Best Picture Today

World's Best Pizza at Naples, Italy

2011-04-27T10:33:00.002+08:00

It should be in Naples deserve the top spot on our list. It's due to the Naples pizza is a recipe for the most durable in the world, and the recipes come from other cities is often just variations on the theme of Naples. And bearing in mind there is also an organization dedicated to preserving the authenticity of the dish - True Neapolitan Pizza Association - it is clear that this city will prepare the dough and cheese melting serious. Wheat flour dough kneaded the real Neapolitan pizza pancake shape, which may not exceed 11 cm in diameter before being covered with fresh buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and basil. It's then cooked in a wood cupola furnace at about 900 degrees for more than a minute and a half.

From Taste: foodies serious disagreement, where you'll find the best pizza in Naples, but some favorites: Located in the city in Via Sersale, Antica Pizzeria Da Michele is one of the most coveted - evidenced by long lines (and a cameo in the film Eat , Pray, Love). There is also a pizzeria Brandi, is often credited to the place that first pizza Margherita.

Emma Watson New Style

2011-03-08T11:28:00.002+08:00

The "Harry Potter" alum is taking a break from Brown. The actress says she will leave college for now to focus on her other projects. Aside from doing publicity for the last installment of the "Harry Potter" movies, Watson is working with designer Alberta Ferretti on an eco-friendly clothing line.

Source : WireImage.com/Eamonn McCormack

iPad 2 Tablet is thinner, faster and has 2 cameras

2011-03-03T15:57:00.002+08:00

THINNER AND FASTER: The next-generation tablet has a faster processor. It comes with two cameras for taking photos and video chatting. The battery life will be the same -- about 10 hours of usage and a month on standby. The iPad 2 is also thinner -- 8.8 millimeters vs. the current 13.4 millimeters.

SAME PRICE:

The new iPads will cost the same -- $499 to $829. In the U.S., the iPad 2 will work on AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Source : Detroit Free Press

Climber Alex Honnold

2011-01-15T11:53:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Corey Rich, Aurora

Climber Alex Honnold spent two weeks in Yosemite crushing speed records up 3,000-foot El Capitan and iconic Half Dome, at one point soloing both in a single, 11-hour stretch. Here he is seen freesoloing the Nose on El Cap.

Source : National Geographic

Eastern Washington Football: Eagles Have Slim Fourth Quarter Edge

2010-12-18T16:35:00.003+08:00

The Eastern Washington Eagles are nursing a slim 27-24 fourth quarter lead over the Villanova Wildcats in the FCS semifinals.

Eastern Washington got off to a rough start at home on the red turf, as the Wildcats struck first with a touchdown return on the opening kick off to make it 7-0 before the Eagles even set foot on the field.

But they came storming back, scoring 13 unanswered points in the first quarter, and stretched their lead to 20-7 on Bo Levi Mitchell's second touchdown of the game.

The Wildcats would finally score an offensive touchdown with about five minutes left in the half, as Matt Szczur took it in from a yard out to make the score 20-14.

Villanova would get as close as 20-17 early in the third quarter, but Mitchell hit Brandon Kaufman for a 76-yard touchdown to extend the Eagles' lead to 27-17.

But the Wildcats answer right back, getting a touchdown run from Chris Whitney to get their deficit down to three once again, 27-24.

The Wildcats are looking to win their second straight FCS championship.

Source : Bleacher Report

First Apple Computer Up For Auction

2010-11-15T19:56:00.002+08:00

The first Apple computer - along with a letter signed by Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs to the original owner - will be sold at a London auction on Nov. 23.

Described by Christie's as a "historic relic," the Apple-1 was introduced in 1976 and sold without a casing, power supply, keyboard or monitor.

But it was the first personal computer with a fully assembled motherboard, at a time when personal computers were sold as self-assembly kits.

It is expected to fetch as much as $242,400.

The first Apple-1 computers were priced at $666.66.

Source : Dispatch.com

Tarpon and Silversides, Grand Cayman

2010-10-05T10:46:00.004+08:00

Photograph by Mike Sutton Brown

The picture was taken at Eden Rock, Grand Cayman. For just a short time every year these silversides swarm caves and swim-throughs at Cayman's dive sites. The picture was taken late afternoon just as the sun was going down. I was hiding behind the silversides, low in the rocks. As the tarpon swam through the silversides, they eventually saw me and turned away. Just like you see in the picture.

Source : National Geographic

Prozac Pollution Making Shrimp Reckless

2010-07-20T16:16:00.003+08:00

Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic

There's no happy ending for shrimp exposed to the mood-booster Prozac, according to a new study.

Remnants of antidepressant drugs flushed into waterways worldwide are altering shrimp behavior and making them easier prey, experts say.
(See "Cocaine, Spices, Hormones Found in Drinking Water.")

To mimic conditions in the wild, scientists exposed the estuary-dwelling shrimp Echinogammarus marinus to the antidepressant fluoxetine at levels detected in average sewage-treatment waste. Fluoxetine is the key ingredient in the drugs Prozac and Sarafem.

Shrimp normally gravitate toward safe, dark corners. But when exposed to fluoxetine, the animals were five times more likely to swim toward a bright region of water, the team discovered.

"This behavior makes them much more likely to be eaten by a predator, such as a fish or bird," said study co-author Alex Ford, a biologist at U.K.'s University of Portsmouth.

The fluoxetine likely makes shrimp's nerves more sensitive to serotonin, a brain chemical known to alter moods and sleep patterns, according to the study, recently published in the journal Aquatic Toxicology.

Prozac Rise May Harm Other Animals

Antidepressant use is rising rapidly—more than 10 percent of U.S. citizens, or about 27 million people, used the drugs in 2005, according to a 2009 paper in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

It's so widespread that animals other than shrimp likely suffer from these high doses of fluoxetine, the authors noted. (Get the facts on freshwater threats.)
"We focused on shrimp because they are common and important in the food chain, but serotonin is also linked to behavioral changes in other species, including fish," Ford said.

