Welcome Home, Atlantis - Alan Taylor - In Focus. Today marks the end of an era.
Three decades of missions came to a close this morning as the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down in Florida after a 13-day trip to the International Space Station. All told, the 135 space shuttle missions have racked up more than 542 million miles in low earth orbit. Commander Chris Ferguson piloted the Atlantis to a safe landing at 5:52 a.m., and the spacecraft will soon undergo processing and decommissioning. It has been an emotional experience for residents and workers along Florida's Space Coast -- some 9,000 shuttle engineers, technicians, and other staff are being laid off, and the main tourism draw for the area has come to an end. Shown here, for one last time, is a look at a full shuttle mission, STS-135, the final flight of Atlantis. Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose:
Yellowstone National Park - Alan Taylor - In Focus. Yellowstone, the first national park in the world, was established by the U.S.
Congress in 1872 and has welcomed millions of visitors in the 139 years since. Last year, Yellowstone recorded its highest number of visitors ever, as some 3.6 million people passed through its gates. Its well-known geothermal features -- geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles -- owe their existence to the massive Yellowstone Caldera, a 45-mile-wide volcanic system beneath the park. Tourists are also drawn to Yellowstone's hundreds of species of wildlife, massive waterfalls, and incredible vistas. Collected below are a few recent views of Yellowstone National Park. [41 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: A rainbow appears at the base of the Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011.
A coyote hunts in a the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 20, 2011. A bison emerges after swimming across the Yellowstone River, on June 21, 2011. When We Tested Nuclear Bombs - Alan Taylor - In Focus. Since the time of Trinity -- the first nuclear explosion in 1945 -- nearly 2,000 nuclear tests have been performed.
Most of these occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. When the technology was new, tests were frequent and often spectacular, and they led to the development of newer, more deadly weapons. Since the 1990s, there have been efforts to limit the testing of nuclear weapons, including a U.S. moratorium and a U.N. comprehensive test ban treaty. As a result, testing has slowed -- though not halted -- and there are looming questions about who will take over for those experienced engineers who are now near retirement?
Gathered here are images from the first 30 years of nuclear testing. Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: Upshot-Knothole Grable, a test carried out by the U.S. military in Nevada on May 25, 1953. Exposed wiring of The Gadget, the nuclear device which exploded as part of Trinity, the first nuclear weapons test of an atomic bomb. Los Alamos director J. Vancouver: After the Riot - Alan Taylor - In Focus. Last Wednesday, June 15, thousands of Vancouver Canucks hockey fans gathered in their city's Rogers Arena to watch the final game of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins.
After the Canucks lost and the crowds poured out into the streets, some fans began rioting, smashing storefront windows, looting, and overturning cars. The following day, many volunteers gathered in downtown Vancouver to help clean up and repair the damage. They wrote thousands of emotional messages on the plywood covering storefronts, sidewalks, and police vehicles -- messages expressing anger at the rioters, pride in the city, and gratitude toward police and emergency workers. The spontaneous display of sentiment on these sheets of plywood appears to be important enough to the history of the city that the Museum of Vancouver will be saving them once they come down. (Also, be sure to read about The Last Time Canadians Rioted After the Stanley Cup Finals) [24 photos]