漫天飞舞的黑脉金斑蝶，墨西哥 Monarch butterflies in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Angangueo, Mexico (© Sylvain Cordier/Minden Pictures)

Monarch butterflies in Angangueo, Mexico

Every year, one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in Mexico takes place in the forested mountains west of Mexico City. Between mid-January and late March, colonies of monarch butterflies migrate here from colder northern climates to find warmth and begin their breeding season. These huge flying colonies can contain as many as 20 million monarchs, which make use of air currents to travel as far as 100 nautical miles per day.

Upon arrival in the Mexican state of Michoacán, they'll settle into the forests of fir trees like those shown here, before finding their way to milkweed plants to mate and lay their eggs. The eggs will hatch after just a few days, leaving the offspring to feast on the milkweed before eventually transforming into the next generation of adult butterflies. Once the winter breeding season is over, the newly hatched monarchs will start the annual migration cycle over again, taking to the air for the long trek back north.

墨西哥Angangueo的帝王蝶

每年，墨西哥最壮观的自然现象之一发生在墨西哥城西部的森林山脉。1月中旬至3月下旬，成群的帝王蝶从寒冷的北方气候迁徙到这里，寻找温暖，开始繁殖季节。这些巨大的飞行殖民地可以容纳多达2000万只帝王，它们利用气流每天飞行100海里。

抵达墨西哥米却肯州后，它们会在这里所示的冷杉林中安顿下来，然后再找到马利筋植物交配产卵。卵在几天后就会孵化出来，让后代享用马利筋，然后最终转化为下一代成年蝴蝶。一旦冬季繁殖季节结束，新孵化的帝王将重新开始每年的迁徙周期，飞到空中进行漫长的向北跋涉。

亚运村夜景，北京 (© ViewStock/Getty Images)

Corjuem堡垒，印度果阿邦 Corjuem Fort in Goa, India (© Ingvar Kuznetsov/Shutterstock)

Corjuem Fort in Goa, India

Corjuem Fort, built in 1705 by Portuguese colonists, was abandoned in 1894 but never demolished. It is now a protected historical site in Goa, India, and during the right time of year, Corjuem can look like it's being eaten by the forest.

While Britain is heavily associated with colonial control of India, Portugal had its own foothold in what is now the state of Goa, on the southwestern coast of India. The colony of Portuguese India held for more than 400 years before the Portuguese relinquished the territory in 1961. Sites such as Corjuem Fort show how much the colonial influence affected not just the culture, but the landscape itself.

印度果阿的Corjuem堡垒

1705年由葡萄牙殖民者建造的Corjuem堡垒于1894年被废弃，但从未被拆除。它现在是印度果阿的一处受保护的历史遗址，在一年中的适当时候，Corjuem看起来像是被森林吃掉了。

虽然英国在很大程度上与印度的殖民控制有关，但葡萄牙在印度西南海岸的果阿州有自己的立足点。葡萄牙-印度殖民地在1961年葡萄牙人放弃这片领土之前，已经统治了400多年。像Corjuem堡垒这样的遗址表明，殖民地的影响不仅影响了文化，还影响了景观本身。

寓意幸福和团圆的春节灯笼，中国 Vibrant colours of lanterns, decorations and ornaments for Chinese New Year in celebration of luck, healthiness, happiness, reunion and prosperities  Hong Kong, China (© d3sign/Moment/Getty Images)

Chinese New Year 2022

Why do people put up red decorations on New Year? The story dates back to thousands of years ago…A monster named Nián comes to harass the villagers once a year. Later, people found that Nian would be afraid when it sees red color. Since then, people prepare red decorations on this day to drive away from the monster.

