails of wolf pups and chasing them at play. Sounds like fun, but we’ll watch from a distance, thanks.Desktop Version
Sounds of Bach come to Bath
Sounds of Bach come to Bath
The ancient baths that lent this city its name have for centuries drawn visitors here to Somerset, in South West England. Archeological evidence suggests that when the Romans first built a temple over the bubbling natural hot springs here between 60-70 CE, they may have been adapting a previous center of worship established by ancient Celts. In any case, the Romans built up a complex of bathhouses over the course of 300 years or so, until the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410. The baths gradually fell into disrepair, but were rebuilt several times, culminating in the elaborate 18th-century bathhouses that still stand today. Designed by the father-and-son team of John Wood, the Elder and John Wood, the Younger, the luxurious baths made Bath a fashionable spa town by the late 1700s.Desktop Version
A rest stop for the birds
A rest stop for the birds
Every year, from February to April, 80 percent of North America’s sandhill crane population stops in Nebraska to eat and rest before finishing their lengthy migration to the northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, and even Siberia. Tourists flock (sorry) to nearby towns such as Kearney, Nebraska, to watch this spectacle take place. Some half a million cranes stop to wade through the shallow braids of the Platte River in the valley here, feasting on crop residue from the many cornfields in the area.Desktop Version
A view from the top
A view from the top
The Aiguille du Midi in eastern France is one of many peaks in the Mont Blanc massif, an Alpine range that stretches across the border into Italy and Switzerland. In 1909, an aerial tramway was proposed to take tourists from Chamonix, the valley town below, to the top of the Aiguille du Midi—a plan finally realized in 1955. The cable cars and viewing platform were upgraded most recently in 2012, and a new feature called ‘Step into the Void’ was added. It allows tourists to stand in a glass room jutting out from the mountain and look down through the glass floor with more than 3,000 feet of free air under their feet.Desktop Version
A long path to freedom
A long path to freedom
Our photo highlights Tallinn’s Old Town, a portion of the city that has managed to preserve much of its medieval structures and distinctive charm. On Estonia’s Independence Day today, people will be celebrating in Old Town and across Estonia. They have much to celebrate—Estonian independence was hard-fought. Even though the capital’s origins stretch back 900 years, Estonia didn’t declare its independence until 1918. After centuries of successive rule by a variety of foreign powers, this Baltic state’s path to freedom began in the aftermath of World War I. Estonians resisted German occupation, then fought against invading Soviet forces, eventually earning de jure independence. The independent nation eventually fell back under Soviet power in the chaos of World War II, but regained its freedom after the USSR disbanded in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. But enough of this history lesson—let’s get to the parades!Desktop Version
High above the reef
High above the reef
If we could dip down below those happy little clouds, we’d be on the bright blue waters of the Caribbean. And if we could dip down farther, below the surf, we’d be greeted by the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-largest coral reef on Earth (after the Great Barrier Reef). This barrier reef system stretches for nearly 700 miles, from the northern tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. It’s home to one of the world’s largest manatee populations, and also to a fair number of the world’s largest fish: the whale shark.Desktop Version
Snow on the temple
Snow on the temple
One hundred years ago today, the Grand Canyon was designated as a national park. To celebrate, we’re at the North Rim—one of the only portions of the park that get snow every winter. The snow causes the National Park Service to close the North Rim during winter months, so few visitors get to see in person such incredible views as the Isis Temple dusted in winter white. Numerous geologic formations at the North Rim have names referencing mythologies and faiths from around the world. (Vishnu Basement Rocks are nearby.) The ‘temple’ at Isis Temple is an erosion-resistant stone at the top of the mound.Desktop Version
A predator at risk
A predator at risk
Shake off those late winter doldrums and join us in observing International Polar Bear Day. These large bears of the Arctic region aren’t endangered but are considered a vulnerable species. As Arctic sea ice coverage continues to shrink due to warming ocean temperatures, the polar bear population faces a rapidly shrinking habitat. Polar bears have large hunting ranges, and rely on the Arctic ice to get around. Their role as an alpha predator in the Arctic is a crucial part of the natural balance in their unique ecosystem. If our sea ice disappears, the bears may soon follow.Desktop Version
Over and under the delta
Over and under the delta
This ambitious construction project in China connects three major cities (Hong Kong, Macau, and Zuhai) on the Pearl River Delta. The Hong Kong-Zuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) includes three cable bridges, and a tunnel—similar to the Chunnel between England and France—that takes commuters below the delta’s waters. The HZMB is currently the world’s longest sea-spanning bridge, with a combined length of more than 34 miles. Originally set to open in 2016, it was finally completed and open to traffic in October 2018. Would you take a ride through the tunnel under the waters of the Pearl River Delta?Desktop Version
