Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
|
Featured picture tools: |
These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in the last 30 days.
You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.
February 2
|
|
Euromaidan was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. The protests were sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The scope of the protests widened to include calls for the resignation of Yanukovych and the Azarov government. The uprising climaxed on 18–20 February 2014, when fierce fighting in Kyiv between Maidan activists and police resulted in the deaths of almost 100 protesters and 13 police. As a result, Yanukovych and the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement on 21 February to bring about an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections. This photograph shows the crowd of protesters in Kyiv on 2 February 2014. Photograph credit: Ввласенко
Recently featured:
|
February 1
,_1819._Charles_Willson_Peale.jpg)
|
Yarrow Mamout was an African-American freedman of Guinean origin. Born into the Fula people in around 1736, Mamout was raised as a Muslim and learned to read and write in Arabic as well as his native Fula language. Captured and enslaved in 1752, he was brought to Maryland on the slave ship Elijah and was sold to Samuel Beall, a plantation owner in Takoma Park, Maryland. Mamout was enslaved there for 44 years, being manumitted when Beall died in 1796; he immediately purchased and freed his 7-year-old son, Aquilla. Mamout then became a successful businessman. He remained a devout Muslim, refusing to eat pork or drink alcohol and praying regularly. This 1819 portrait of Mamout was created by painter Charles Willson Peale and is now in the Philadelphia Art Museum. Painting credit: Charles Willson Peale
Recently featured:
|
January 31
,_Zanzíbar,_Tanzania,_2024-05-31,_DD_66.jpg)
|
|
Choriaster granulatus, the granulated sea star, is a species of sea star in the family Oreasteridae, and the only species of its genus. It is found both individually and in groups, and resides in the Indo-Pacific region, the Red Sea, Fiji, and the Great Barrier Reef, at depths of up to 53 metres (174 ft) and temperatures of 24 to 29 °C (75 to 84 °F). It favours sandy habitats with rubble slopes and detritus as well as among corals and sponges. C. granulatus has a convex body and five short arms with rounded tips and is relatively large among sea stars, having a maximum radius of about 27 centimetres (11 in). It is most commonly pale pink with brown papillae radiating out from the centre, but can also exhibit colours ranging from grey to yellow and even red. It is a carnivore, having a diet of small invertebrates such as coral polyps as well as carrion. This C. granulatus sea star was photographed off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
January 30
|
A time-lapse video of the aurora australis, as seen from the International Space Station. Aurorae are natural light displays in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude thermosphere. The particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. Video credit: NASA / ISS Expedition 28 crew
Recently featured:
|
January 29
|
The Torment of Saint Anthony is the earliest known painting by the Italian artist Michelangelo, painted in around 1487–1488 when he was only 12 or 13 years old. A copy of The Temptation of Saint Anthony, an engraving by Martin Schongauer, it shows Saint Anthony being assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted. This was a common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend and other sources, although this composition shows a later episode where St Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by angels, was ambushed in mid-air by devils. The Torment of Saint Anthony is in the permanent collection of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Painting credit: Michelangelo
Recently featured:
|
January 28
|
The blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea) is a small seabird in the family Procellariidae, the only member of its genus. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at only six known sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone. Its plumage is predominantly blue-grey, with an "M" banding across its top, which is similar to that of the closely-related prion. It also has a white-tipped tail. The blue petrel is 28 cm (11 in) in length with a wing span of 66 cm (26 in), and feeds predominantly on krill as well as other crustaceans, fish, and squid. This blue petrel was photographed off the eastern coast of the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania, Australia. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
Recently featured:
|
January 27
|
