分类必应美图下的文章

“哈雷六号”科考站上空的南极光，南极洲 Aurora Australis over the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica (© Stuart Holroyd/Alamy)

Southern lights for Antarctica Day

In honor of Antarctica Day, you're seeing the southern lights dazzle above Halley VI, the latest version of the six-decade-old Halley Research Station in the British Antarctic Territory. The modular building stands on hydraulic legs and is movable via retractable skis. The five previous facilities, Halley I–V, were each compromised by Antarctica's harsh climate and were decommissioned. Since 2017, while scientists monitor dangerous cracks in the surrounding Brunt Ice Shelf, Halley has been unmanned during the dark Antarctic winter months—but the research team equipped it with an autonomous micro-turbine that keeps its atmospheric instruments ticking as the snowdrifts pile up.

The first Antarctica Day was December 1, 1959, when twelve nations peacefully agreed to dedicate Earth's southernmost continent to the pursuit of science by signing the Antarctic Treaty. That agreement, adopted by both the US and the USSR amid the accelerating Cold War, stands 60 years later as an important landmark in global relations and has expanded to include 54 countries.

马拉喀什的Jemaa el-Fnaa广场 Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in Marrakesh (© Pavliha/Getty Images)

A big place to shop small

Small Business Saturday started in 2010 to get shoppers out of the big box stores the day after Black Friday and support local retailers. The US is home to more than 30 million small businesses (500 employees or fewer), representing 47 percent of private-sector employees. Of course, the concept of patronizing local merchants is nothing new. Here in Marrakesh, Morocco, souks (markets) like this one in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square have long been a big part of daily life, as well as major tourist attractions. During the day, musicians, dancers, and even snake charmers entertain shoppers as they search for crafts, clothing, and other goods. At night, the focus shifts to dining, with dozens of stalls offering different specialties and takes on traditional Moroccan food.

阿斯本附近的褐铃山，科罗拉多州 The Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado (© Christopher E. Herbert/Getty Images)

Opt outside today

Instead of rushing to the mall today for Black Friday deals, perhaps you could make it a Green Friday and find a treasure in a nearby park or a wilderness like the Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado pictured here. A few years ago, outdoor retailer REI made news by closing its doors on the biggest shopping day of the year and encouraging its employees and customers to 'Opt Outside' and spend time with their families instead. And while there is still no shortage of shopping options available to the intrepid Black Friday deal-hunter, a growing number of organizations have gotten behind this concept of Green Friday. And let's face it, after all that turkey and pie yesterday, you could probably use a nice walk. (And you can always shop online at work on Cyber Monday ;).)

Las Catedrales海滩，西班牙加利西亚 (© Davide Seddio/Getty Images)

凤凰城天港国际机场鸟瞰图，亚利桑那 Aerial view of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix, Arizona (© Nearmap/Getty Images)

Have you turned off your electric device?

If you're already in the air looking down at this bird's eye view of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix (or some other airport), well then, congrats. You've made it through the terminal on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Wait for a second, isn't the day before Thanksgiving the absolute busiest day to travel? Well, according to travel industry experts, traffic is actually heaviest on Fridays during the lazy, hazy days of summer. That's when crowds of people clog the highways and skyways to get out of their respective towns and go on vacation. You, on the other hand, can relax. Unless your plans are to host a table full of hungry guests on Thanksgiving. In which case, may we suggest yoga and meditation tonight? (And turn off this electronic device before the flight attendant comes by again.)

阿查法拉亚盆地中的一棵柏树，路易斯安那州 A cypress in the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana (© Chris Moore/Tandem Still + Motion)

Autumn in the cypress swamp

Autumn still brings a splash of color to this hardwood forest of bald cypress in Louisiana. But make no mistake, a stroll through these wetlands is not a cozy New England leaf-peeping journey. The swamp forest floor is often covered by the waters of Atchafalaya River delta as it drains into the Gulf of Mexico, so the autumn colors here are best viewed from the seat of a canoe or a pirogue, as the local Cajuns use. The water-resistant bald cypress thriving in the Atchafalaya Basin constitutes the largest tract of contiguous cypress forest in the United States. The ecosystem here is so unlike any other in the US, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area organization calls it ‘America’s foreign country.’

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich, London, England for her 150th anniversary (© Grant Rooney Premium/Alamy)

The Cutty Sark turns 150

We're featuring the Cutty Sark in today's image to mark the 150th anniversary her launch on November 22, 1869. Built for speed, this extreme clipper ship began its abbreviated career as a tea clipper racing across oceans 'at a clip' (hence the designation 'clipper ship') to deliver the season's first tea harvest to England. While at times the Cutty Sark was considered one of the fastest ships in the world, its practical use as a cargo ship was ending almost as soon as it was launched. That's because steamships using the much shorter route through the newly opened Suez Canal were able to deliver the highly anticipated tea harvest faster and cheaper. In 1883, the Cutty Sark began hauling wool from Australia, but within 10 years steamships also disrupted this business.

By 1922, she was the last clipper ship still in use when she was sold to Wilfred Dowman, who had her restored and turned into a cadet training ship. In 1954, the Cutty Sark was docked at Greenwich, restored again, and opened to the public. After a devastating fire in 2006 she was closed again for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project which was completed in 2012. Today, visitors to the Royal Museums Greenwich can explore all facets of this onetime pinnacle of sailing technology, which is part of Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

'Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you've got—this year! No more of this old stuff.' Steve Martin was joking when his character in 'The Jerk' asked for fresh wine—or perhaps he was talking about Beaujolais nouveau. The red wine, produced in the Beaujolais region of France, is fermented for just a few weeks and requires no barrel aging before it's sold starting on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais nouveau is a light-bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity. Located south of Burgundy, the Beaujolais region has a relatively warm climate, so Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and other famous French grapes don't grow well there. But the fruity Gamay grows vigorously in Beaujolais and is used to make Beaujolais nouveau.

Beaujolais nouveau hit a peak of global popularity in the 1980s when it was heavily marketed. But as more producers tried to capitalize on it, a backlash occurred in the '90s and early 2000s. In 2001, more than a million cases of French wine—most of it Beaujolais nouveau—were destroyed or distilled into hard spirits due to overproduction, shoddy winemaking, and poor sales. (It couldn't have been stockpiled to be sold later—the wine doesn't age well due to lack of tannins and should usually be consumed within six months.) More recently, supply and demand have evened out and its release is celebrated with parties and festivals.

Zion National Park Turns 100

It's been exactly 100 years since President Woodrow Wilson signed an act to convert Mukuntuweap National Monument into Zion National Park. Fewer than 2,000 people visited back in 1919 due to poor road conditions and lack of trails. These days, the park has the opposite problem—with more than 4 million people coming each year, crowds create long lines for shuttles and clog popular areas such as the Narrows. Part of Zion Canyon, the Narrows can be seen from a paved path. But many people like to experience it up close, hiking in the Virgin River, and it can get crowded at peak times since it's—as the name implies—narrow.

In recent years, Zion has even moved ahead of Yellowstone and Yosemite to become the fourth-most-visited US national park (Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain parks are the top three respectively). Also contributing to Zion's popularity is its proximity to other attractions. It's part of the Grand Circle, a region that includes parts of five states and is the most concentrated area of national parks and monuments in the country.

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