(Read about chemicals changing male fish to female in a U.S. river.)

Ford believes that many other common prescription drugs—such as antiinflammatory drugs and painkillers—could also be causing problems for aquatic life.

But there are ways of protecting aquatic creatures from the drugs we take, Ford noted.

For instance, more public awareness about responsible drug disposal and better technology for breaking down pharmaceuticals at sewage works, among other solutions, could help to solve the problem, he said.

Source : National Geographic

Serra da Leba, Angola

2010-06-10T16:02:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Kostadin Luchansky

This is Serra da Leba, a landmark in Angola. It has been one of the country's postcard images for decades, but all shots were taken by day. I needed something different. I decided to try a night shot, but it seemed impossible: pitch black, foggy, an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,000 feet). My Nikon can stay open as long as 60 seconds max. But a car takes a few minutes to climb and descend and complete the "drawing." The fog was blocking! Suddenly the fog cleared, a car went down, another went up, and they met in the middle in under 60 seconds. Painting done.

Source : National Geographic

Mambukal Mudpack Festival

2010-05-22T11:17:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Alfonso Lizares, My Shot

Held at the height of monsoon season, the Mambukal Mudpack Festival in Murcia, Negros Occidental, celebrates the harmony of man and nature and encourages environmentalism among young people. To get in the spirit, participants cover themselves with the rich soil known as Mambukal clay.

Source : National Geographic

Borobudur Temple

2010-05-04T14:43:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Mark Bell, My Shot

Construction of Java’s Borobudur Temple, one of the world’s largest Buddhist monuments and a World Heritage site, began in the eighth century, under the Sailendra dynasty. Framed by four volcanoes, it stands 105 feet (32 meters) high.

Source : National Geographic

Lightning Adds Flash to Ash

2010-04-21T15:14:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Peter Vancoillie

A blast of white-hot lightning crackles over Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano on Sunday. Clouds of volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajökull have snarled European air traffic for nearly a week.
National Geographic Your Shot submitter Peter Vancoillie took the photograph from about 18 miles (30 kilometers) away from the volcanic lightning storm, which not "unlike a regular old thunderstorm," said Martin Uman, a lightning expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
The same ingredients are present: water droplets, ice, and possibly hail—all interacting with each other and with particles, in this case ash from the eruptions, to cause electrical charging, Uman said. (See pictures of the Iceland volcano's ash plume.)
The volcanic-lightning pictures are "really very sensational," Uman said. "Somebody ought to be up there with an HD movie camera—it's ready for the IMAX theater."—Christine Dell'Amore
Published April 19, 2010

Caernarfon Castle

2010-04-01T15:05:00.003+08:00

Photograph by Jim Richardson

At twilight, the illuminated outer walls of Caernarfon Castle loom over motorboats moored at the mouth of the Seiont River in northern Wales. Edward I began construction of Caernarfon Castle in 1283, and in 1969, it famously served as the site of the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales.

Source : National Geographic

Baobab Trees, Tarangire National Park

2010-03-12T20:31:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Tom Schwabel

Baobab trees frame a serene view of night skies in Tarangire National Park. Some species of baobab trees can live for a thousand years—potentially reaching a stunning height of 80 feet (25 meters) and a diameter of 40 feet (12 meters).

Source : National Geographic

Golden Gate Bridge

2010-03-03T09:56:00.001+08:00

Photograph by George Steinmetz/Corbis

A breathtaking view from the top of Golden Gate Bridge reveals the span far below where it enters Marin County.

Source : National Geographic

Shipwreck Yields Bronze-Age Gold

2010-02-25T15:34:00.001+08:00

Photograph courtesy South West Maritime Archaeological Group

Gleaming where it sank almost 3,000 years ago, a golden bracelet from the Bronze Age marks the site of one of the world's oldest shipwrecks, recently discovered off the coast of the United Kingdom. At the time of the wreck, Rome had yet to be built, pharaohs still ruled Egypt, and Jesus Christ's birth was still centuries away.
The treasure was part of a 900 B.C. cargo discovered in May 2009 near the town of Salcombe (map) by divers from the South West Maritime Archaeological Group.
Announced this month at the International Shipwreck Conference in Plymouth, U.K., the Salcombe finds include hundreds of copper and tin ingots—the raw material for making bronze—and reveal sophisticated trade links between prehistoric Britain and the rest of Europe, archaeologists say.
"It shows how linked in communities on the south coast [of Britain] were to a very broader world," said Ben Roberts, European Bronze Age curator at the British Museum in London.

—James Owen in London

Palin's Palm Holds the Answers

2010-02-09T11:27:00.002+08:00

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses attendees at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010.(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Yellowstone National Park's Grand Prismatic Spring

2010-02-08T01:04:00.001+08:00

The center of Yellowstone National Park's Grand Prismatic Spring steams at 199° Fahrenheit (93° Celsius), too hot for the multicolored bacteria clustering on the cooler perimeter. But dead center is no dead zone: Billions of organisms called thermophiles flourish in the scalding water.

Photograph by David Mencin, submitted to My Shot

Cowgirls

2010-02-01T10:31:00.001+08:00

The sky stretches far and wide above cowgirls—or jillaroos—on a cattle ranch in Queensland. Ranching is serious business in Australia.

Photograph by Joe Scherschel

Egyptian Limestone Cat Statue

2010-01-22T21:04:00.002+08:00

This limestone feline is among some 600 cat statues from a newfound temple dedicated to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. The ancient temple was recently discovered under the streets of modern-day Alexandria, Egypt.

Egyptian archaeologists who found the temple say it was built by Queen Berenike II, wife of Greek King Ptolemy III, who ruled Egypt from 246 to 221 B.C.

Cats were important house pets in ancient Egypt and were often depicted in private tombs. In some cases, cats were mummified in the same way as humans and buried at temples.