|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". The oil painting, titled Portrait of the Mozart Family, is traditionally attributed to Johann Nepomuk della Croce and was painted around 1780. In the foreground, the painting depicts Mozart and his sister Maria Anna together playing a fortepiano, and their father Leopold holding a violin. In the background, their recently deceased mother Anna Maria is depicted in a framed portrait alongside a sculpture of Apollo playing a lyre. The painting was considered by Maria Anna to have the most authentic portrait of her brother, and has inspired further depictions of Mozart. It is currently in the collection of the Tanzmeisterhaus Salzburg. Painting credit: attributed to Johann Nepomuk della Croce
Recently featured:
|
January 26
.jpg)
|
|
Gurudongmar Lake is a glacial lake located to the north of the Himalayas in the northeast Indian state of Sikkim. At an elevation of more than 5,150 metres (16,900 feet), it is one of the highest lakes in the world. The lake is fed by glaciers of the Khangchengyao massif and forms the headwaters of the Teesta River. It is considered to be sacred by Buddhists and Sikhs. This photograph shows a partially frozen Gurudongmar Lake. Photograph credit: Yoghya; edited by UnpetitproleX
Recently featured:
|
January 25
_by_Louis_Zipfel.jpg)
|
Hermann Schwarz (25 January 1843 – 30 November 1921) was a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. Between 1867 and 1869, he worked at the University of Halle, then at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. From 1875, Schwarz worked at Göttingen University, dealing with the subjects of complex analysis, differential geometry, and the calculus of variations. In 1892, he became a member of the Berlin Academy of Science and a professor at the University of Berlin, where his students included Lipót Fejér, Paul Koebe and Ernst Zermelo. Schwarz's name is attached to many ideas in mathematics. This photograph of Schwarz, taken around 1890, is in the collection of the ETH Library. Photograph credit: Louis Zipfel; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
January 24
,_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-25,_DD_23.jpg)
|
The redtoothed triggerfish (Odonus niger) is a tropical fish in the family Balistidae, the triggerfishes. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific area, including the Red Sea, the African east coast, the Marquesas Islands and the Society Islands, across to southern Japan and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Redtoothed triggerfish are normally deep blue or purple with a light blue head. They are omnivorous and mostly opportunistic feeders, with crustaceans as their primary food source. They also feed on zooplankton and algae, and remains of cephalopods and fish have been found in their stomachs. This redtoothed triggerfish was photographed off the coast of Anilao in the Philippines. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
January 23
|
Amanda Smith (January 23, 1837 – February 24, 1915) was an American Methodist preacher and former slave who funded the former Amanda Smith Orphanage and Industrial Home for Abandoned and Destitute Colored Children in Harvey, Illinois. She was a leader in the Holiness movement, preaching the doctrine of entire sanctification throughout Methodist camp meetings across the world. This photograph of Smith was taken around 1885 and is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Photograph credit: T. B. Latchmore; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
January 22
|
Pouteria campechiana, also known as the canistel, is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It is cultivated in its native countries and has been introduced into several other countries, including Brazil, Taiwan, and the United States. The edible part of the tree is its fruit, which is colloquially known as an egg fruit. The ripe fruit is used in jam and marmalade, on pancakes, and in a milkshake known as "eggfruit nog". This picture shows a whole P. campechiana fruit. Photograph: Augustus Binu
Recently featured:
|
January 21
|
Nohkalikai Falls is a 340-foot-tall (100 m) plunge waterfall located in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. It is the tallest plunge waterfall in India and is situated near Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on Earth. Nohkalikai Falls are fed by the rainwater collected on the summit of a relatively small plateau. Below the falls is a plunge pool with water of an unusual shade of green. Photograph credit: Vikramjit Kakati
Recently featured:
|
January 20
The plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a species of parakeet in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, from the foothills of the Himalayas to southern India and Sri Lanka, and inhabits forests, open woodland, and sometimes city gardens. It is a predominantly green bird, with a length of 33 to 37 centimetres (13 to 14+1⁄2 in) and a weight of 55 to 85 grams (2 to 3 oz). The male has a red head which shades to purplish-blue on the back of the crown, nape and cheeks, while the female has a bluish-gray head. The plum-headed parakeet is a gregarious and noisy species with swift twisting flight and a range of raucous calls. It feeds on grains, fruits, flower petals, sometimes also raiding agricultural fields and orchards. It nests in holes, chiselled out by the pair, in tree trunks, and courtship includes bill rubbing and courtship feeding. These male and female plum-headed parakeets were photographed in Jim Corbett National Park, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Photograph credit: Giles Laurent
