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Someting Good

National Geographic's Photography Contest 2010 National Geographic is once again holding their annual Photo Contest, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 30th. For the past eight weeks, they have been gathering and presenting galleries of submissions, encouraging readers to rate them as well. National Geographic was again kind enough to let me choose some of their entries from 2010 for display here on The Big Picture. Coll.. 더보기
Stormy skies In the past several months, powerful storms have wreaked havoc in many places, torrential rains in central Europe and parts of China, tornadoes in Australia, Montana and the American Midwest, and strong thunderstorms across the northeast. Now, as Tropical Storm Bonnie makes landfall in Florida and heads into the Gulf of Mexico, oil cleanup is being suspended, and the final "kill" operation is de.. 더보기
Remembering D-Day, 66 years ago Yesterday was June 6th, the 66th anniversary of the successful 1944 Allied invasion of France. Several operations were combined to carry out the largest amphibious invasion in history - over 160,000 troops landed on June 6th, assisted by over 5,000 ships, aerial bombardment, gliders and paratroopers. Thousands of soldiers lost their lives on those beaches on that day - many thousands more would .. 더보기
Caught in the oil A short entry - AP Photographer Charlie Riedel just filed the following images of seabirds caught in the oil slick on a beach on Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island. As BP engineers continue their efforts to cap the underwater flow of oil, landfall is becoming more frequent, and the effects more evident. (8 photos total) A bird is mired in oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Lo.. 더보기
A rough week for Guatemala In just the past seven days, residents of Guatemala and parts of neighboring Honduras and El Salvador have had to cope with a volcanic eruption and ash fall, a powerful tropical storm, the resulting floods and landslides, and a frightening sinkhole in Guatemala City that swallowed up a small building and an intersection. Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on May 27th, blanketing Guat.. 더보기
Afghanistan, May, 2010 Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day set aside to honor our men and women who died while in military service since the time of U.S. Civil War. In Afghanistan over 50 U.S. soldiers have been killed in just the past month, including 24-year old Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht, who became the 1,000th serviceman killed in Afghanistan since 2002. As the fighting season begins, Taliban militants.. 더보기
Lighter than air Fill a lightweight material with hot air, helium or hydrogen, and you have a vessel that floats in the air. People around the world use balloons, blimps and airships for transportation, to conduct research, to deliver messages, to protest, and - mostly - for having fun. Collected here are recent photographs of balloons of all shapes, sizes and purposes - ranging from a child's toy to a football-.. 더보기
Argentina's Bicentennial Two hundred years ago, in Buenos Aires (then capital of a Spanish colony), a week-long series of revolutionary events took place, known as the Revolucion de Mayo, which set in motion events that led to Argentina's eventual declaration of independence from Spain in 1816. This week, millions of Argentinians, their neighbors and foreign dignitaries gathered in Buenos Aires to celebrate their bicent.. 더보기
Oil reaches Louisiana shores Over one month after the initial explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, crude oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, and oil slicks have slowly reached as far as 12 miles into Louisiana's marshes. According to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, more than 65 miles of Louisiana's shoreline has now been oiled. BP said it will be at least Wednesday before they will try using h.. 더보기
Checking in on Saturn While we humans carry on with our daily lives down here on Earth, perhaps stuck in traffic or reading blogs, or just enjoying a Springtime stroll, a school-bus-sized spacecraft called Cassini continues to gather data and images for us - 1.4 billion kilometers (870 million miles) away. Over the past months, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has made several close flybys of Saturn's moons, caught the Sun'.. 더보기
Crackdown in Bangkok Earlier today, soldiers from the Thai Army broke down barricades and entered the fortified camp occupied by anti-government Red Shirt protesters for the past several weeks in downtown Bangkok. Several clashes took place, and Red Shirt leaders announced to their followers that they were surrendering to police as the soldiers approached. Many protesters dispersed, but some continued to battle with.. 더보기
Mount St. Helens, 30 years ago On May 18th, 1980, thirty years ago today, at 8:32 a.m., the ground shook beneath Mount St. Helens in Washington state as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck, setting off one of the largest landslides in recorded history - the entire north slope of the volcano slid away. As the land moved, it exposed the superheated core of the volcano setting off gigantic explosions and eruptions of steam, ash an.. 더보기
Protests turn deadly in Thailand The Red Shirt political protest in Bangkok, Thailand has been active for nearly two months now, and has entered a new, deadly phase in the past week, with at least 36 of the total 60 deaths occurring in just the last few days. Anti-government protesters have barricaded themselves against government troops and the Thai army has declared certain protest areas to be "Live Fire Zones". A state of em.. 더보기