"This is one of the most important discoveries in Alexandria in the last hundred years," said Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, head of antiquities of Lower Egypt for the Supreme Council of Antiquities and lead archaeologist for the find.

—Andrew Bossone in Cairo

Lightning Near Huntington Beach in Bay Village, Ohio

2009-12-31T11:59:00.002+08:00

While at Huntington Beach in Bay Village, Ohio, I saw a storm approaching fast out of the north. I got lucky and was in the right place at the right time. Within a minute of this shot, the storm unleashed its fury on the beach. It was a great day. This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot. Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Photograph by James Larkin

Garden Of The Gods Park In Colorado Springs

2009-12-24T22:50:00.001+08:00

Centuries-old juniper trees frame red sandstone rocks formed from millions of years of wind and rain. The 1,300-acre (526-hectare) Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, Colorado, tempts rock climbers, naturalists, and photographers with its towering red giants.

James Egbert

Fireworks During Japan’s Chichibu Yomatsuri

2009-12-11T23:59:00.002+08:00

Fireworks blast colors through the black skies during Japan’s Chichibu Yomatsuri, held every December 90 minutes outside Tokyo.
Photograph by Kyodo News/AP

Ghost Ship

2009-11-25T15:00:00.001+08:00

The "ghost ship" of the Yukon is a specter no more. Recently photographed for the first time, the gold rush-era sternwheeler A.J. Goddard was discovered sitting upright and remarkably intact in a lake in the Yukon Territory, Canada (see map), in July 2008. (Watch an underwater video of the newly explored wreck.)Like an early 20th-century snapshot, "everything is just like it was when it went down in that late October storm in 1901," said project leader John Pollack, a nautical archaeologist and National Geographic Society Waitts grantee. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)The five crewmen's boots, kicked off in haste as they abandoned ship, were found on the deck. Fresh firewood was still in the boiler, and cooking pots and other utensils were scattered about. Axes lay on deck where the men, in a last-ditch effort, had tried to cut away the boat they'd been towing. (Related pictures: "Blackbeard Pirate Relics, Gold Found.")But once water started sloshing over the iron steamship's deck, "this thing went down like a submarine," Pollack said. Three of the men drowned.Finding such a well-preserved wreck is unprecedented in the Yukon, Pollack added. "This is about as good as it gets."

--Christine Dell'Amore
—Photograph courtesy Donnie Reid

Austfonna Ice Cap Melts During The Arctic Summer

2009-11-07T16:41:00.001+08:00

In his 1997 book Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, author Richard Noone predicted that on May 5, 2000, the planets would perfectly align--and end life as we know it by sending melting ice (above, the Austfonna ice cap melts during the Arctic summer) barreling toward Earth's Equator.Noone argued in the book that Earth's previous axis shifts had coincided with tremendous climatic changes--such as ice ages--and that such "almost unimaginable results" would happen again.No such calamity occurred, and many scientists are now concerned about ice for another reason: Warming temperatures are gradually causing the world's frozen regions to melt away.

—Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic Stock

Plant Phallus

2009-10-11T00:54:00.001+08:00

An image of the mustard plant's male reproductive organ, enlarged 20 times under a microscope, took top honors in the 2009 Small World Photomicrography Competition, announced October 8. (See last year's winners.)

Arabidopsis thaliana is the first plant to have its genome fully sequenced and is commonly used as a model in scientific research.

But it was the unusually artistic appearance of the winning shot that inspired photomicrographer and plant biologist Heiti Paves, of the Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia, to enter it into the 35-year-old competition, she said in a statement.

Sponsored by Nikon, the annual contest showcases "the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope."

--John Roach

—Photograph by Dr. Heiti Paves, courtesy Nikon Small World

Great White Egret, Florida

2009-07-05T20:54:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Sara Lopez

This great white egret had been standing still for what seemed like an eternity before it finally plunged at its prey. The next couple of frames show it with its trophy bait fish. Shot at J. N. "Ding" Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida.

Caribou Traps in Great Lake

2009-06-10T22:35:00.002+08:00

Photograph by George F. Mobley/NGS

Caribou cross Alaska's Brooks Range on their annual spring migration in an undated picture. New discoveries on the lake bed of North America's Lake Huron suggest massive caribou hunting took place in that more southerly region some 10,000 years ago, a June 2009 study says.

Asperatus Cloud

2009-06-06T21:51:00.002+08:00

Photograph courtesy Merrick Davies

An "asperatus" cloud rolls over New Zealand's South Island in an undated picture.

This apparently new class of clouds is still a mystery. But experts suspect asperatus clouds' choppy undersides may be due to strong winds disturbing previously stable layers of warm and cold air.

Asperatus clouds may spur the first new classification in the World Meteorological Organization's International Cloud Atlas since the 1950s, Gavin Pretor-Pinney said.

Since the last addition to the atlas, the emergence of satellite imagery has pushed meteorologists to take a much broader view on weather and focus less on small-scale cloud formations.

But "the tide is turning back again," in part because the humble cloud is seen as a "wild card" in climate-change prediction, Pretor-Pinney said.

LeMone agreed that clouds are a "big unknown" in climate change, mostly because climate-change models do not provide a high-enough resolution to determine what clouds' impacts will be on a changing world.

Colosseum, Italy

2009-06-04T01:24:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Douglas Wylie

He got this shot while traveling through Italy in December and his wife spotted the puddles in the ground and suggested they would make a great reflection.

Iceberg Melts Off Ammassalik Island (Greenland)

2009-06-02T21:11:00.003+08:00

Photograph by John McConnico/AP

Major cities in the northeastern U.S. and Canada "are directly in the path of the greatest rise" in sea level if Greenland glaciers continue to melt due to global warming, a new study says. Above, an iceberg melts off Ammassalik Island in eastern Greenland on July 19, 2007.