2022年中国新年

为什么人们在新年会挂上红色的装饰品？这个故事可以追溯到几千年前……一个名叫尼安的怪物每年来骚扰村民一次。后来，人们发现“年”看到红色就会害怕。从那时起，人们在这一天准备红色装饰物来驱赶怪物。

烟花绽放的除夕夜，中国 (© MediaProduction/E+/Getty Images)

厄尔士山脉上的光晕，德国萨克森州 Halo around the sun in the Ore Mountains, Saxony, Germany (© Martin Ruegner/Getty Images)

Halo around the sun

What do you call a rainbow formed by ice? An icebow, of course. Others call the phenomenon a halo, and we'll admit it does have a mystical aura. It happens in locales where the bitter cold persists despite the shining sun, like here in the Ore Mountains of Germany. When the conditions are just right, tiny ice crystals in the air will refract light into a colorful halo around the bright sun. It's a perfect complement to the snow angels you're yearning to make in this pristine blanket of white.

太阳周围的光晕

冰形成的彩虹叫什么？当然是冰山。其他人称这种现象为光环，我们承认它确实有神秘的光环。这种情况发生在尽管阳光灿烂，但严寒依然持续的地方，比如德国的俄勒冈州。当条件合适时，空气中的微小冰晶会在明亮的太阳周围折射出五颜六色的光晕。这是一个完美的补充雪天使，你渴望在这个原始的白色毯子。

加勒比海的片脑纹珊瑚，开曼群岛 Symmetrical brain coral on a reef in the Caribbean Sea near Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (© Alex Mustard/Minden Pictures)

Brain coral

You needn't be a genius to guess how brain coral got its name. But you could just as easily call it 'maze coral' after its labyrinthine surface. Either way, this sea organism is an apt mascot for today's cerebral celebration: Puzzle Day!

From mazes to math problems to minute mysteries, you can find puzzles to tease just about every part of your brain, from the logical left hemisphere to the creative and crafty right. While medical science hasn't fully established that regular practice with puzzles benefits the brain, it's thought that solving puzzles helps concentration, pattern recognition, and memory. Or maybe they're just fun—but hey, that's excuse enough to riddle away the day on your favorite puzzles. Try starting off with today's homepage quiz.

脑珊瑚

你不必是个天才就能猜出brain coral是如何得名的。但你也可以简单地用迷宫般的表面来称呼它为“迷宫珊瑚”。不管怎样，这种海洋生物都是今天大脑庆祝活动的吉祥物：拼图日！

从迷宫到数学问题，再到微小的谜题，你可以找到谜题来挑逗你大脑的每一个部分，从逻辑的左半球到创造性和狡猾的右半球。虽然医学尚未完全证实经常练习拼图对大脑有益，但人们认为解决拼图有助于集中注意力、模式识别和记忆。或者也许它们只是好玩，但嘿，这足以让你在你最喜欢的谜题上度过这一天。试着从今天的主页测试开始。

梅兰加尔堡，印度焦特布尔 Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (© Jayakumar/Shutterstock)

India Republic Day

You might never guess that this ornate, skylit building, with an exterior covered in intricate carvings and artwork, was once a military base. Perched high on a hill above the city of Jodhpur, the colossal Mehrangarh Fort—aka the Citadel of the Sun—was built nearly five centuries before its home country became a democratic republic. Know which nation we're paying a birthday visit?

India's Republic Day commemorates January 26, 1950, when the constitution of India was adopted and the newly independent nation became a democratic republic. At the time of independence, the Republic of India had a population of 370 million, making the new nation the world's most populous democracy. It remains so today, with a population nearing 1.4 billion.

印度共和日

你可能永远也猜不到，这座华丽的天际建筑，外部覆盖着复杂的雕刻和艺术品，曾经是一个军事基地。坐落在焦特布尔市上方的一座小山上，巨大的梅兰加尔堡又名太阳城堡，在其祖国成为民主共和国之前的近五个世纪就建成了。知道我们要去哪个国家过生日吗？

印度共和日是为了纪念1950年1月26日，当时印度宪法获得通过，新独立的国家成为了一个民主共和国。独立时，印度共和国拥有3.7亿人口，使这个新国家成为世界上人口最多的民主国家。今天仍然如此，人口接近14亿。

