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Jupiter and the Galilean moons
Jupiter and the Galilean moons
On January 7, 1610, Galileo was the first person to train a telescope on Jupiter—and what he saw surprised him. Strung in a line beside the planet were three tiny stars, one to the left of the planet and two to the right. But when he observed the formation the next night, he saw that now all three were on the same side of Jupiter. Over the following week, he watched as the tiny stars (now joined by a fourth) changed their position relative to the planet while remaining beside it. By January 15, he had it figured out: he was observing four moons orbiting Jupiter.Desktop Version
A personal collection becomes an institution
A personal collection becomes an institution
That blue expanse on the left of today"s homepage image is the roof of the British Museum"s Great Court and Reading Room in London. The oculus at the top of the dome is made of glass, and the ceilings within are papier-mâché. The Great Court opened in 2000, a new addition to a storied institution. Irish physician Sir Hans Sloane sold his personal collection of antiquities and books to Great Britain in the early 18th century. Sloane’s items included many books, rare manuscripts, and artifacts from around the globe, and he wanted them preserved and exhibited in public. This led to the creation of the British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, which opened this day in 1759. The collection has grown and changed significantly since then, but one detail remains: Admission to this London attraction is still free.Desktop Version
Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
Fancy opera houses like the Palais Garnier were designed for more than just watching a performance. The open balconies and winding staircases were meant to encourage people-watching, especially among the upper class. Commissioned by Napoleon III as part of his grand, transformative renovation of Paris, the Palais Garnier first opened on this day in 1875. Immediately upon opening its doors, it became the place to see and be seen—and to be surrounded by opulence. The domed ceiling shown here was painted by Marc Chagall in 1964, covering the original ceiling paintings by artist Jules Lenepveu. Chagall’s colorful, dreamlike work stretches nearly 2,600 square feet and depicts scenes from operas by 14 different composers, including Beethoven and Debussy.Desktop Version
Celebrating Minnesota’s statehood
Celebrating Minnesota’s statehood
Minnesota’s official state motto is L’Étoile du Nord, or ‘Star of the North,’ which seems fitting from this vantage point on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Today we commemorate Minnesota’s official statehood. On this day in 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state to join the Union–and it’s since given us plenty to celebrate. We have Minnesota to thank for Wheaties cereal, the invention of Scotch Tape, and even Bob Dylan, who was born in Duluth. For all you Minnesotans out there (and fans of Minnesota), here’s to you!Desktop Version
What s going on in this sky?
What s going on in this sky?
When the sky is clear, and the moon hangs low in the horizon, you can sometimes spot a halo around it, like the one captured in this image from Hug Point Falls on the Oregon coast. And occasionally within that halo, you may also see a bright spot that appears to be a second moon. No, it"s not the moon"s long-lost twin, but an optical phenomenon called a paraselene, more commonly referred to as a moon dog or mock moon. This "false" moon can appear when the real moon is at least a quarter visible and is bright enough for its light to refract off hexagonal plate-shaped ice crystals floating in the atmosphere. Moon dogs are more commonly seen in winter months, when ice crystals are more prevalent in the clouds.Desktop Version
A valley view at 9,000 feet
A valley view at 9,000 feet
This is the Dallas Divide, but we"re hundreds of miles from (and 8,500 feet above) North Texas. This saddle amid the southwestern Colorado Rockies cuts a swath just north of the San Juan Mountains. Nestled in those peaks you"ll find Telluride, Silverton, and other former mining towns that got a boost from the Rio Grande Southern Railroad when it came to the Dallas Divide in 1890. Nowadays the divide hosts State Highway 62, a less-traveled byway for most Colorado travelers—but worth the detour if you"re keen on a sweeping valley vista.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
In the Highlands for Saint Andrew s Day
In the Highlands for Saint Andrew s Day
Clan Campbell built this castle on the shore of Loch Awe in the Highlands of western Scotland during the mid-15th century. Kilchurn Castle withstood numerous structural changes and battles, but it couldn’t survive a lightning strike in 1760, and by 1770 the roof was gone and the castle in ruins. In the summer, you can hike to the site and explore.Desktop Version
A yearly sign that spring has sprung
A 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
Ancient groves in Australia
Ancient groves in Australia
Like mainland Australia, the island state of Tasmania is home to many distinct landscapes and ecosystems, and Mount Field National Park is a spectacular showcase of the island’s diversity. Tall swamp gum forests and massive tree ferns distinguish the base of the mountain, but climbing to higher elevations leads to the temperate rainforests of pencil pine, leatherwood, and other trees endemic to Tasmania along the shores of Lake Dobson, shown here. While rare species of plants and animals call the park home, perhaps the park’s greatest diversity lies with its fungi—the tremendous variety of mushrooms found here is still not fully cataloged, but fungi are increasingly understood to underpin the general health of the park’s ecosystems as a whole. And if all that natural diversity here isn’t enough to draw you to Tasmania’s Mount Field, some of the hills and mountains in the park have ski runs during snowy winters.Desktop Version
The birth of Bauhaus
The birth of Bauhaus
A century ago, in April 1919, Walter Gropius outlined his vision for art and design in the "Manifesto of the Staatliches Bauhaus." A goal of the Bauhaus movement was for artists and craftspeople to collaborate on the creation of functional, simplified works that could be mass produced—applying the process to all forms: architecture, textiles, fine art, furniture, typography, and much more. Berlin"s Bauhaus Archive, the building featured in today"s image, is dedicated to collecting documents and works created by the movement"s teachers, alumni, and adherents.Desktop Version
