2019年11月 - 星空迷

大雾笼罩下的巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山脉，德国 Fog shrouds the Bavarian Alps in Germany (© Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

Mountain mists over Bavaria

If the forecast in Bavaria calls for 'nebel'—you'll know that means fog. In modern German, the word for 'November' is 'November.' But an older German term for this month was 'Nebel-mond' which translates to English as 'fog month'—it's the time of the year when fog is most likely to roll in. In some parts of the world the topography and local climate make fog a regular feature of the weather, especially during certain times of the year. That's called 'fog season.' San Francisco has a fog season. Tampa, Florida, does too. Is there a fog season where you live?

夕阳下的椋鸟，英格兰布莱克浦 Starlings at sunset in Blackpool, England (© Mediaworld Images/Alamy)

Mesmerizing murmuration

Around this time of year, as temperatures dip in the Northern Hemisphere, European or common starlings put on a dazzling show. Most of the time, these noisy birds are scorned for their bullying behavior at the birdfeeder. But in autumn months, they gather to roost in huge flocks, like here in Blackpool, England. At dusk, the starlings take flight en masse and flock together in a hypnotizing, swirling cloud of fluttering wings. This behavior is called mumuration. It's thought to help keep the birds warm while also acting as a defensive tactic to confuse predators like hawks and falcons. But maybe the raptors are just awestruck by the starlings' synchronized spectacle like the rest of us.

Rodrigo Koxa riding the biggest wave ever surfed, on Nov 8, 2017, off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal (© Pedro Cruz/AP Photo)

Big wave hunters watch Nazaré

Today's image captures Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa in action, surfing a record 80-foot wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré began attracting surfers to the area in the 1960s and has since become a major destination for men and women who want to surf some of the world's biggest waves. Nazaré's Praia do Norte (North Beach) is the site of the two latest records for largest wave ever surfed. The previous record was set by American Garrett McNamara on November 1, 2011, when he rode a 78-foot wave here. Then, on November 8, 2017, Koxa set a new record with this ride.

Surfers' ability to catch these giant waves is a relatively new accomplishment that's made possible by using a watercraft, usually a Jet Ski or a helicopter, to tow a surfer into the wave. This time of year, with the return of the big-wave season, surfers from around the world are descending on this seaside town with their support teams. Together, they anxiously await the optimal conditions required to create these monster waves, hoping for an opportunity to test their skills and see their names added to the record book.

The 'Crown of Light' installation is projected onto Durham Cathedral during the 2013 Lumiere Durham festival in England (© Stuart Forster/Alamy)

The perfect canvas for an ancient text

Since 2009, the city of Durham has served as a grand stage for the biennial Lumiere Durham festival. During four days in November, works of 'son et lumière'—a French phrase that means 'sound and light'—provide spectators with new ways of viewing public spaces and buildings. Artists from around the world design large-scale light shows paired with narratives and sound effects. It's become the UK's largest light festival, and Lumiere Durham's 10th anniversary, which begins today, promises to attract more than 200,000 people to enjoy the illuminated artworks along cobbled streets.

This image from the 2013 festival shows 'Crown of Light,' a work that projects an ancient Christian manuscript called the Lindisfarne Gospels onto the exterior walls of the Durham Cathedral. The original manuscript, considered one of the world's oldest and finest examples of medieval European book paintings, was brought to the Durham area in the 9th century by monks who had fled their monastery in Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, to avoid Viking raids. The Lindisfarne Gospels is considered an illuminated manuscript because the book is painted in gold and silver with miniature illustrations and ornate border art. But at the festival, the term gets a new meaning as the illuminated manuscript lights up the cathedral for thousands of spectators to see.

秋日雾中清晨里的特里斐斯城堡，德国莱茵兰普法尔茨森林 (© Björn Lauer/Getty Images)

日落时分，柏林施普雷河上美丽的奥伯鲍姆桥 (© elxeneize/Alamy Stock Photo)

Silver birch (Betula pendula) woodland, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, Scotland (© Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo)

The Lady of the Woods

Silver birch trees like these in Craigellachie National Nature Reserve have long been celebrated as symbols of purity and rebirth. In early Celtic mythology, bundles of their twigs were used to drive out spirits of the old year while in Scottish Highlands folklore it was believed that a barren cow herded with a birch stick would become fertile. Known as the “lady of the woods”, the old Gaelic word for birch, beith, can be found in some Scottish place names – the same goes for birk in England and bedw in Wales.

This nature reserve in Strathspey, in the Highlands, is known for its upland birch woodland, which is home to an impressive selection of moths among a wide variety of other creatures from dragonflies to peregrine falcons. The light, open canopy of silver birches also encourage wood anemones and dog violets to grow during the spring and summer – as well as offering a glimpse of panoramic views of Britain’s largest national park – the Cairngorms - which can be enjoyed, unobstructed, if you climb to the hill’s craggy summit.

The Brandenburg Gate seen through a heart-shaped replica of the Berlin Wall (© Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images)

We heart Berlin

We're gazing at the Brandenburg Gate—a symbol of peace and unity—through a heart-shaped replica of a remnant of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the political division that once marked the German capital. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the concrete barrier that once obstructed this view.

Although it stood for 28 years, the fall of the wall was sparked on November 9, 1989, when an East German official mistakenly announced a newly relaxed travel policy during a broadcasted press conference. Within hours, thousands of hopeful East Berliners rushed the wall, overwhelming border guards who reluctantly opened the checkpoints. Soon Berliners from the East and West were on the wall, joyfully dancing together, breaking off pieces with their hands, hammers, and anything else they could use to crumble the cement. Shortly afterward, the wall finally came down and borders were opened.

Conditions that led to the wall began in the years following World War II, when Berlin was divided into Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the American, British, and French sectors known as West Berlin. Although East Berliners weren't allowed to emigrate, they managed to do so nonetheless, and by 1961, millions had left for life in the West, nearly bringing the East German economy to ruin. It was then, on August 13, 1961, that Berliners woke up to a barbed-wire fence cutting off West Berlin from East Germany, including East Berlin. Within days, East Germany fortified the barbed wire with concrete, eventually reinforcing it with an outer and inner wall, watchtowers, and floodlights, while also extending it 28 miles across the city and beyond. For nearly three decades the wall separated families and entire communities. When it finally came down in 1989, it would be another year before both cities would eventually be reunified under the new Federal Republic of Germany.

阿尔卑斯国家公园豪伊特山上雾中的野花，澳大利亚维多利亚 Wildflowers in the mist on Mount Howitt in Alpine National Park, Victoria, Australia (© Australian Scenics/Photolibrary/Getty Images Plus)

Nature's most beautiful blanket

Expect colours aplenty in Alpine National Park around this time of year – as new life is breathed into the stunning landscape. The largest national park in Victoria - and measuring in at over 646,000 hectares - its home to a wide variety of native vegetation. It's no surprise that both the alpine and subalpine family are the most prevalent of the bunch, due to their ability to survive amongst high elevation and above the tree line, but snow gums and alpine ash trees are also known to litter the forest. During the springtime you'll even be lucky enough to see snow daisies and bright wildflowers spread across the ground like nature's most colourful blanket, much like they are in today's gorgeous image.