Recently featured:
|
January 19
|
The Lingnan School was an art movement active in the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China that sought to modernize Chinese painting through borrowing from other artistic traditions. Established by the brothers Gao Jianfu and Gao Qifeng, together with Chen Shuren, the Lingnan School has been considered one of the major art movements of 20th-century Chinese painting. Stylistically, the Lingnan School was marked by a blending of traditional Chinese approaches and Western techniques, as mediated by Japanese understandings. These included matters of lighting and atmosphere, as well as depictions of subjects rarely found in earlier Chinese works. This 1916 work is by Gao Qifeng and is titled The Roar of the Tiger. Painting credit: Gao Qifeng
Recently featured:
|
January 18
|
His Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures on January 18, 1940. The plot centers on a newspaper editor named Walter Burns who is about to lose his ace reporter and ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, newly engaged to another man. Burns suggests they cover one more story together, getting themselves entangled in the case of murderer Earl Williams as Burns desperately tries to win back his wife. The screenplay was adapted from the 1928 play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Film credit: Howard Hawks
Recently featured:
|
January 17
_caterpillar_Ruggeller_Riet.jpg)
|
Aglais io, commonly known as the European peacock, is a colourful butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, found in Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan. It is resident in much of its range, often wintering in buildings or trees, and therefore often appears quite early in spring. The butterfly lays its eggs in batches of up to 400 at a time, with caterpillars hatching after about a week. These are shiny black with six rows of barbed spikes and a series of white dots on each segment. At the end of this phase they form a chrysalis which is either grey, brown or green, and may have a blackish tinge. This A. io caterpillar on a stinging nettle was photographed in Ruggeller Riet, Liechtenstein. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
January 16
|
Narbonne Cathedral is a Catholic church located in the town of Narbonne, France. Dedicated to Saints Justus and Pastor, it was the cathedral of the Diocese of Narbonne until it was merged with the Diocese of Carcassonne under the Concordat of 1801. It is now a co-cathedral of the Diocese of Carcassonne–Narbonne, and was declared a minor basilica in 1886. The first church on the site was a small Constantinian structure that was erected in 313 and destroyed by fire in 441. A replacement building, erected in 445, fell into ruin and was eventually replaced in 890 by a Carolingian cathedral whose restored steeple remains on the site. Construction on the present Gothic building began in 1272, opening in 1286. It was gradually expanded until 1354, but its size was then limited by the location of the city walls and the rest of the building was never completed, the nave and transept being notably absent. This photograph shows the choir of Narbonne cathedral, looking towards the high altar in the background. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
January 15
.jpg)
|
|
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago in October 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km2) of the city (including more than 17,000 structures), and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. It began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center and spread rapidly, amid a long period of hot, dry, windy weather. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago before crossing the main stem of the river and consuming the Near North Side. This Currier and Ives lithograph, titled Chicago in Flames, shows an artist's rendering of the Great Chicago Fire, facing northeast across the Randolph Street Bridge, with thousands of people fleeing on foot and by carriage. Lithograph credit: Currier and Ives
Recently featured:
|
January 14
_Fogg_Dam.jpg)
|
|
The rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus) is a bird species in the family Meropidae, the bee-eaters. It is found during the summer in forested areas in most of southern Australia, excluding Tasmania, migrating to the north of the country as well as New Guinea and some of the southern islands of Indonesia in the winter. It inhabits open woodlands, beaches, dunes, cliffs, mangroves, and farmlands, and visits parks and private gardens. The rainbow bee-eater is a brilliantly coloured bird that grows between 23 and 28 centimetres (9.1 and 11.0 in) in length, including the elongated tail feathers, with a weight of 20 to 33 grams (0.71 to 1.16 oz). Its diet consists mostly of flying insects and especially bees, as implied by its name. Like all bee-eaters, it is a social bird; when not breeding, individuals roost together in large groups. This rainbow bee-eater perching on a twig was photographed in the Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve near Middle Point in the Northern Territory, Australia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