Eastern grey kangaroos in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park
Eastern grey kangaroos in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park
These eastern grey kangaroos taking a break on the grasslands of Kosciuszko National Park may look like hares or rabbits from a distance. But up close, a 6-foot-tall male eastern grey could look a person in the eye. Perhaps only koala bears rank higher as wildlife symbols of Australia, but we couldn’t resist featuring a photo of kangaroos to celebrate Australia Day today. Perhaps these ‘roos are waiting for the fireworks show?Desktop Version
On the hunt
On the hunt
Historians believe that falconry may have begun in Mesopotamia as long as 4,000 years ago, but this particular style of hunting with eagles on horseback dates back roughly 1,000 years. Various nomadic tribes from the Middle East and Western Asia trained golden eagles, falcons, and hawks to ride out to the mountains with them, and when the bird spotted a hare or fox, it flew out, caught the animal, and brought it back to the rider on the horse. Many people in Mongolia continue to hunt in this traditional fashion today. Our photo of an eagle hunter was taken in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, where many ethnic Kazakh eagle hunters fled during the communist era of Kazakhstan.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
Wayag Islands in the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia
Wayag Islands in the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia
The Wayags are part of the larger Raja Ampat Islands off the coast of Indonesia’s West Papua Province. These small, uninhabited islands are popular with divers and snorkelers eager to explore the vast and diverse reef system surrounding them. The Wayags are part of the Coral Triangle, which covers only 1.6 percent of Earth’s oceanic region, but contains 76 percent of every known coral species on the planet.Desktop Version
A wonder in winter
A wonder in winter
Chichibu, Japan, attracts many visitors during the winter by capitalizing on the cold temperatures that bring unusually large icicles to the terraced banks of the Arakawa River. The attraction, called ‘Misotsuchi no Tsurara,’ is only open from mid-January through mid-February, and includes colored lights after dark, to enhance the otherworldly feel of the scene. Since much of Chichibu sits in or near the Chichibu Tama Kai National Park, there’s abundant nature to see after you’ve witnessed the illuminated icicles on the Arakawa’s banks.Desktop Version
Tesla, the visionary
Tesla, the visionary
We approach today’s observance of National Science Fiction Day through a route of science fact. Our photo shows Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla with his magnifying transmitter—an experimental power generator that used his Tesla coils to demonstrate the possibility of a safe, wireless electrical grid. While Tesla’s vision for an electrical system never materialized, many of his concepts and designs would shape various technologies to come, including radio transmission, and even some fundamentals of the internet.Desktop Version
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
With a higher elevation than other nearby parks, Bryce Canyon’s climate is a little cooler, so fog drifting across the park’s forests is not uncommon. Bryce Canyon has many unusual geologic features, not the least of which are the hoodoos—tall spires of stone—that form a large portion of the landscape. In fact, there are more hoodoos here than in any other spot on the planet. #hoodoopartyDesktop Version
Winter in Old Nuuk
Winter 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
A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Situated in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Yosemite gets a heavy dose of snow every winter. This makes for lovely scenes like the one in our image today, with icy branches framing the Stoneman Bridge, one of eight Yosemite Valley Bridges, each made with local stones.Desktop Version
A bohemian feline
A bohemian feline
This young lynx will grow up to be the third largest predator in Europe. (The brown bear and wolf hold the first and second spots, respectively.) The lynx is a crepuscular creature, meaning it hunts mainly in the hours just before dawn and just after dusk. With an adult male lynx growing taller than 2 feet at the shoulder, and weighing more than 60 pounds, it’s capable of hunting roe deer and sheep. And while the Eurasian lynx is a ‘least concern’ status species, habitat loss is affecting how widely dispersed they are across Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. But protected locations, like the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the Czech Republic, where our lynx was photographed, help preserve habitat to keep this vital predator thriving.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 day to celebrate the sun
A day to celebrate the sun
A few times each year, the rising and setting suns align with the east-west streets of Manhattan. It’s a phenomenon commonly referred to as "Manhattanhenge." While the exact timing varies slightly from one year to the next, it usually occurs a few weeks before and after the summer and winter solstices. Tonight’s sunset will find the full sun’s golden rays streaming directly through Manhattan"s major cross streets.Desktop Version
Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
This unique footbridge on the east coast of Taiwan connects visitors to the ‘Island of the Three Immortals,’ a small uninhabited island known for dramatic rock formations and ocean views. According to legend, the rocks were left behind by immortal saints who took a reprieve here centuries ago. The bridge itself was built in 1987 and was designed to resemble the mythical dragons of Chinese folklore.Desktop Version
In the Garden of Europe
In the Garden of Europe
Welcome to the ‘Garden of Europe’—a nickname given to this public flower garden in Lisse, Netherlands. The literal translation of "keukenhof"—from Dutch to English—is "kitchen court," since the original grounds for the park and flower garden began as a vegetable garden for the royal residents of Keuken Castle during the 15th century. This prompted another nickname for the pastoral spot: "kitchen garden."Desktop Version