安格尔西岛上的Tŵr Mawr 灯塔，英国威尔士 Tŵr Mawr lighthouse on Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey, Wales (© Joe Daniel Price/Getty Images)

Saint Dwynwen's Day

Love is in the air on Llanddwyn Island at the southern tip of Anglesey, a much bigger island just off the north-west coast of Wales. Each year on January 25, Cupid aims his arrow toward the people of Wales who celebrate St. Dwynwen's Day–the Welsh version of St. Valentine's Day. St. Dwynwen is Wales' patron saint of lovers, although she was rather unlucky in that department after falling head over heels for a man she wasn't allowed to marry. The 5th-century princess' heartache led her to dedicate her life to God and pray for true lovers to have better fortune than her own. In return, Dwynwen became a nun and set up a convent here on Llanddwyn.

Despite its name, Llanddwyn Island is cut off from Anglesey's mainland only during very high tides. Since the 19th century, it has been home to Tŵr Mawr lighthouse (meaning 'great tower' in Welsh). The design of the lighthouse, seen in our photo today, is inspired by the area's many windmills. Just out of frame, you will find the remains of the church Dwynwen founded, along with a well named after her. It became a place of pilgrimage following her death. Legend has it that the well is home to sacred fish that can predict whether couples' relationships will succeed.

圣德温节

在安格西岛南端的兰德温岛上，爱在空中飘荡。安格西岛是威尔士西北海岸附近一个更大的岛屿。每年的1月25日，丘比特都会把箭射向威尔士人，他们庆祝圣德温节——威尔士版的圣瓦伦丁节。圣德温是威尔士的情人守护神，尽管她在那个部门很不幸，因为她被一个不允许嫁给的男人迷住了。这位五世纪公主的心痛促使她将自己的一生献给上帝，并祈祷真正的情人拥有比自己更好的财富。作为回报，德温温成为了一名修女，并在兰德温建立了一所修道院。

尽管兰德温岛名为兰德温岛，但只有在涨潮时，它才与安格西岛的大陆隔绝。自19世纪以来，它一直是Tŵr Mawr灯塔（威尔士语中的“大塔”意思）的所在地。我们今天的照片中看到的灯塔的设计灵感来自该地区的许多风车。刚走出画面，你会发现德温温创建的教堂的遗迹，以及一座以她的名字命名的教堂。她死后，这里成了朝圣之地。传说这口井是圣鱼的家园，可以预测夫妻关系是否会成功。

灯光璀璨的曼哈顿下城，美国纽约 Lower Manhattan in New York City (© New York On Air/Offset/Shutterstock)

Manhattan

Ahhh, New York City. Well, Manhattan specifically, one of New York's five boroughs. This aerial view is of Lower Manhattan, what New Yorkers consider the heart of the city. That's New Jersey sparkling across the Hudson River in the distance. And those two bridges pictured on the left are the Brooklyn Bridge (above) and the Manhattan Bridge (below), linking the island of Manhattan to the borough of Brooklyn.

Anytime is the right time to take in the nighttime views of New York City from high above, but the cityscape in January might be especially beguiling. For one thing, you won't have to fight crowds to stand at the windows to view the dazzling lights. May we recommend the observation decks of the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, and the One World Trade Center Observatory? Happy gazing.

曼哈顿

啊，纽约市。特别是曼哈顿，纽约五个行政区之一。鸟瞰鸟瞰曼哈顿，纽约人认为这座城市的中心。那是新泽西州，在远处的哈德逊河上闪闪发光。左边的两座桥分别是布鲁克林大桥（上图）和曼哈顿大桥（下图），它们将曼哈顿岛与布鲁克林区连接起来。

任何时候都是从高处欣赏纽约市夜景的最佳时机，但一月份的城市景色可能特别迷人。首先，你不必为了站在窗户前观看耀眼的灯光而与人群搏斗。我们可以推荐帝国大厦的观景台、岩石顶观景台和世界贸易中心观景台吗？快乐的凝视。