2023年1月 - 星空迷

哈尔滨国际冰雪雕塑节，中国哈尔滨 Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, Harbin, China (© STR/AFP via Getty Images)

冰城 City of ice

中国哈尔滨国际冰雪雕塑节

位于中国黑龙江省的哈尔滨国际冰雪雕塑节将于今天开幕，届时将上演世界上规模最大的冰雪雕塑节所带来的壮观场面。该活动规模大、大胆、美丽，由近千名工人从附近的松花江收集的24万立方码冰块制成的2000多个冰雕。许多雕塑都用彩色灯光照亮，创造了一个充满活力、发光的冰世界。据估计，这些色彩斑斓的景点每年吸引超过1800万游客。这项活动将持续到2月下旬，还包括高山滑雪、上述松花江的冷水游泳，以及节日冰灯表演。

Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in China's Heilongjiang province, begins today with all the spectacle and fanfare you'd expect from the world's largest festival of its kind. Big, bold, and beautiful, the event features more than 2,000 ice sculptures made from 240,000 cubic yards of ice collected by nearly a thousand workers from the nearby Songhua River. Many of the sculptures are illuminated with colored lights, creating a vibrant, glowing world of ice. It's estimated the colorful sights attract more than 18 million visitors each year. The event, which runs through late February, also features alpine skiing, cold water swimming in the aforementioned Songhua, as well as a festive ice lantern show.

从国际空间站看到的地球 Earth as seen from the International Space Station (© JSC/NASA)

如此接近，却又如此遥远

地球的近日点 / 从国际空间站看地球

今天是地球的近日点，由于地球绕太阳公转的轨道是椭圆形的，所以冬至后两周，地球距离太阳最近。你可能有疑问：地球离太阳最近的时候，为什么我们没觉得更热？其实，这是因为近日点的时候地球所接受到的太阳辐射只比平时强了大约7%，这种微小的差异对地球天气的影响并不大。

Earth as seen from the International Space Station

We've reached perihelion! Two weeks after winter solstice the Earth's orbit is closer to the sun than at any other time of year—a result of the Earth's elliptical orbit. You may think, 'If we're so close to the sun, why can't I feel the heat?' Well, that's because we're only receiving about 7% more solar energy than normal, which doesn't really have much impact on the weather.

霍亨索伦城堡，德国 Hohenzollern Castle, Germany (© Sahara Prince/Shutterstock)

正如童话一般 Fit for a fairytale

德国斯图加特附近的霍亨索伦城堡

迷人的霍亨索伦城堡经过三次重建后，是真的魅力非凡。这座城堡位于霍亨索伦山顶，修建于11世纪，但大部分建筑在1423年长达10个月的围攻中被摧毁，直到几十年后才得以重建。之后它成为了一个重要的战略据点，然而后来它再次失修。19世纪，普鲁士国王腓特烈·威廉四世（他因在德国各地建造了许多伟大的建筑而闻名）在这里建造了一座新的城堡，几乎完全替换了这座城堡15世纪的建筑结构。如今，霍亨索伦城堡已成为一座露天博物馆，每年接待超过35万名游客，是德国参观人数最多的城堡之一。

Hohenzollern Castle near Stuttgart, Germany

For the charming Hohenzollern Castle, the third time really was the charm. Constructed on the top of Hohenzollern Mountain in the 11th century, the castle was largely ruined by a 10-month siege in 1423, only to be rebuilt a few decades later. It then served as an important strategic stronghold before again falling into disrepair. In the 19th century, King Frederick William IV of Prussia, best remembered for his commitment to building great works across Germany, had a new castle built on the grounds, replacing almost all the 15th-century construction. Today, Hohenzollern Castle is an open-air museum that hosts more than 350,000 visitors per year, making it one of the most-visited castles in Germany.

在北极附近打盹 Napping near the North Pole

元旦 / 斯瓦尔巴群岛的北极熊，挪威

如果你计划在新年第一天跳进冰冷刺骨的湖泊或海湾，那么你就会明白我们今天为什么要展示这张拍摄于挪威斯瓦尔巴群岛的照片。世界各地的人们常常在新年第一天像北极熊一样跳进水里。无论他们是为了慈善、忏悔，还是为了惊世骇俗，这都是迎接新年第一天的最好的方式。当然，对于北极熊来说，这可没什么特别的，不过是它们每天的日常而已。

New Year's Day

If your first scheduled activity of the day has ever involved intentionally jumping into an icy lake or a frigid bay, then you understand the relevance of today's image from the Svalbard Islands of Norway. Polar bear plunges, as these swims have come to be known, take place all over the world, often on New Year's Day. Whether people take the plunge for charity, penance, or shock value, there's no better way to put an exclamation point on the first day of the year. Of course, for actual polar bears, ice cold plunges are an everyday occurrence and won't elicit much more than a yawn.