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Ethel Waters (1896–1977) was an Americanblues,jazz, andgospelvocalist andactress. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues, but later frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on theBroadway stage and in concerts. In 1949 Waters was nominated for anAcademy Award, the secondAfrican American (afterHattie McDaniel) to receive such a nomination. In 1962 she became the first African-American woman to be nominated for anEmmy Award. Her recordings include "Dinah", "Stormy Weather", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Heat Wave", and "Cabin in the Sky" .

Photograph:William P. Gottlieb; restoration:Adam Cuerden

TheInca tern (Larosterna inca) is a species ofseabird in the familySternidae and theonly member of its genus. Thispiscivorous species is restricted to theHumboldt Current and breeds on the rocky coastal cliffs inPeru andChile, laying one or twoeggs which hatch after 4 weeks.

Photograph:Olaf Oliviero Riemer

Alatskivi Castle is aNeo-Gothic castle inAlatskivi,Estonia. Dating to the 17th century, it is situated inAlatskivi Parish,Tartu County. It was rebuilt in the late 19th century by Baron Arved von Nolcken, modeled on theroyal residence ofBalmoral inScotland. A renovation occurred between 2005 and 2011. Five rooms on the first floor house theEduard Tubin museum, which documents his accomplishments as a music composer and conductor.

Photograph:Ivar Leidus

Bacchus and Ariadne is anoil painting on canvas completed byTitian between 1522 and 1523. One of a cycle of paintings on mythological subjects produced forAlfonso d'Este, the Duke ofFerrara, it depicts the godBacchus falling in love withAriadne after she has been deserted by her loverTheseus. Behind Bacchus is a procession of revelers in a chariot drawn by twocheetahs. The painting now hangs in theNational Gallery inLondon.

Painting:Titian

Themaxima clam (Tridacna maxima) is a species ofbivalve found throughout theIndo-Pacific. It is found on the surface of reefs or sand, or partly embedded in coral (as with this specimen), in the oceans surrounding east Africa, India, China, Australia, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific. This clam is much sought after in the aquarium trade, as its often striking coloration—the result of crystalline pigment—mimics that of the truegiant clam.

Photograph:Alexander Vasenin

TheSolovetsky Monastery is aRussian Orthodox monastery inSolovetsky,Arkhangelsk,Russia. Founded in 1436 by the monkZosima, the monastery grew in power into the 16th century, becoming an economic and political center of theWhite Sea region and eventually hosting 350 monks. After theBolshevik Revolution, Soviet authorities closed down the monastery and incorporated many of its buildings intoSolovki prison camp, one of the earliest forced-labor camps of thegulag system. The camp closed after the region's trees had been harvested. Today the monastery has been re-established, and also serves as a museum.

Photograph:Linazet

TheAlbanian water frog (Pelophylax shqipericus) is aspecies oftrue frog in the familyRanidae. It is native toAlbania andMontenegro, where it lives in aquatic environments. The frogs are medium-sized. Males sometimes bear a distinctive bright green stripe down the length of the backbone, but otherwise are green to light brown in overall colouring with large black or dark brown spots. Females are olive green or light brown in colour and also bear brown or black large spots. The species is endangered and known populations are currently in decline.

Photograph:Benny Trapp

Peter Sellers (1925–1980) was a British film actor, comedian and singer. He performed in the BBC Radio comedy seriesThe Goon Show, featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a world-wide audience through his many film characterisations, among themChief Inspector Clouseau inThe Pink Panther series of films. Sellers's versatility enabled him to portray a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, and he would often assume multiple roles within the same film, frequently with contrasting temperaments and styles, as inDr. Strangelove. Satire andblack humour were major features of many of his works, and his performances had a strong influence on a number of later comedians.

Photograph:Allan Warren; edit:Keraunoscopia

Agnomonic projection of a portion of theNorthern Hemisphere, centered on the geographicNorth Pole. Such projections display allgreat circles as straight lines, resulting in any line segment on a gnomonic map showing theshortest route between the segment's two endpoints.

Map:Strebe, using Geocart

Buffalo Bull's Back Fat was chief of theKainai Nation, one of the three tribes which make up theBlackfoot Confederacy, during the early 19th century. This portrait of him was completed atFort Union in 1832 byGeorge Catlin and is now held by theSmithsonian American Art Museum.

Painting:George Catlin

Corals aremarine invertebrates that typically live in compactcolonies of many identical individualpolyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length. Corals are major contributors to the physical structure of thecoral reefs such as theGreat Barrier Reef, where this photograph was taken. Coral reefs are under threat globally fromocean acidification andclimate change.

Photograph:Toby Hudson

Aspace selfie is aselfie that is taken inspace; the term has been used to describeself-portraits by astronauts and machines such asrovers. This selfie was taken byJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronautAkihiko Hoshide during a space walk at theInternational Space Station on 5 September 2012 and wentviral after CommanderChris Hadfield posted it to hisTwitter feed on 30 September 2013.

Photograph:Akihiko Hoshide

TheSpanish painted frog (Discoglossus jeanneae) is a species offrog in the familyAlytidae.Endemic toSpain, it mostly lives in open areas, pine groves and shrublands. It feeds mostly on insects and worms.

