Photo of the Day 385

Rainbow, Niagara Falls, New York, 2001

Photograph by Joe McNally/Sygma

Rainbows, such as this one produced by artificial light shone on an icy Niagara Falls, are just one special effect of light, a marvel that reveals the world to us. Light sets our biological clocks. It triggers in our brains the sensation of color. Light feeds us, supplying the energy for plants to grow. It gives us life-changing tools, from incandescent bulbs to lasers and fiber optics. Scientists don't fully understand what light is or what it can do. They just know that it will illuminate our future.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Power of Light," October 2001, National Geographic magazine)

Photo of the Day 345

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, 2000

Photograph by Theo Westenberger

May 24, 2008, marked the 125th anniversary of the opening of New York's Brooklyn Bridge. The elegant structure slung over the East River took more than 13 years to build and was at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world. With its stocky towers and delicate webs of steel cables, the bridge is still regarded as an architectural marvel.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Manhattan: The New York That New Yorkers Love," November/December 2000, National Geographic Traveler magazine)