2020年7月

穿过月球上史密斯海的“地出” Earthrise across Mare Smythii on the moon (© Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center)

Earthrise on Moon Day

Only two dozen people have ever personally witnessed the Earth rising over the lunar surface: the crews of Apollo 8 through 17. Those 24 astronauts are also the only humans to leave low-Earth orbit and see the 'dark' side of the moon—and only 12 of them walked on its surface. We celebrate July 20th as Moon Day, the anniversary of Apollo 11's Eagle lander touching down on the moon and the momentous first steps taken there by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Today's picture of our big blue marble hanging above Mare Smythii was taken by the one of crew of that mission 51 years ago today, but neither Armstrong, Aldrin, nor Command Module Pilot Michael Collins could recall which of them snapped the iconic shot.

大运河和安康圣母圣殿，意大利威尼斯 The Grand Canal and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, Italy (© Jim Richardson/Offset by Shutterstock)

Venice by night

In Venice, Italy, the third Sunday in July is known as 'Festa del Redentore' (The Redeemer's Feast), which commemorates the city's salvation from the plague in the 16th century. As Italy still reels from being hard hit by the new coronavirus, the holiday is particularly poignant this year. It traditionally features a fireworks display, a regatta, and a temporary bridge that connects the Zattere promenade to the Church of the Redeemer on the Island of Giudecca. While this year's celebration will look different due to COVID-19, it will still be an important and festive day for Venetians.

笑脸热气球 Happy hot air balloon (© Leonsbox/Getty Images Plus)

Let's face it: It's World Emoji Day

Most versions of the calendar emoji () always give the date as July 17—ever wondered why? Well, for the real nerds among you, it's because July 17, 2000, is the date Apple first rolled out its iCal app (the icon for which inspired the iPhone calendar emoji). But if your reaction to that trivia is , just think of it as a good reminder—like the smiling interior of the hot air balloon in today's photo— that today is World Emoji Day.

If you still type :-D instead of to express joy, you're certainly old-school, but maybe less so than your (grand)kids think. Even Harvey Ball—who designed the iconic yellow-pated smiley (a prototype for ) way back in 1963—was late to the emoji party: A clay pot discovered in Turkey bears the oldest known cartoon of a smiling face, which dates back about 4,000 years. These days, emoji are a virtual second language for the whole under the Unicode Standard for text encoding, which ensures that text characters from A to Z to Æ to ‽ to display similarly across communication platforms and languages. The underlying code is overseen by the Unicode Consortium, a humble Bay Area nonprofit despite its vaguely dystopian name. Actually, it's quite the democracy: Anyone anywhere can make a case to create an emoji, so if you've got an idea for a new one, get over to unicode.org and fill out a proposal.

北太平洋弗雷德里克海峡中的座头鲸冲出海面，阿拉斯加 North Pacific humpback whale breaching in Frederick Sound, Alaska (© Tony Wu/Minden Pictures)

Summertime in Alaska

Humpback whales are famous for breaching—leaping out of the water in a spectacular display of size and power. Even though they can weigh more than a house and stretch to 50 feet in length, they still manage aquatic acrobatics that are amazing to behold, as the picture on our homepage captures so beautifully. Scientists don't know why some whales breach but speculate it's a form of communication or a mating display. Or maybe they're just having fun.

Our homepage image comes from Frederick Sound in Southeast Alaska, one of the best places to see humpbacks in July. The whales return to the area in summer to dine on krill, herring, and other delicacies in the cool waters. But as fall approaches, they'll start their long journey south to spend the winter in tropical environs, as would any sensible mammal with the means to travel.

被洪水淹没的温彻斯特大教堂地下室，英国汉普郡 The flooded crypt at Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire, England (© Oliver Hoffmann/Alamy)

Who left the tub running?

'Sound II,' this sculpture by Antony Gormley, has stood here in the oft-flooded crypt of Winchester Cathedral in the south of England since 1986—not trying to get a plumber on the horn, but quietly standing guard and studying the water in its cupped hands. Elsewhere in the cathedral you'll find another notable statue: The likeness of William 'Diver Bill' Walker, a local hero who—for six years starting in 1906—worked alone in a heavy diving suit to shore up the increasingly flooded structure as it threatened to sink into the boggy soil beneath. Nowadays it's stable, but the lowest level still sees its share of standing water during rainy periods.

