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Nature Photography

The Shape of Things to Come, Antarctic Sound, February 2010: "As we sailed with the land to our backs, I saw this bright, jagged iceberg with a dark-blue sea," writes Seaman.

Art Meets Science

These Photos Capture a Decade of Change at Earth’s Poles

From courting penguins to moody icebergs, photojournalist Camille Seaman shares her personal journey through polar habitats

Google's newest Street View collection takes users to Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall pioneered her chimpanzee behavioral research. "Don't forget to look up," a Google project manager says.

Exclusive: The Chimpanzees of Gombe National Park Make Their Street View Debut

For its latest collection, Google traveled to the African rainforest where Jane Goodall pioneered her groundbreaking chimp research

A shop sells nostalgic souvenirs, including a UK coat of arms, at the Portobello Road market in London.

Ten Unusual National Animals That Rival the Unicorn

Scotland doesn’t have the market cornered on exotic national symbols—check out the mouflon, the takin and the xoloitzcuintli

A genet riding a rhino.

Cool Finds

A Fuzzy Little Genet Is Hitching Rides on Rhinos and Buffalo, And No One Can Figure Out Why

Camera traps exposed the secret world of a rhino-riding genet

Curtains of light weave across the sky over Fairbanks, Alaska, on September 12.

Powerful Solar Flare Paints the Sky With Candy-Colored Auroras

Two back-to-back flares sent clouds of charged particles racing toward Earth, creating auroras that may last through the weekend

Sugar gliders, marsupials native to Australia.

Adorable Portraits Put Nocturnal Animals in the Spotlight

A new photo book showcases animals we humans rarely see—while a new study says we may have more in common with night-dwellers than thought

The contested self-portrait.

Trending Today

If a Monkey Takes a Photo, No One Owns Copyright

The contested photo likely belongs to neither monkey nor man, but to the public domain

A tiger skin openly for sale at Mong La.

Cool Finds

This Market Along the Burma-China Border Is a Veritable Noah’s Ark of Critically Endangered Animals

Photographer Alex Hofford exposed the extent of the wildlife trade openly taking place at this infamous market

Shiki 1, a Japanese White Pine Bonsai suspended from a weather ballon as it ascends to the edge of space for artist Azuma Makoto's project Exobiotanica

Cool Finds

Artist Sends a Bouquet and a Bonsai to Space

What happens when you send a Bonsai tree to space? See for yourself

Trending Today

Astronauts Took Pictures of Typhoon Neoguri—And It Looks Huge, Even From Space

Even from space, Neoguri looks huge

This image was taken while exploring a 1300m lava cave in Iceland. In some areas the roof has caved in, so snow piles up in the winter time and creates these snow peaks. The aurora at its peak gleams through the roof of the cave and despite only taking up a small portion of the photo, it remains the focal point.

Cool Finds

These Amazing Pictures Made the Shortlist For Astronomy Photographer of the Year

The competition, now in it’s sixth year highlights beautiful images of the sky from around the world

"Kirkjufell Nights" —Aurora over Kirkjufell waterfalls in Iceland. Third place in the Beauty of the Night category.

Stunning Photos of the Night Sky From the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

SPONSOR CONTENT: TAIWAN

Photos: Hike Through Towering Walls of Swirling Marble in Taiwan’s Taroko Gorge

The Liwu He River carves a dramatic canyon through Taroko National Park

The crater measures almost 230 feet across.

This Hellish Desert Pit Has Been On Fire for More Than 50 Years

In the Turkmenistan desert, a crater dubbed “The Door to Hell” has been burning for decades

Take in the Sights and Sounds of the National Parks

Enjoy a nature break and listen to birds from America’s greatest natural wonders

Cool Finds

Watch Corals Fight Epic, Slow-Motion Wars

The world of corals may move slowly, but it’s still full of danger and violence. We’re just moving too quickly to see it happen.

Beautiful and Eerie Photographs of Starlings in Flight

Photographer Richard Barnes captures the mesmerizing geometric patterns created by flocks of European starlings

The Milky Way over Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.

Virtual Travel

Take a Photo Tour Through Oregon’s Rugged Landscapes

Travel through Oregon’s scenic backcountry with our reader-submitted photos

A spider monkey hangs out on the back of a capybara, via Animals Sitting on Capybaras

Cool Finds

Capybaras Are Basically Nature’s Chairs

The world’s largest rodent can’t get any respect

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Does This Indonesian Volcano Burn Bright Blue?

Olivier Grunewald’s dramatic photos showcase blue flames—not blue lava—that result from burning sulfur

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