Photograph:Benny Trapp

Thebar-throated minla (Minla strigula) is a species of bird found in themontane forests of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

Photograph:JJ Harrison

Mary of Hungary (1505–1558) wasqueen of Hungary andBohemia as the wife ofKing Louis II. After their short, childless marriage ended with Louis' death, Mary's brotherFerdinand I came to power and made her regent – and latergovernor – of the Netherlands. She created unity between the provinces and was an enthusiastic patron of literature, music, and hunting.

Painting:Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen

TheShoreham Hotel is ahotel located at the intersection ofConnecticut Avenue and Calvert Street in northwestWashington, D.C. Built in 1930 by local construction company owner Harry Bralove, the building was designed byWaddy Butler Wood. The hotel has also served as an entertainment venue, having been the home ofMark Russell andThe Capitol Steps. It is currently owned byOmni Hotels.

Photograph:Jürgen Matern

David Faiman is anIsraeli engineer andphysicist recognized for his expertise onsolar power. He is the director of theBen-Gurion National Solar Energy Center and Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics at Ben-Gurion University'sJacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research inSde Boker.

Photograph:David Shankbone

A feedingBembicinae specimen. This large subfamily ofcrabronid wasps includes over 80 genera and over 1800 species. The subgroups of Bembicinae are quite distinctive in behavior and morphology.

Photograph:Fir0002

The Day the Earth Smiled refers to the date July 19, 2013, on which theCassini spacecraft turned to imageSaturn, its entirering system, and the Earth from a position where Saturn eclipsed the Sun.Cassini imaging team leader and planetary scientistCarolyn Porco called for all the world's people to reflect on humanity's place in the cosmos, to marvel at life on Earth, and to look up and smile in celebration. The final mosaic, shown here, was released four months later and includes planets Earth, Mars, and Venus, and a host ofSaturnian moons.

Photograph:NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Benoît Peeters is a Frenchcomics writer,novelist, andcritic. His works include a series of novels,Les Cités Obscures (1983–present); an illustrated history of the Belgian cartoonistHergé and his creationThe Adventures of Tintin,Le monde d'Hergé (1983); and biographies of the philosopherJacques Derrida and the early comics artistRodolphe Töpffer.

Photograph:Georges Seguin

Thepied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species ofwater kingfisher found across Africa and Asia. They are usually found in pairs or small family parties. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail. They mainly eatfish, but will takecrustaceans and large aquaticinsects.

Photograph:Artemy Voikhansky

Folio 2recto (left) and folio 1verso (right) of theBirmingham Quran manuscript, preserving parts ofSurahs 18 to 20. These two leaves of thisearly Quranic manuscript, held in theMingana Collection, were discovered in 2015 as being dated between 568 and 645, making it among the oldestQuran manuscripts to date.

Manuscript: Unknown

Nembrotha cristata is a colorfulspecies of seaslug in the familyPolyceridae. This black nembrothid, which is covered with green nodules, grows to at least 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in length. It resides in the tropicalIndo-West Pacific Ocean.

Photograph:Chriswan Sungkono

TheIberian midwife toad (Alytes cisternasii) is a species offrog in the familyAlytidae found inPortugal and westernSpain. Its naturalhabitats are temperateforests andshrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, intermittentrivers and freshwatermarshes, pastureland, and aquacultureponds. The species is affected byhabitat loss, and theIUCN lists it as being "Near Threatened".

Photograph:Benny Trapp

TheSukhoi Superjet 100 is a modernfly-by-wiretwin-engineregional jet with 8 to 108 passenger seats. Development began in 2000; the aircraft had itsmaiden flight on 19 May 2008 and entered commercial service on 21 April 2011. This aircraft is seen flying off the coast of Italy nearSanremo.

Photograph: Katsuhiko Tokunaga/SuperJet International

TheMagnavox Odyssey is the first commercialhome video game console. First demonstrated in April 1972, it was released that August, predating theAtariPong home consoles by three years. The system could be powered by either sixC batteries or an optionalAC power supply. Games used "game cards" inserted into a slot similar to aROM cartridge slot. The system lackedsound capability. By 1974 more than 350,000 had been sold.

Photograph:Evan Amos

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) was a Frenchchemist andmicrobiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles ofvaccination,microbial fermentation andpasteurization. He reduced mortality frompuerperal fever, and created the first vaccines forrabies andanthrax. His medical discoveries provided direct support for thegerm theory of disease and its application in clinical medicine. Together withFerdinand Cohn andRobert Koch, he is regarded as one of the three main founders ofbacteriology.

Photograph:Nadar; restoration:Chris Woodrich

Dryadula phaetusa is a species of butterfly, thelone species in the genusDryadula. It is native toBrazil to centralMexico, where it is generally found in lowland tropical fields and valleys. It feeds primarily on the nectar of flowers and bird droppings.

Photograph:Richard Bartz

Cymbiola imperialis is aspecies ofsea snail in thefamilyVolutidae. First described byJohn Lightfoot in 1786, this species can be found in theSulu Sea, near thePhilippines.

Photograph:H. Zell