We're here on the feast day of Swithin (sometimes spelled Swithun), the 9th-century bishop who's now venerated as patron saint of the cathedral. But St. Swithin is most commonly name-dropped in an old weather proverb that begins, 'St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain, for 40 days it will remain.'

The good news: 'St. Swithin's day if thou be fair, for 40 days 'twill rain nae mare.' But if this all just sounds like hooey to you, try today's quiz and see if you think any other weather folklore holds water.

巴黎的先贤祠，法国 The Panthéon in Paris, France (© manjik/Shutterstock)

Under Paris skies

For Bastille Day, aka French National Day, we examine not the titular prison that was the site of beginning of the French Revolution, but another building inexorably wrapped up in that powder-keg moment of French history. That dome in the upper right portion of this photo is the Panthéon. Construction of the building—intended to be a church—began in 1758. But by the time it was completed, the French Revolution was in full swing and the new establishment decided that it should instead be used as a mausoleum for distinguished French citizens, which it remains today.

奥林匹克国家公园中的可可西里雨林，华盛顿州 The Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park, Washington state (© Jorge Romano/Offset by Shutterstock)

Welcome to the Hoh

Don't let this sunny picture fool you. The Hoh, a temperate rainforest on the western side of Olympic National Park in Washington state, sees between 12 and 14 feet of rain each year, making it one of the wettest places in the continental US. But all that moisture creates a lush, even mystical environment. The forest features a mix of conifers and deciduous trees draped heavily with moss, like the arching big leaf maple in our homepage image. A stroll through the forest will also reveal the massive Sitka spruce and western hemlock that may reach more than 300 feet up into the dense canopy. Below, the woods teem with ferns, lichen, and other vegetation. It's an enchanted forest right out of a fairy tale.

埃热泽尔斯湖面上的波纹，拉脱维亚拉特加尔地区 Water ripples on the surface of Ežezers Lake in the Latgale region, Latvia (© Eaglewood Films/Nimia)

A day to take a moment

'A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate between land and sky.' So Henry David Thoreau immortalized Walden Pond, but he could have been describing this calming image from Ežezers Lake in Latvia. Today, the birthday of that famous American advocate for pursuing a simple life is also National Simplicity Day, an annual reminder to unplug, slow down, step back, and consider your life. Thoreau's most famous work (that you probably haven't read since high school), 'Walden,' is his account of the two years, two months, and two days he spent away from society in a cabin in the woods by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Through this work he encourages us to take a step back and look for ways to simplify our lives. 'Our life is frittered away by detail…,' Thoreau observed, 'simplify, simplify.'

This advice is as sound today as it was 165 years ago when it appeared in print. Some things you can do to mark the day are unplug from your devices (even this one—eventually); declutter your house; take a walk in the woods; and maybe even reread 'Walden.'

How Quảng Ngãi got its grove back

Could these humble rows of trees prevent a natural disaster? The Vietnamese government hopes so. Mangrove forests like Bàu Cá Cái in coastal Vietnam's Quảng Ngãi Province are an important shield against destructive typhoons that rock the coast each year. Unfortunately, mangrove trees have been depleted over the years by population growth, climate change, and increased use of waters for fish farming. Plantings at Bàu Cá Cái—outlined by bamboo frames to create the neat patterns seen here—have been part of a major initiative to regenerate nearly 10,000 acres of mangrove forest around the country.

Italy's submerged village

A 14th-century church tower peeking above the water offers a clue to the past here at Lake Reschen, in northern Italy. Until the mid-20th century, this site in the Italian Alps was home to the village of Graun, which included some 163 homes. But then in 1939, an electric company announced plans to build a dam and an artificial lake here, which would submerge Graun and part of the town of Reschen. Despite public outcry and delays due to World War II, the towns were eventually submerged in 1950 (with everyone safely removed, of course). These days, the remaining church steeple draws tourists, especially in winter, when the lake is frozen over and visitors can walk across.

星空迷