Tahina Palm: The Suicide Tree

2009-05-31T01:48:00.003+08:00

Photograph courtesy John Dransfield

When this new species of gigantic tree on Madagascar blossoms, its flowers and fruits may as well form a funeral bouquet: Betting its line's survival on one season's worth of seeds, the Tahina spectabilis palm blossoms only once, then dies.

The self-destructing palm is one of an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 new species discovered annually. Of these, scientists from around the world--working with International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and using undisclosed criteria--name the "top ten" each year.

"We know so few of the species on Earth," said the institute's founding director Quentin Wheeler. "Life is probably the biggest and most complex scientific story we'll ever explore."

--Mark Anderson

Extreme Ice Survey

2009-05-31T00:54:00.002+08:00

Photograph by James Balog

Art meets science in photographer James Balog's Extreme Ice Survey. The project, begun in December 2006, will attempt to capture global warming in the act using 26 solar-powered cameras taking time-lapse photographs of glaciers in Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, the Alps, and the Rocky Mountains. Balog hopes the ambitious effort, which will produce more than 300,000 images over the course of two years, "radically alters public perception of the global warming issue." Here, a large, glistening iceberg calved from the Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland drifts through Disko Bay on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Source : National Geographic

Taposiris Magna Temple (Abusir, Egypt)

2009-04-22T07:48:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Amr Nabil/AP

The ruins of the Taposiris Magna temple in what is now Abusir, Egypt, tower over an SUV convoy on April 19, 2009.

The site may be home to the tomb of doomed lovers Antony and Cleopatra, archaeologists announced the same day.

"This could be an important discovery," Egyptian archaeology official Zahi Hawass told National Geographic News in 2008, when some of the first evidence was uncovered, "bigger than that of King Tutankhamun's tomb."

Source : National Geographic

Ancient Roman Life Preserved at Pompeii

2009-04-10T00:21:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

When Mount Vesuvius erupted cataclysmically in the summer of A.D. 79, the nearby Roman town of Pompeii was buried under several feet of ash and rock. The ruined city remained frozen in time until it was discovered by a surveying engineer in 1748. As archaeologists excavated the site, they found it was strewn with air pockets where victims' bodies had decomposed within the hardened volcanic debris. By filling these hollows with plaster, they were able to create casts, such as the one shown here, that reveal with remarkable detail the suffering of Pompeii's citizens in their last moments.

Source : National Geographic

Lost Cities

2009-04-08T01:37:00.002+08:00

Photograph by James Blair

The ancient city of Persepolis in modern-day Iran was one of four capitals of the sprawling Persian Empire. Built beginning around 520 B.C., the city was a showcase for the empire's staggering wealth, with grand architecture, extravagant works of silver and gold, and extensive relief sculptures such as this one portraying envoys with offerings for the king.

The height of Persian rule lasted from about 550 B.C. until 330 B.C., when Alexander the Great overthrew the ruling Archaemenid dynasty and burned Persepolis to the ground.

Giant Hand Photographed

2009-04-08T01:23:00.004+08:00

Image courtesy NASA/CXC/CfA/P. Slane et al.

A new x-ray image has revealed an unusual hand-shaped nebula that brings a whole new meaning to the expression "reach for the stars."

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory recently snapped this shot of energetic particles streaming from a pulsar—the rapidly rotating core left behind after a very massive star exploded as a supernova.

Known as B1509, the pulsar is thought to be about 1,700 years old and lies roughly 17,000 light-years from Earth.

The tiny pulsar is just 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) wide. But it is spinning so fast—it makes a complete rotation about every seven seconds—that the particles it spews have created a nebula spanning 150 light-years.

The pulsar's rapid rotation likely helped create the nebula's odd shape. Its finger-like pillars appear to be transferring energy to a nearby gas cloud, which glows orange and red in x-rays.

Victoria Jaggard

Vernal Equinox 2009: Facts on the First Day of Spring

2009-03-23T02:13:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Jaime Puebla/AP

People raise their hands, some holding torches, to catch the first sunlight at the Teotihuacán Archaeological Site in Mexico City on the vernal equinox (or spring equinox) in 2004. The vernal equinox in 2009 falls on Friday, March 20.

Debelius' Pygmy Seahorse

2009-02-10T01:48:00.001+08:00

Photograph courtesy of Kai Walz

One of five newly discovered seahorses, Debelius' pygmy seahorse was named after Helmut Debelius, the underwater photographer who led a successful campaign to track down this miniature Red Sea inhabitant.

After initial sightings in 1993, it took over a decade to find the specimens described in a January 2009 study.

"This is a great honor for me," Debelius said.

Despite having several other marine creatures named after him, Debelius confessed he was excited to have a "son" in the seahorse family.

Rafah, Gaza Strip

2009-01-21T22:49:00.003+08:00

Photograph by Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Image

With a mosque's minarets standing in silhouette, an Israeli missile ignites an unwelcome "sunrise" in this southern Gaza Strip town in Wednesday's predawn hours.

Rafah's location on the Egyptian border makes it a chief supply route for Gaza--and a key target in the current Israel-Gaza conflict.

On Thursday Gaza's Hamas rulers told Egypt that they would agree to a cease fire if certain conditions are met, such as keeping border crossings open, the Reuters news agency reported.

Aerial View of Well Holding Rains

2008-12-31T20:35:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Michael Nichols

Like petals on a flower, wells fan out from a central point in Chad’s Zakouma National Park. The wells hold water from the life-giving heavy rains that start every year in May, ending months of drought in central Africa.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Zakouma: Eye to Eye," March 2007, National Geographic magazine)

Insect

2008-12-07T19:38:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Emmanuel Boitier

French insect expert Emmanuel Boitier came across this cicada at night, newly hatched and coming to life under a leaf. The insect was found in a forest on Espiritu Santo, the 1,548-square-mile (4,010-square-kilometer) island in Vanuatu where the Santo 2006 expedition took place. After a few hours, as the young insects dry off, their salmon color usually changes to brown or green.

