Cordillera BlancaFins of stone and fields of snow surround Parón glacier in western Peru.
Rio NegroThis tributary of the Amazon reflects sky and clouds beside a cemetery dug into its bank.
Lago Ypoa National ParkAfter grazing, these Brahma cattle thread through the rain-loosened Paraguayan marsh back to corral.
Historic StrollIn 1984, Bruce McCandless II became the first person to walk untethered in space. His jet-pack-powered stroll near the shuttle Challenger was one milestone in humanity's journey into space—an adventure that began 50 years ago this month.
PacayaDawn reveals the smoldering fury of Pacaya, one of Guatemala's most active volcanoes.
Boca Del DrangoFeeding in shallows off the Panamanian coast, these starfish sailed ashore on the translucent tides.
Arctic OceanLooking like a rack of blown-glass vases, inch-long swimming bells of a siphonophore—a jellyfish relative called Marrus orthocanna—hang from a tubular stem that delivers nutrients to the bells.
Nearing the EndDiscovery embarked last December on its 33rd mission; the three shuttles are slated to be decommissioned by the end of 2010. Next up from NASA: a new generation of rockets and vehicles—dubbed Ares and Orion—designed to carry astronauts back to the moon, and from there, perhaps, to Mars.
Pirate's ParadiseA pongpong chugs up an obscure canal on Tanjung Batu, an island off Sumatra. These waters, near the Strait of Malacca, have long been a pirate's paradise.
Lighthouse ReefDark lens on inner space, a sinkhole in Belize's Blue Hole Natural Monument plunges 410 feet (125 meters).
IndiaThe blue walls of Jodhpur traditionally marked homes occupied by high-caste Brahmans. The rooftop langurs, believed by Hindus to be avatars of the monkey god Hanuman, freely roam the city.
Suit-Able for Deep SpaceDesigned to withstand temperatures ranging from 240°F above zero (115°C) to 240°F below (-151°C), the Mark III space suit undergoes testing in the Johnson Space Center's lunar yard. With its rear-mounted life-support system attached, the suit weighs a ponderous 300 pounds (136 kilograms). This weight melts away in weakened gravity, however, and astronauts somersault and hand-walk with underwater ease.
Food or Fuel?A field of corn awaits harvest in Mexico, where cornmeal is a dietary staple. Rising demand for corn ethanol and speculation by large producers drove up prices for both yellow and white corn last year, causing tortilla prices to more than double in some parts of Mexico and setting off angry protests.
Yucatán PeninsulaA shifting flock of flamingos assumes a whimsical shape in the Gulf of Mexico.
South DakotaErupting into a flapping liftoff frenzy when menaced by hawks overhead, nearly a thousand mallards—flashy males and subtler females—congregated on this Tuthill pond last winter.
