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islands

On Antarctica's Vega Island, a Grinning Skull Is the Face of Climate Change

Satellite imagery recently captured a dramatic view of shrinking glaciers and snow cover on the remote island.
Gemma Tarlach April 12, 2023
In the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles archipelago, this aerial shot from April 2015 shows sargassum seaweed creeping toward a beach on Grande-Terre, which is part of the island of Guadeloupe, one of France's overseas <em>départements</em>.
beach

10 Photos of Seaweed Blobs That Will Blow Your Mind

As a supersized sargassum bloom heads toward Florida and the Caribbean, we take a closer look at past big blobs.
Sarah Durn April 5, 2023
In an undated photo, American artist Keith Haring works on the colorful carousel he designed for the original 1987 Luna Luna. The carousel features three-dimensional characters based on the line-drawn figures he became famous for.
amusement parks

The Once and Future Luna Luna Art Amusement Park

Basquiat’s Ferris wheel, Dalí’s fun house, and other wild and whimsical designs are now being restored thanks in part to rap superstar Drake.
Sarah Durn December 5, 2023
Coleman's shrimp (<em>Periclimenes colemani</em>) like these live on fire sea urchins. The shrimp are usually found in male/female pairs, where females are the larger of the two, and perch on sea urchins where they feed on plankton, algae, and parasites.
underwater

How the Best Underwater Photography Reveals a World of Wonder

Welcome to the home of pink coral-scapes and fluorescent lizardfish.
Sarah Durn March 23, 2023
Photographer Aakash Selvan used a drone to to capture this "Floating Islands" image of living <em>phumdis</em> on northeastern India's Loktak Lake.
islands

Can Loktak Lake's Wondrous Floating Islands Bounce Back?

A photographer's drone's-eye image of the famous phumdis of northeastern India shows a unique environment undergoing change.
Gemma Tarlach January 31, 2023
Nicknamed Nalangu, this leopard had just finished feeding her cub when she took a moment to stretch at the bottom of a river bed. Leopards can prove especially challenging to photograph because they're mostly active at night.
nature

Kenya’s Maasai Mara Wildlife Reserve Is a Photographer’s Playground

At least while the lions behave.
Sarah Durn February 6, 2023
A devil mask rests on a table inside the workshop of the Minga Tunguipamba, a collective of rural performers, as dancers put the finishing touches on their masks and costumes ahead of the Diablada de Píllaro. The artists spend weeks and sometimes months creating and personalizing their masks. Many utilize horns, teeth, and furs from animals such as deer, boars, and llamas.
festivals

Every January, This City in Ecuador Fills With Dancing Devils

Diablada de Píllaro is a rebellious but festive answer to a much older tradition begun by Spanish colonizers.
Sarah Durn January 13, 2023
A local version of a colonial tradition, the Winneba Fancy Dress Festival rings in the new year in Ghana.
festivals

In Ghana, the New Year Starts With a Fancy Dress Masquerade

Once a colonial tradition, a creative festival has been elevated to new heights.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing January 11, 2023
With ice as the medium, wind, water, and falling objects create art on a frozen lake in Slovenia.
nature

Our Favorite Abstract Wonders of 2022

Mesmerizing photographs show the beauty of our wild, fragile planet.
Diana Hubbell December 30, 2022
It's one thing to see a bird of prey soaring on a thermal. It's another thing entirely to get this close to one.
amusement parks

Our Favorite Photos of 2022 Are a Feast for the Eyes and the Imagination

Wondrous portraits of feathered friends, lowriders, a handmade amusement park, and more.
Winnie Lee December 29, 2022
ANNA SOROKINA FOR ATLAS OBSCURA
art

Our Favorite Illustrations of the Mysteries, Histories, and Heroines of 2022

Bringing a visual spark to some of our most unusual stories of the year.
Winnie Lee December 28, 2022
Multispectral imaging depicts destruction of the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland. In this map, reds show healthy foliage along the Rio São Lourenço, yellows show stressed plant life, while blues and blacks indicate where the forest has died.
science

Through an Artist’s Eye, Scientific Tools Help Tell Vital Stories

Striking work by photographer Richard Mosse shows how merging art and technology can cut through dry data.
Anita Makri December 27, 2022
The Milky Way and curtain-like auroras fill a clear southern sky off Nugget Point, at the edge of New Zealand’s remote Catlins. While the island nation is too far north to see the aurora australis regularly, aurora-hunters flock to the Nugget Point lighthouse area for its dark skies and unobstructed view off the South Island’s southeastern coast.
science

Aurora Hunters Capture the Wonder of the Northern (and Southern) Lights

A curated collection of images shows why this natural phenomenon has fascinated and inspired humans for millennia.
Gemma Tarlach December 21, 2022
The low angle of the winter sun creates a perfect shadow of the iconic Mont Saint-Michel abbey on the water.
maps

From Space, Mont Saint-Michel Stars in a Wild Impressionist Painting

During the winter months, the iconic French site casts a perfect shadow on a bay full of history—and quicksand.
Gemma Tarlach November 22, 2022
At 10-times magnification, sand from Alaska's Point Spencer resembles semiprecious stones.
science

These Tiny Jewels Come From One of Alaska's Most Unusual Beaches

This microscopic treasure was collected from a remote site near the Arctic Circle.
Gemma Tarlach November 15, 2022
Photographed perhaps a day after fertilization, Wiley's glass frog embryos develop in a protective, gooey pouch deposited at the tip of a fern frond.
science

The Next Generation of a Rare Frog Captured in a Poetic Portrait

Embryos of one of the world's most unusual amphibians become art in the eyes of a biologist and wildlife photographer.
Gemma Tarlach August 2, 2022
Seen from space, the world's largest concentration of commercial greenhouses is a dazzling white patchwork.
horticulture

Southern Spain’s ‘Sea of Plastic’ May Actually Cool the Local Climate

The world’s largest array of greenhouses has transformed the region economically, and in other, unforeseen ways.
Gemma Tarlach July 15, 2022
Cowboy Jordan Miller rides in the Black Cowboy Association’s 45th annual parade, held in 2019 in Oakland.
culture

Inside America's Premier Black Rodeo, A Celebration of Cowboy Culture

A photographer captures perseverance and pride over a decade of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.
Gemma Tarlach June 28, 2022