Nature & Science Part I

Bioluminescent Organisms, Japan

The transparent shells of tiny Cypridina hilgendorfii, found in the coastal waters and sands of Japan, hold a creature that emits a luminous blue substance when disturbed. During World War II, the Japanese harvested these creatures for soldiers to use when reading maps and messages at night.

Electric Plant, Spain

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine

At an electric plant in southern Spain, mirrors as big as houses catch some of the 120 quadrillion watts of sunlight that constantly fall on Earth. Government subsidies for this pricey yet promising power source have made Europe the world's solar capital.

Ivanhoe Reservoir, Los Angeles

This Month in Photo of the Day: Photos From New National Geographic Books

In 2007, high levels of bromate—a carcinogen formed when bromide and chlorine react with sunlight—were found in Los Angeles’s Ivanhoe Reservoir. Today three million black plastic balls help deflect UV rays.

Lightning Model

Photograph by Westinghouse Electric Corp

This Month in Photo of the Day: Most Popular Photos From 2009

Westinghouse engineers use this miniature system for tests. Upper wires detour the three-million-volt harmlessly to the ground. Lower wires, which carry the power load, are thereby protected against lightning, which might shut off the current or damage equipment. Even the cows are man-made.

Nyiragongo Lava, Congo

This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos

Cradling one of the world's largest and least studied lava lakes—more than 700 feet across and possibly miles deep—Nyiragongo has twice sent molten rock racing toward residents of Goma.

Starry Sky, Washington

Driving home over the Waterville Plateau, a waxing sliver of a moon that fell early below the horizon made for a perfect moment of stargazing. What was even more eerie though, was that the wind had completely stopped also. Even from about 30 feet up a small embankment I could hear my shutter trip for a 25-second exposure. The lights on the horizon, shining from over 70 miles away, were the city lights of Ephrata and Moses Lake, Washington.

Mutnovsky Volcano, Kamchatka

A volcanologist strides through a murky expanse of steam on Mutnovsky Volcano during an expedition to Kamchatka, Russia. The steam billows from a fumarole, or a vent created by heated groundwater and rising volcanic gas, and it serves as a visible reminder that the peninsula is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world, with some 29 active volcanoes.