January 13
.jpg)
|
|
Paxillus involutus, the common roll-rim, is a fungus that is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and has also been unintentionally introduced to Australia, New Zealand, and South America. The brownish fruit body grows up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) high. It has a funnel-shaped cap up to 12 centimetres (5 in) wide, with a distinctive in-rolled rim and decurrent gills close to the stalk. Genetic testing suggests that the fungus may be a species complex rather than a single species. A common mushroom of deciduous and coniferous woods and grassy areas in late summer and autumn, P. involutus is symbiotic with the roots of many tree species, reducing the trees' intake of heavy metals and increasing their resistance to pathogens. Previously considered to be edible and eaten widely in Eastern and Central Europe, the mushroom has been found to be dangerously poisonous; the German mycologist Julius Schäffer died from ingesting it in 1944. It can trigger the immune system to attack red blood cells with potentially fatal complications, including acute renal and respiratory failure. This P. involutus mushroom was photographed on Golovec, a hill near Ljubljana, Slovenia. Photograph credit: Petar Milošević
Recently featured:
|
January 12
|
Antonio de Ulloa (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish Navy officer. He spent much of his career in Spanish America, where he carried out important scientific work. As a scientist, Ulloa is regarded as one of the major figures of the Spanish Enlightenment. At the age of nineteen, Ulloa joined the French Geodesic Mission to the Equator, which established that the shape of the Earth is an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles, as predicted by Isaac Newton. Ulloa traveled throughout the territories of the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1736 to 1744, making many astronomical, natural, and social observations. He published the first detailed observations of platinum, later identified as a new chemical element. As a military officer, Ulloa achieved the rank of vice admiral. He also served the Spanish Empire as an administrator in the Viceroyalty of Peru and in Spanish Louisiana. This posthumous oil portrait of Ulloa was painted by Andrés Cortés in 1856. Originally in the Palacio de San Telmo, the painting was donated by Infanta Luisa Fernanda to the City Council of Seville in 1898, and now hangs in Seville City Hall. Painting credit: Andrés Cortés
Recently featured:
|
January 11
|
An effusive eruption is a type of volcanic eruption in which lava steadily flows out of a volcano onto the ground. It is one of two major groupings of eruptions, the other being explosive. Effusive eruptions form lava flows and lava domes, each of which vary in shape, length, and width. Deep in the crust, gases are dissolved into the magma because of high pressures but, upon ascent and eruption, pressure drops rapidly, and these gases begin to exsolve out of the melt. A volcanic eruption is effusive when the erupting magma is volatile-poor, which suppresses fragmentation, creating oozing magma that spills out of the volcanic vent and out into the surrounding area. Effusive eruptions are most common in basaltic magma, but they also occur in intermediate and felsic magma, and occasionally in silicic magma as well. This video shows lava agitating and bubbling in an effusive eruption of Litli-Hrútur, near the volcano Fagradalsfjall in Iceland, in 2023. Video credit: Giles Laurent
Recently featured:
|
January 10
_Mount_Sheba.jpg)
|
The blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia and populations further south down to South Africa. The taxonomy of this species has been disputed and Sykes' monkey, the silver monkey and the golden monkey are often regarded as subspecies. The blue monkey is found in evergreen forests and montane bamboo forests, and lives largely in the forest canopy, coming to the ground infrequently. Its diet consists of fruits, figs, insects, leaves, twigs, and flowers and it lives in philopatric social systems where females stay in their natal groups, while males disperse once they reach adulthood. This photograph shows a blue monkey from the subspecies C. m. labiatus (sometimes called the Samango monkey), in Mount Sheba Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
January 9
|