Forward-thinking women of history
Forward-thinking women of history
How will you observe Women’s History Month? To get us started, we’re taking a close look at the Boston Women’s Memorial. In the foreground of our homepage photo today, we see a statue of Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman to publish a book of her own poetry. The statue in the background depicts Abigail Adams, who was so politically and socially active in the early years of the US, that she is referred to as a Founding Mother and sometimes added to the list of Founding Fathers. Adams used her position as the wife of President John Adams to speak out against slavery, and in favor of women’s rights.Desktop Version
You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
We’re celebrating Dr. Seuss Day with a glimpse of Vinicunca, a colorful mountain in the Andes range of Peru. Varied layers of mineral deposits, weathered and oxidized over the years, provide the bright, contrasting striations, inspiring an alternate name for this spot: Rainbow Mountain. We think it looks like the wild environments dreamed up by famed children’s author Dr. Seuss. In particular, it reminds us of his book, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’: ‘You"re off to Great Places! Today is your Day! Your mountain is waiting. So...Get on your way!’ Do you have a favorite Seuss book?Desktop Version
Fin whales: A success story
Fin whales: A success story
Today marks the fifth anniversary of World Wildlife Day, the United Nations-backed celebration of all the animals that share our planet. And this is the first year that World Wildlife Day is focusing on marine life. Fin whales, like the one in our photo today, are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the conservation status rankings. So, they’re threatened by climate change, pollution, shipping, and other concerns, but they’ve bounced back from the brink since the early 1900s, by which time centuries of whaling crews had hunted fin whales to near extinction.Desktop Version
The eloquence of elephants
The eloquence of elephants
Okay, this herd of African bush elephants probably doesn’t celebrate National Grammar Day with the rest of us. But scientists are studying the sometimes surprising ways in which African elephants converse—including the ultra-low frequency vocal sounds they make that are imperceptible to humans. These subharmonic ‘rumblings’ vibrate through the ground and can be felt by other elephants on the bottoms of their feet. And who knows, maybe these sounds follow a kind of grammatical structure we don’t yet comprehend. But perhaps we should start by trying to master English grammar.Desktop Version
Stompin’ with the Big Chief
Stompin’ with the Big Chief
Today’s Bing photo shows Mardi Gras Indians parading at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which generally happens in April or May. But the big day for all the Mardi Gras Indians is today, Fat Tuesday itself.Desktop Version
Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Perhaps you’ve been to Rome and Venice and are looking for a new destination to explore in Italy? (Hey, we can dream too.) Consider then the village of Cefalù on the northern coast of the island of Sicily, about 40 miles from Palermo. Over the centuries, the town has been under Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman rule, all of which have influenced the architecture and culture. Our photo looks across the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea toward the village, with the sun’s rays reflecting off Cefalù Cathedral, the massive church-cum-fortress that dominates the skyline.Desktop Version
March of the flowers
March of the flowers
Our photo today captures the blaze of color from California brittlebush, poppies, and a variety of other flowers that signal the arrival of spring to Lost Dutchman State Park, just east of Phoenix, Arizona. March is usually when wildflowers in the Arizona deserts begin to bloom, and Lost Dutchman is a great place to get a dose of the colorful display. If you’re wondering what the name of the park is all about, take our homepage quiz to find out who the Lost Dutchman was…Desktop Version
‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’
‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’
Our headline quotes the 2019 theme of International Women’s Day, a UN-sponsored event that champions women’s achievements and calls for more gender parity around the globe. The policewomen on our homepage—from Nepal, Madagascar, and Colombia—were photographed in 2016 at an International Women’s Day celebration in Haiti, where they served as part of a UN peacekeeping mission to help stabilize the government. By having women involved in the mission, organizers were already in the spirit of Women"s Day, as studies show that more diversity leads to better results.Desktop Version
Let the harvest begin
Let the harvest begin
It’s late summer in Argentina—harvest time for the nation’s grape crop. Though mechanical grape harvesters have been available since the 1960s, many wineries still prefer to handpick grapes to ensure gentler handling and a higher-quality grape selection. Both methods seem to work well in Mendoza; the region has become the largest wine producer in Argentina, best known for its high-altitude malbec wines made from grapes grown in the foothills of the Andes. Salud!Desktop Version