Oceans Ten Times More Acidic Than Thought

2008-12-01T21:37:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Micheal E. Long/NGS

Oceans are becoming more acidic ten times faster than previously predicted, throwing some marine ecosystems off-balance, a November 2008 study shows.

Niagara Falls

2008-11-05T16:14:00.001+08:00

Panoramic Stock Images

Some 12 million tourists come every year to see the mighty Niagara Falls. Located on the Niagara River on the border between New York and Ontario, Canada, this famed cataract comprises three separate falls: Horseshoe, American, and Bridal Veil.

Best Wild Animal Photos of 2008 Announced

2008-11-05T16:06:00.001+08:00

Photograph by David Maitland/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

An aptly named winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, "Deadlock" was captured in the dead of night in a Belizean rain forest.

U.K.-based David Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake--and still didn't see the conclusion.

"I would love to have seen them go their separate ways, but I was exhausted," the photographer said. "The frog was all the time trying to pull the snake off, but the snake just wouldn't let go.

"This frog is actually incredibly rare, which lends to the bizarre nature of the whole encounter," he said.

Gamma Ray Telescope Finds First "Invisible" Pulsar

2008-10-21T06:57:00.000+08:00

Image courtesy NASA

Charged particles move along the magnetic field lines (blue) of a pulsar a type of rapidly spinning neutron star left behind when a massive star goes supernova in an animation still. Pulsars emit beams of radiation (purple) from their magnetic poles that sweep across Earth as the star spins. In October 2008 scientists announced they found the first pulsar based only on high-energy gamma rays in a supernova remnant 4,600 light-years away.

Independence Monument

2008-10-21T06:52:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Adrees Latif/Reuters

Traffic passes a candlelight campaign party in front of the Independence Monument in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. "Government indifference" has earned the colonial city the second worst rating in National Geographic's 2008 "Places Rated" Destination Stewardship survey.

Wales

2008-09-25T17:06:00.001+08:00

Jim Richardson

Seen from a rocky hilltop, low cliffs frame Whitesands Beach on the West Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Situated west of England on the island of Great Britain, Wales has 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) of coastline along the Irish Sea, a mountainous interior, and breathtaking pastoral beauty. Comparable in size to Massachusetts, Wales is a regionally diverse land rich in Celtic history.

Hurricane Ike Flattens Texas Towns

2008-09-22T21:48:00.001+08:00

Photographs courtesy USGS

Gentle waves lap the shore near beach houses (top) on Texas' Bolivar Peninsula on September 9, 2008—just a few days before Hurricane Ike rolled into Galveston Bay.

An aerial photo of the same shoreline taken by the U.S. Geological Survey on September 15 (bottom) illustrates the dramatic destruction the strong Category 2 storm wrought on the coastal community. Yellow arrows mark the same distinguishing features in both images.

Unprotected by a seawall like the one built on nearby Galveston Island, homes along Bolivar's edge were among the hardest hit by Ike's massive 10- to 15-foot (3- to 4.6-meter) storm surge.

The catastrophic scene has many state officials reconsidering the risks of coastal development in the area's low-lying beach towns. (See a map of the Houston-Galveston coast.)

"We now have a graphic example of why you should build as far away from the dunes as possible," Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson told the Houston Chronicle during a post-storm flyover of the region.

2008-09-22T21:45:00.001+08:00

llustration courtesy Jacques Rougerie

A proposed underwater museum (illustrated above) in Alexandria, Egypt, came closer to reality in September 2008, when the UN established a committee to aid the design process with the Egyptian government. Fiberglass tunnels would connect aboveground galleries, near the New Library of Alexandria, to the underwater facility, where antiquities would be visible in their natural resting places at the site of Cleopatra's now sunken palace. Evoking sails of Nile feluccas (photo) and the cardinal directions, the glassy, towering "four points [at center] will be like the [long-gone] Lighthouse of Alexandria that illuminated the [ancient] library and the world," said Jacques Rougerie, lead architect for the feasibility study. "I want to do the same thing with this museum."

Alaska

2008-09-20T17:59:00.001+08:00

George F. Mobley

Snug outpost, Old Harbor population 298 nestles beneath sheltering peaks. On Kodiak [Island] nearly everyone fishes, including the island's huge brown bears, which roam a renowned wildlife refuge.

Horse Fight

2008-09-20T17:53:00.001+08:00

Photograph by China Daily/Reuters

Spectators look on as two horses fight during a competition marking Zhongqiu Jie, or the Mid-Autumn festival.

The harvest festival is traditionally celebrated in rural villages with rest, entertainment, and squaring debts, according to United Press International.

The Chinese government made the harvest festival a three day holiday for the first time this year as part of a shift from three week-long breaks to more breaks of shorter duration throughout the year.

Jellyfish

2008-09-20T17:16:00.003+08:00

A comb jelly trips the light fantastic as it pulses off Heron Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef complex. The creature, which lacks the stingers of jellyfish, was among thousands of species studied at three coral reef sites two of them along the Great Barrier during a four-year survey led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The survey team announced today that it has discovered hundreds of animals new to science, including previously unknown microscopic shrimp, worms, scavenging crustaceans and as many as 150 new species of soft corals. The reef expeditions were done as part of the Census of Marine Life, a global ten-year initiative to assess the diversity, distribution, and abundance of creatures in the world's oceans.

Hubble Space Telescope

2008-09-18T06:02:00.001+08:00

Photograph courtesy NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to free astronomers of a limitation that has plagued them since the days of Galileo—Earth's atmosphere. Shifting air pockets in the atmosphere block and distort light, limiting the view from even the most powerful Earth-bound instruments.

Orbital telescopes function as eyes in the sky that allow astronomers to peer farther into the universe and see the cosmos more clearly.

Scientists began dreaming of such a telescope in the 1940s, but it took more than four decades for those dreams to become reality with the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope's original October 1986 launch was scrapped after the loss of the space shuttle Challenger.

