Stargazer, Lake Malawi Photograph by Chris Cannucciari, My ShotLake Malawi, Africa. A stargazer looks into the endless cosmos as waves lap along a beach in Southern Malawi. Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)
Sami Herder, Scandinavia Photograph by Erika LarsenCone-shaped tents called lávut provide temporary shelter for Sami herders while following the reindeer. Nils Peder Gaup, resting here on the tundra, feels most at home in the mountains. “The Sami spirit follows you,” he says.
Arches National Park Photograph by Bret Webster, My ShotThe mighty weight of the entire Milky Way teeters precariously on Balanced Rock in Arches National Park. Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)
Star With a ‘StacheImage courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA Seen in visible light, the star known as Zeta Ophiuchi is dim, red, and surrounded by inky blackness. But in infrared the star becomes a bright blue ball of fire topped with a glowing “mustache” of interstellar dust, as seen in a new picture from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, telescope. Astronomers think Zeta Ophiuchi was once part of a stellar duo known as a binary pair. Then the companion star exploded, releasing Zeta Ophiuchi to go flying away on a fast-tracked solo act through space. The star is now plowing through a cloud of dust and gas at 15 miles (24 kilometers) a second. As the star moves, its powerful radiation is compressing the gas and dust in its path, creating a bow shock that shines in infrared.
Leave a Light On Photograph courtesy Peter RosénNorthern lights sweep above a cabin in Abisko in northern Sweden on January 7. “The entire sky opened up like a beautiful inferno,” photographer Peter Rosén told spaceweather.com. “Red, blue and green like a dancing queen on the sky.” The solar ejections that cause auroras can also create geomagnetic storms that can affect spacewalking astronauts, Earth-orbiting satellites, and even communications and power systems on the ground.
Kryptonite Haze Photograph by Thilo BubekA streak of auroral light mimics the curve of an illuminated bridge near Sommarøya in northern Norway on January 7. The glowing display of curtains, arcs, and bands in the sky is called aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the Northern Hemisphere and aurora australis, or southern lights, in the Southern Hemisphere.
Port Orford, Oregon Photograph by Randall Scholten, Your ShotA quaint and cozy little seafood restaurant on the commercial dock in Port Orford, Oregon, is all decked out for the holidays in this photo taken at first light. Life in this small, rustic fishing village is frozen in the past when life was much less hectic and when the simple pleasures of life were still noticed and appreciated. Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)