Blue HavenIn Svalbard, Norway, a kittiwake glides over an iceberg's jagged maw. Fragments of glaciers and ice shelves, bergs are floating oases for birds, seals, and other wildlife.
Cosmic Flourish
Nameless, But Not Forgotten
Seeing Double
Exotic Ornament
Celebration of the Living and the Lost
Tight Grip
Cosmic FlourishComet McNaught exuberantly trumps the New Zealand town of Ashburton's electric glow. Discovered by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught in 2006, the comet put on the brightest show of its kind in 40 years.
Nameless, But Not ForgottenThe Tomb of the Unknowns honors three anonymous service members—from World Wars I and II and the Korean War. Bearing no names, the tomb speaks of a communal debt to the many whose ultimate sacrifice helped make a nation one.
Seeing DoubleIts image mirrored in icy water, a polar bear travels submerged—a tactic often used to surprise prey. Scientists fear global warming could drive bears to extinction sometime this century.
Exotic OrnamentNative to tropical Asia and Australia, Hoya subquintuplinervis—the wax plant—is a popular houseplant and garden ornament, with its scented five-petal flower clusters. Others in what Linnaeus called the Pentandria class—plants with five stamens—include Lycopersicon (tomato), Daucus (carrot), and Nicotiana (tobacco).
Celebration of the Living and the LostFourth of July fireworks cascade over the nation's capital, reverberating across the river to Arlington. Soldiers from every American war, including the Revolutionary War, have been buried here, some reinterred at Arlington after the cemetery first began operations.
Tight GripSpix's disk-winged bats, Thyroptera tricolor, have suction cups that enable them to grip the inside of a smooth furled leaf and scuttle in and out of its protective confines.