When the telescope finally became operational in 1990, it began to return unprecedented but flawed images. Its images were superior to those of Earth-bound instruments but slightly blurred due to an optical problem.

Stonehenge Partiers Came From Afar

2008-09-18T05:48:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Kenneth Geiger/NGS

Prehistoric cattle remains found close to Stonehenge (above) suggest partying pilgrims brought the animals from afar, scientists reported in September 2008.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

2008-09-18T05:40:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Frans Lanting

An alluvial fan spreads across Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska.

Antelope Canyon

2008-09-16T03:19:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Paul Nicklen

Sunlight sneaks through a crevice in Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.

Snow and Ice

2008-09-16T03:15:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Maria Stenzel

Air pockets are frozen in place in Lake Bonney in Victoria Land, Antarctica.

Mount Everest

2008-09-16T03:12:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Barry C. Bishop

Not many people have had the opportunity to look down on the peaks of the Himalaya, but this 1963 picture from photographer Barry Bishop gave proof that Americans had finally reached the summit of Mount Everest. Bishop's teammates became the first Americans to summit Everest on May 1, 1963.

Ladybug

2008-09-15T01:58:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Raul Touzon

Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. But farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed. By the end of its three-to-six-week life, a ladybug may eat some 5,000 aphids.

Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles. There are about 5,000 different species of these insects, and not all of them have the same appetites. A few ladybugs prey not on plant-eaters but on plants. The Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle are destructive pests that prey upon the crops mentioned in their names.

Ladybugs appear as half-spheres, tiny, spotted, round or oval-shaped domes. They have short legs and antennae. Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.

Irish Landscapes

2008-09-15T01:54:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Sam Abell

Rugged as the people who settled here more than 3,000 years ago, the sea-chiseled limestone bluffs of Inishmore rise 300 feet above the Atlantic. Inland, hundreds of miles of stone walls ring thin-soiled fields where islanders toil in a land known for ciúnas gan uaigneas, Gaelic for 'quietness without loneliness.

Phantom Fighters

2008-09-15T01:50:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Lee Jin-man/AP

The South Korean Air Force puts one of its F-4E Phantom fighters on ice to test its performance under extreme weather conditions. Scientists at the Agency for Defense Development unveiled a new testing center where planes will be pitted against simulated snow and ice, bombarded with electromagnetic waves, and stewed in high humidity. Tanks, guided weapons, and marine combat systems will also be tested in extreme conditions at the U.S. $91-million state-owned facility.

Mount Vesuvius

2008-09-12T18:01:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Robert Clark/NGS

Mount Vesuvius looms over Italian cities at sunrise in this undated photo. A September 2008 study says Vesuvius's magma pool is rising, which may mean less-intense eruptions.

Mysterious Explosion Caused Massive Star to Brighten

2008-09-12T17:52:00.001+08:00

Photograph courtesy NASA

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the massive star Eta Carinae shows two large bubbles of gas expanding in opposite directions from its bright central region.

The star's sudden brightening in 1843 was caused by a mysterious explosion of a type never before identified—not stellar winds as previously thought, experts said in September 2008.

Canyon

2008-09-12T17:45:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Barry Tessman

The red of cactus blooms pops in a Grand Canyon valley. Cut by the Colorado River over millions of years, the Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world. The immense canyon is 277 miles (446 kilometers) long and averages 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) deep, but it is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) across at its widest.

Bhutan

2008-09-07T22:43:00.001+08:00

James L. Stanfield

Once forbidden to outsiders, a glimpse of the Himalaya in Bhutan is as tantalizing as the sighting of a rare and beautiful bird. This mountain is Jhomolhari, at 23,996 feet [7,314 meters] Bhutan's second highest peak. In the foreground a fortress built to repel Tibetan invaders crumbles to the ground. After a thousand years of solitude, the hermit kingdom is trekking over steep ground to reach the modern world. Its gentle pace, for better or worse, is a choice made long ago.

Elephant Rock.

2008-09-05T01:44:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Reza

Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula and is the largest country in area in the Middle East—but 95 percent of the land is desert. Mountains running parallel to the Red Sea slope down to plains along the Persian Gulf (called Arabian Gulf by Arab states). Below the arid landscape, oil has made this desert kingdom one of the wealthiest nations in the world.The ancient Nabataean city of Madain Salih houses monumental stone tombs and impressive natural formations like Elephant Rock.

Basalt Stepping Stones

2008-09-04T00:22:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Jim Richardson

Stepping stones into the sea these wonderful basaltic columns of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland formed from volcanic activity some 50 million to 60 million years ago. Moreover, rock formed from molten matter is known as igneous and geologists classify igneous rock by its texture. You would need a microscope to see the grains in the 40,000-some basalt columns that form the Giant's Causeway. It is so beautiful because of the rock in the round shape.

Mount Etna

2008-09-03T23:55:00.001+08:00

Photograph by Carsten Peter

Italy's Mount Etna provides a vivid image of one of the birthplaces of igneous rock during a night eruption. Igneous rock forms when magma cools and solidifies. (Lava is magma that has reached the Earth's surface.) Etna also shows off the etymology of igneous, from the Latin word for fire.

Managaha Island

2008-09-02T23:44:00.002+08:00

Photograph by Paul Chesley/NGS

An aerial photograph shows a small isle near Saipan, the largest island and capital of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Pre-Inca Mask

2008-08-31T02:25:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Karel Navarro/AP

A mask adorned with striking blue eyes covered the face of one of three 1,300-year-old Wari mummies recently excavated from a pyramid in Peru's capital city. The remains of a sacrificed child were also found with the mummy bundles. Child sacrifices were common among the Wari, a pre-Incan people that flourished in Peru from about A.D. 600 to 1000.

