Lunar Eclipse Sequence, the path of the moon through the sky as it progresses from being fully visible (top) to fully eclipsed (middle) to almost fully visible again (bottom), viewed through Arch Rock, April 4 2015.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30713
Bull elephant seal exits the water to retake his position on the beach. He shows considerable scarring on his chest and proboscis from many winters fighting other males for territory and rights to a harem of females. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15458
Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18040
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03027
Milky Way over the Watchman, Zion National Park. The Milky Way galaxy rises in the night sky above the the Watchman.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 28587
Narada Falls cascades down a cliff, with the flow blurred by a time exposure. Narada Falls is a 188 foot (57m) waterfall in Mount Rainier National Park.
Location: Narada Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 28718
The Milky Way at Night over Sky Rock. Sky Rock petroglyphs near Bishop, California. Hidden atop an enormous boulder in the Volcanic Tablelands lies Sky Rock, a set of petroglyphs that face the sky. These superb examples of native American petroglyph artwork are thought to be Paiute in origin, but little is known about them.
Location: Bishop, California
Image ID: 28817
Panorama dimensions: 13870 x 16600
San Clemente Island aerial photo, Pyramid Head and Balanced Rock (China Hat) at the southern end of the island. San Clemente Island Pyramid Head, the distinctive pyramid shaped southern end of the island, exhibits distinctive geologic terracing, underwater reefs and giant kelp forests.
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38483
The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is found on the southern and western coasts of Australia. Its extravagent appendages serve only for camoflage, since it has a nearly-invisible dorsal fin that propels it slowly through the water. The leafy sea dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia.
Species: Leafy seadragon, Phycodurus eques
Location: Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia
Image ID: 39137
Mariner Mountain, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, part of Strathcona Provincial Park, located 36 km (22 mi) north of Tofino. It is 1,771 m (5,810 ft) high, snow covered year-round and home to several glaciers.
Location: Mariner Mountain, Strathcona Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 21072
The Second Wave at Sunset, Vermillion Cliffs. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28619
The OVRO 40 meter Telescope, part of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory located near Big Pine, California, USA. The telescope is used to conduct interferometric observations along with the other telescopes in the observatory, as a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) station and as a single dish instrument. Its main focus today is on the monitoring of blazars.
Location: Big Pine, California
Image ID: 28796
Panorama dimensions: 7153 x 11978