标签 美国 下的文章
2018年曼哈顿悬日期间的克莱斯勒大厦与42号街，纽约市 42nd Street with the Chrysler Building during Manhattanhenge in 2018, New York City (© Dennis Fischer Photography/Getty Images)
2018年曼哈顿悬日期间的克莱斯勒大厦与42号街，纽约市 42nd Street with the Chrysler Building during Manhattanhenge in 2018, New York City (© Dennis Fischer Photography/Getty Images)
A day to celebrate the sun
A few times each year, the rising and setting suns align with the east-west streets of Manhattan--commonly referred to as 'Manhattanhenge.' While the exact timing varies slightly from one year to the next, it usually occurs a few weeks before and after the summer and winter solstices. Tonight's sunset will find the full sun's golden rays streaming directly through Manhattan's major cross streets.
The name Manhattanhenge was created and popularized by NYC native and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as an homage to Stonehenge. But Manhattan isn't the only place you can experience a 'henge' day--cities like Chicago and Toronto are also drawing crowds trying to capture a moment where the cosmos perfectly aligns with the modern.
松木国家森林，佛罗里达州 Pine Log State Forest, Florida (© plainpicture/Cavan Images)
松木国家森林，佛罗里达州 Pine Log State Forest, Florida (© plainpicture/Cavan Images)
In praise of bogs, swamps, and marshes
Swamps and bogs probably aren’t the first that comes to mind when it comes to America’s celebrated landscapes. That’s a shame, since wetlands like these play a crucial role in the health of our ecosystems. In addition to providing unique habitat to the many species that call wetlands home, they filter water, provide a natural buffer from storms, absorb flood waters, and capture carbon from the atmosphere—helping to protect our planet from climate change.
Each year in the month of May, environmental groups and partners celebrate the humble bog as part of American Wetlands Month. You can find some of the country’s healthiest examples of wetlands in Florida, home to swamps, which are dominated by forests, and marshes, which are home to grasses, rushes, and weeds. Today’s homepage comes from Pine Log State Forest, located near the town of Ebro in the Florida Panhandle. Established in 1936, it’s Florida’s oldest state forest, and a fine place to explore.
Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania © Walter Bibikow/Danita Delimont
Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania © Walter Bibikow/Danita Delimont
Looking back on 150 years of rail travel
In 1986, work began to convert an old railyard in Scranton, Pennsylvania from a relic to a heritage preservation site now known as Steamtown. A donated collection of train engines, some dating back to the 1800s, gave Steamtown some exhibits to show off, while the fully functional railyard provides a live demonstration of how trains work—and how rail transit greatly changed the United States.
On this day 150 years ago, in 1869, the Golden Spike was hammered into the First Transcontinental Railroad. It created the first rail line to link the established railways of the eastern United States with the rapidly expanding railroads of the West, making transcontinental travel via train a reality. Need some context? The alternative at the time would be to traverse the nearly 2,000 mile stretch between Omaha, Nebraska and San Francisco by horse, wagon, or your own two feet. With rail travel now an option, America’s Westward Expansion was suddenly in high gear.