Largest Squid

2008-08-29T15:33:00.000+08:00

Photograph from New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries via Getty Images

Fishers haul up an accidentally caught colossal squid off Antarctica on February 22, 2007. The biggest squid ever caught, the giant female was dissected at a New Zealand museum in April 2008. In August 2008 a scientist involved in the examination announced that the squid was far from a sea monster, but rather a lethargic "blob" filled with "many, many thousands of eggs."

Land of the Living Wind

2008-08-28T01:01:00.000+08:00

Peter Essick

Sunset casts a rosy glow over granite peaks encircling a glacial lake in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Chile's prized jewel, the 598,000-acre (242,000-hectare) national park is a mosaic of landforms including soaring mountains, golden pampas, and grinding ice fields.

Djibouti

2008-08-26T16:32:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Carsten Peter

The moon rises over Djibouti's travertine (calcium carbonate) chimneys, which were created by deposits from hot springs. The features are found near the large, salty Lake Abbe.

Brachychampsa Montana

2008-08-25T15:02:00.000+08:00

This freshwater, carnivorous reptile is among the very earliest alligatoroids known to science. The first Brachychampsa fossil was discovered in Montana's Hell Creek Formation—an ancient suite of rocks that was laid down near the end of the Cretaceous period. That individual animal lived not so long before the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction that wiped out many of Earth's species some 65 million years ago. Brachychampsa had short teeth and a large mouth that packed more power than those of living gators. These oral characteristics suggest that Brachychampsa may have preyed on turtles, which were very common in the Hell Creek fauna. The first alligator ancestors evolved some 245 million years ago. About 80 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, crocodilians appeared. This group includes alligatoroids, such as Brachychampsa, as well as their close relatives the crocodiles and caimans.

Sphinx of Giza

2008-08-23T19:16:00.000+08:00

B. Anthony Stewart

The Great Sphinx of Giza has seen visitors come and go for some 4,600 years. The sculpture may have been created by the pharaoh Khafre, whose pyramid looms over the sphinx’s shoulder.

Ritual Dance

2008-08-23T19:01:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Vassil Donev/EPA

In Bulgaria, hundreds of members from Universal White Brotherhood (upper right) perform a ritual dance some 80 miles (130 kilometers) at the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. The group gathers every year in Rila, where it performs the nearly 80-year-old dance called Panevritmia.

Mars Lava

2008-08-21T18:38:00.000+08:00

Image by NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Mars's Cerberus Fossae system of fissures, seen in an image released on August 13, 2008, may have produced ancient water and lava floods on the Martian surface. The last of these eruptions consisted of liquid basaltic lava—not unlike that on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano—indicated by the artificial blue coloration above. The trench floor's rippling pattern suggests a sea of fine, windblown fragments. The surrounding mesa is also eroded, but its overhanging top layer appears extremely weather resistant.

Asia Floods

2008-08-21T14:58:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Reuters

A man pulls his boat through floodwaters at the Xiengkuane Buddha Park, about 16 miles (25 kilometers) east of the Laotian capital. Heavy rains throughout the region caused water levels to rise in the Mekong River, which flows through Laos, to a peak of 45 feet (13.7 meters) last week—the highest recorded levels in at least a hundred years. Annual flooding of the Mekong is crucial to rice farming and fishing in some regions along its path, but months of unusually heavy rains have caused deadly landslides and spurred evacuations.

Ancient Pagan Temple Found in Israel

2008-08-19T15:35:00.000+08:00

Photograph courtesy Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Ruins of a pagan temple (above) from the second century A.D. have been unearthed in the heart of a Jewish capital that existed during Israel's Roman period, archaeologists announced.Although pagan artifacts have been found in the region before, the temple represents the first significant structural evidence of a pagan settlement.

Soil

2008-08-19T15:24:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Jim Richardson

Farmers from all over the state gather around the enormous machines. Combines, balers, rippers, cultivators, diskers, tractors of every variety and all can be found at the annual Wisconsin Farm Technology Days show. This place is very beautiful and can breathe the fresh air.

Comoros

2008-08-17T00:39:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Jean du Boisberranger/Getty Images

The Comoros, sometimes called the "perfume islands," lie between northern Madagascar and Africa. Njazidja's Arab-African population frequents the waterside Friday Mosque. The Comoros are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar and Africa. The people share African-Arab origins. In 1975 three of the so-called perfume islands voted for independence from France; the fourth, Mayotte, elected to remain a dependency. Some 18 coups, or attempted coups, since independence have created great instability. In 1997 the islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared independence, but a new federal constitution in 2001 brought the islands back together. Most inhabitants make their living from subsistence agriculture or fishing; exports include vanilla and essences used in the manufacture of perfumes.

Salmon Fish

2008-08-17T00:34:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Lucas Jackson /Reuters

Thousands of pink salmon make their way upstream to spawn. Preliminary data through August 1 indicate just under 23 million pink salmon have been caught this season, which extends into mid-September. The forecast is for 61.5 million pinks. Ocean conditions appear to be making the overall Alaskan salmon fishery a disappointment this year.

Tarantula Nebula

2008-08-15T17:40:00.000+08:00

Image by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The Hubble Space Telescope provided this glimpse inside the Tarantula nebula which is a dynamic celestial nursery. In this stunning region, some 170,000 light-years away, dramatic processes of star birth and renewal unfold. Swirling, towering concentrations of dark dust and glowing gasses are spotlighted by ultraviolet radiation. The nebula's scale is enormous. The seahorse-shaped pillar at lower right is some 20 light years tall about four times the distance from our sun to Alpha Centauri, the closest star outside our solar system.

Primates Newly Listed as Critically Endangered

2008-08-15T17:38:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Nicole Duplaix/NGS

Numbers of the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) which like all lemur species is found only on the African island of Madagascar have dwindled as a result of predation and habitat loss.