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Discovered on 25 March 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, it is the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, after Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and it is larger by volume than the smallest planet, Mercury. Titan itself is primarily composed of water ice and rocky material. Its dense, opaque atmosphere meant that little was known of the surface features or conditions until the Cassini–Huygens mission in 2004. Although mountains and several possible cryovolcanoes have been discovered, its surface is relatively smooth and few impact craters have been found. Owing to the existence of stable bodies of surface liquids and its thick nitrogen-based atmosphere, Titan has been cited as a possible host for microbial extraterrestrial life or, at least, as a prebiotic environment rich in complex organic chemistry. This mosaic of nine processed images was acquired during Cassini's first close flyby of Titan in 2004. Photograph credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute
Recently featured:
|
January 8
|
A. J. Muste (January 8, 1885 – February 11, 1967) was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. He is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, the pacifist movement, the anti-war movement, and the civil rights movement in the United States. Muste became involved in trade-union activity in 1919, when he led a 16-week-long textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In 1929, he organized the Conference for Progressive Labor Action, which became the American Workers Party in 1933. Muste resigned from the Workers Party in 1936 and left socialist politics to return to his roots as a Christian pacifist. In the 1960s, he was a leader in the movement against the Vietnam War. This photograph of Muste was taken by Bernard Gotfryd in Central Park, New York City, between 1965 and 1967. The image is part of a collection of Gotfryd's photographs in the Library of Congress. Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd; restored by Yann Forget
Recently featured:
|
January 7
.jpg)
|
|
The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, nonmigratory passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. The species is native to North America, ranging from the northern United States to southern Canada and all the way up to Alaska and Yukon, living in deciduous and mixed forests. It has a distinct black cap on its head, a black bib underneath, and white cheeks. The black-capped chickadee has a white belly, buff sides, and grey wings, back, and tail. It is well known for its vocalizations, including its fee-bee song and its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call, from which it derives its name. The black-capped chickadee feeds primarily on insects and seeds, and is known for its ability to cache food for use during the winter. Its hippocampus grows during the caching season, and is believed to help it better remember its cache locations. It builds nests in tree cavities, with the nesting season starting in late April and lasting until late June. This foraging black-capped chickadee was photographed in Central Park, New York City. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
Recently featured:
|
January 6
_(retouched).jpg)
|
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of then president-elect Joe Biden. The attack was unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. This photograph shows the crowd outside the Capitol during the attack. Photograph credit: Tyler Merbler
Recently featured:
|
January 5
,_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-22,_DD_172.jpg)
|
Chromodoris annae is a species of sea slug in the family Chromodorididae. It is found in the tropical central area of the Indo-Pacific region from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to the Marshall Islands, a region rich in biodiversity and rich in coral, mangroves and seagrasses. C. annae has an elongated body, reaching a maximum length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in), and is coloured in various shades of blue with black spots, its mantle edge and foot being bordered with white and orange-to-yellow lines. The sea slug's diet consists solely of Petrosaspongia, part of the Thorectidae family of sea sponges. It absorbs a noxious chemical from the sponge, storing it in its glands and using it to deter predation. C. annae is generally a docile species, but individuals have been occasionally sighted fighting each other. This C. annae sea slug was photographed in the diving resort of Anilao in Mabini, Batangas, in the Philippines. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
January 4
|
|
The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long ice shelf in the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is named after Norwegian explorer Carl Anton Larsen, who sailed along the ice front in 1893. Composed of a series of shelves along the coast, named with letters from A to G, since the mid-1990s the Larsen Ice Shelf has been disintegrating, with the collapse of Larsen B in 2002 being particularly dramatic. A large section of the Larsen C shelf broke away in July 2017 to form an iceberg known as A-68. The area of the whole Larsen Ice Shelf was formerly 33,000 square miles (85,000 km2), but today is only 26,000 square miles (67,000 km2). This late-2016 photograph shows the rift in Larsen C from the vantage point of NASA's DC-8 research aircraft, months before A-68 broke away. Photograph credit: NASA/John Sonntag
Recently featured:
|
Picture of the day archives and future dates