First of the last Space Shuttle launches First launched twenty-five years ago in October of 1985, NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for its 32nd and final launch this afternoon (at 2:20pm ET). This launch - one of only three remaining missions left in NASA's Shuttle program - will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station. Collected here are a series of phot.. 더보기
Disaster unfolds slowly in the Gulf of Mexico In the three weeks since the April 20th explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the start of the subsequent massive (and ongoing) oil leak, many attempts have been made to contain and control the scale of the environmental disaster. Oil dispersants are being sprayed, containment booms erected, protective barriers built, controlled burns undertaken, and d.. 더보기
Animals in the news With the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico still unfolding, concerns over threats to wildlife have brought animals into the news quite a bit lately. From the oil spill, to preservation efforts, to zoo developments, pampered pets, harsh environments, invasive fish, a surfing alpaca and more, collected here are a handful of recent photographs of animals and our interactions with them, as .. 더보기
Vietnam, 35 years later Last Friday, April 30th, was the 35th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War, and last Tuesday, May 4th, was the 40th anniversary of the shooting of protesting students at Kent State University. The Vietnam War and America's involvement in it affected the lives of millions for well over a decade, exacting a massive human cost with millions of deaths and countless injuri.. 더보기
Flooding in Tennessee May 5, 2010 Last weekend,powerful thunderstorms drenched Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi,dumping over 13 inches of rain on the region in two days. Creeks, lakesand rivers swelled with the rainwater, overflowing their banks, washingaway roads, and causing the deaths of at least 24 people so far. TheCumberland River, which winds through downtown Nashville, Tennessee,crested Monday at 51.9 feet, 12 feet ab.. 더보기
Discover Porsche in Leipzig 더보기
Afghanistan, April, 2010 A recent Pentagon report on the situation in Afghanistan over the past 6 months gives the impression that while things aren't necessarily getting any worse, they are far from improving. Afghan citizens, when polled, showed only limited support for their government, and a slight majority placed the blame for instability on Taliban forces. There remains a heavy reliance on international forces to .. 더보기
Oil spill approaches Louisiana coast Late on the night of April 20th, 50 miles from the shore of Louisiana, a fire broke out aboard the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig under lease by BP, with 126 individuals on board. After a massive explosion, all but 11 of the crew managed to escape as the rig was consumed by fire, later collapsing and sinking into the Gulf. Safeguards set in place to automatically cap the oil well in case o.. 더보기
Most Unreal Landscapes On Earth Unreal landscapes on our very much real Earth are like gates to different worlds. These places blow our minds and cross the limits of our imagination. Here is a collection of ten most alien-looking landscapes on Earth: Iceland Steam, bubbles, rocks and ice combine into breathtaking, though, alien-looking landscape. This is Iceland. The island with no trees, few people and the biggest glacier in .. 더보기
Shanghai's Expo nearly ready - April 28, 2010 Organizers of Shanghai's World Expo have been holding trial runs this week, before the official opening this Saturday, May 1st. About 70 percent of the nearly 200 participants participated in the trials, and visitors were already encountering long lines. Officials now estimate the 6-month event, themed "Better City, Better Life", will attract up to 100 million visitors, 95 percent of them Chines.. 더보기
Iceland's disruptive volcano Today, British civil aviation authorities ordered the country's airspace closed as of noon, due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. The volcanic ash has forced the cancellation.. 더보기
Scenes from Sudan Residents of the African nation of Sudan recently cast votes in the first national election in over 20 years. Official results are still forthcoming, but early indications show that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is set to win a landslide victory. Opposition parties are threatening to boycott the results, as a statement from the U.S. White House described the election as plagued by "serious irr.. 더보기
Earth Day 2010 Yesterday was Earth Day, since 1970 it's been a day set aside to remember and appreciate the Earth's environment, and all of our roles within it. As a way to help appreciate and observe our environment, I've collected 39 recent images here, each a glimpse into some aspect of the world around us, how it affects and sustains us, and how we affect it. Here's hoping everyone had a great Earth Day ye.. 더보기
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano As ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to keep European airspace shut down over the weekend, affecting millions of travelers around the world, some government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans. Some restricted airspace is now beginning to open up and some limited flights are being allowed now as airlines are pushing for the ability to judge safety conditions fo.. 더보기
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