Scorpion

2008-08-14T18:01:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Carsten Peter

Scorpions are members of the class Arachnida and are closely related to spiders, mites, and ticks. They are commonly thought of as desert dwellers, but they also live in Brazilian forests, British Columbia, North Carolina, and even the Himalayas. These hardy, adaptable insects have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and they are nothing if not survivors.There are almost 2,000 scorpion species, but only 30 or 40 have strong enough poison to kill a person. The many types of venom are effectively tailored to their users' lifestyles, however, and are highly selected for effectiveness against that species' chosen prey.

Mysterious Jellyfish Swarms

2008-08-14T17:56:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Sami Sarkis/Getty Images

Reports from the U.S. and Europe of dramatic increases in jellyfish like those seen above in the Mediterranean Sea that highlight a lack of knowledge about the stinging creatures, scientists said in August 2008.Surges in jellyfish populations can wreak havoc on ecosystems but experts agree there is not enough data to say if the recently reported swarms are part of a long-term trend.

Famous Stone Arch Collapses in Utah

2008-08-14T17:49:00.001+08:00

Photographs from AP/National Park Service

Erosion which is the same force that largely formed the park's arches and gravity are the most likely culprits for the destruction of Wall Arch sometime. Wall Arch that shown at top in an undated photo and below on August 5, 2008 was more than three stories tall and spanned 71 feet (22 meters).

The Mascots of the 2008 Summer Games

2008-08-13T19:33:00.000+08:00

source photo by david

The first mascot is called "BeiBei". She represents a fish and water, which in Chinese culture meaning you would have prosperity and a good harvest. BeiBei is good at water sports (for obvious reasons) like swimming and water polo. Next is "JingJing." He is a panda and is a very popular and protected animal. The lotus design on headdress is based on that of ancient Chinese paintings. JingJing excels in sports that require strength (i.e., the hammer throw and javelin) because he is very strong. "HuanHuan" is the Olympic Flame, big brother to the rest of the mascots, and the driving force of the Olympic Mascots and the Torch Relay. He is good at ball sports like baseball and handball. "YingYing" is a Tibetan Antelope, one of the first protected animals in China. He is speedy and enjoys track and field events. "NiNi" is a swallow. Traditionally, swallows have been very popular in China for artistic designs. People like to fly kites in the shape of swallows. She is known for her skill in acrobatics. Put together, the mascots' names are: "Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni" which means: "Beijing welcomes you!"

2,500-Year-Old Greek Ship Raised off Sicilian Coast

2008-08-13T19:31:00.000+08:00

Photograph from EPA/HO

Remains of a 2,500-year-old Greek ship are recovered off Sicily, Italy, on July 28, 2008.At a length of nearly 70 feet (21 meters) and a width of 21 feet (6.5 meters), it is the largest recovered ship built in a manner first depicted in Homer's Iliad, which is believed to date back several centuries earlier.The wreckage will now be sent to Portsmouth, U.K., to be restored before it returns to the Sicilian town of Gela, where officials hope to display it in a planned new sea museum.

Miami: Ocean Drive in South Beach

2008-08-12T02:22:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Andy Caulfield/Getty

Ocean Drive in South Beach comes alive at dusk when the art deco hotels glow with colored lights.

Meteor Shower

2008-08-12T02:13:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Ali Jarekji/Reuters

Meteors streak past stars over a Bedouin tent near Amman, Jordan, in the early hours of August 12, 2004.The annual Perseid meteor shower, which will peak between August 11 and 12 in 2008, is created as Earth plows through a stream of dust and small rocks trailed by the comet 109P Swift-Tuttle.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

2008-08-10T00:41:00.000+08:00

source : www.wikipedia.com

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply The Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) after the cathedral and the baptistry.

Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower presently leans to the southwest.

The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.

Olympic Torch Ceremony

2008-08-10T00:30:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images

This is happened at Badalingzhen, China on 7 August 2008 in a haze-shrouded section of the Great Wall and volunteers perform an Olympic torch ceremony on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Hot Crane

2008-08-09T00:28:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Hasan Jamali/AP

A black-crowned crane catches a drip of water from an air conditioning unit on an idling bus at the Al-Areen Wildlife Park.

Tiger

2008-08-09T00:19:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Sascha Radke/DAVIDS/WireImage/Getty Images

Antares which is a six-week-old Siberian tiger cub will takes his first steps at Tierpark Berlin. He's the 121st tiger born at the zoo. Antares could reach 10.75 feet (3.3 meters) and weigh 660 pounds (300 kilograms) when grown.

Mars Water Discovered, "Tasted" by Lander

2008-08-06T01:46:00.000+08:00

Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University

This partial is approximately a true color view of a full circle panorama shows NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander and the ground at the landing area. NASA announced on July 31, 2008 that the craft had touched and analyzed liquid water on Mars which is a feat never before accomplished outside of Earth.

Solar Eclipses

2008-08-02T14:30:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Vadim Ghirda/AP

Photograph by David Gray/Reuters

Photograph by Jorge Silva/Reuters

Photograph by Gavin Stapleton/AP

The sun's usually unseen outer atmosphere which is the corona that blazes in the South African sky during a total solar eclipse on December 4, 2002 but on Friday, 31 July 2008 it comes again that visible from a narrow arc spanning the Northern Hemisphere. It have been seen including northeastern North America along with most of Europe and Asia. People that can see this solar eclipses enjoy to see this from their place.

Swimming Ponies

2008-08-02T14:19:00.000+08:00

Photograph by Jay Diem/Salisbury Daily Times/AP

This is happened at Chincoteague, Virginia that wild ponies swim across Assateague Channel during an annual pony swim and auction. Moreover, about 150 of the animals will swim about three minutes to Chincoteague Island, Virginia and this happened each year.

Megafishes

2008-07-30T01:19:00.000+08:00

Photograph courtesy Zeb Hogan

This fish is bigger than the human. This is an adult of Arapaima fish in the aquarium in Manaus, Brazil. It is known as pirarucu in Brazil and the paiche in Peru and this South America giant is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Some of the fish can reach lengths of more than 10 feet (3 meters) and weigh upward of 400 pounds (180 kilograms).