A photo from out of this world

This far-out image of the Sahara desert was taken from space by the Sally Ride EarthKAM, a camera aboard the International Space Station. The EarthKAM is programmed remotely by middle school students around the world as part of a NASA educational programme established by physicist and astronaut Sally Ride, who became the first American woman to travel to space in 1983.

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Where's the middle of the bridge?

This ambitious construction project in China connects three major cities (Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai) on the Pearl River Delta. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) includes three cable bridges and a tunnel – similar to the Channel Tunnel between England and France – that takes commuters below the delta’s waters. The HZMB is currently the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, with a combined length of more than 34 miles. Originally set to open in 2016, it was finally completed and open to traffic in October 2018. Would you take a ride through the tunnel under the waters of the Pearl River Delta?

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Why are the colours different?

That’s the river Arve on the right, flowing into the Rhône. This point where the two rivers meet is just west of the city centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The Arve’s much lighter colour is due to the silt it picks up as it flows out of the Alps. From here, the Rhône will continue on – in a mostly southerly direction – through south-east France towards its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Lupins at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Lake Tekapo fills 32 square miles smack-dab in the middle of some of the most magnificent scenery on New Zealand's South Island. On the horizon, the Southern Alps are a snow-capped frame, and closer in Mt. John awaits day hikers. The wider region is known as Mackenzie Country, a vast, sparsely populated basin within the Southern Alps. Visitors come here to get away from it all, whether that means a chance to stop and smell the lupins or to gaze at the stars. Lake Tekapo is renowned for its stargazing, with strict light pollution laws helping make it one of the best places in the Southern Hemisphere for viewing the full majesty of the night sky.

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Where are these surfers?

Surfers from Norway and around the world gather each September in Unstad, a tiny village in Norway's Lofoten Islands, to compete in the Lofoten Masters, which bills itself as the world's northernmost surfing competition. Described by some as the best surf break in Norway, the island village, where sheep easily outnumber people, boasts two surf shops to help both novices and experts prepare for the extreme conditions.

And surfing isn't just a summer sport at this famous and frequently photographed beach inside the Arctic Circle, during winter months surfers come here for the unique experience of surfing under the Aurora Borealis.

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Where's this hilltop castle?

As we get further into September and the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, let’s head to the German state of Thuringia and enjoy this autumnal scene at Wachsenburg Castle. Wachsenburg is one of three neighbouring hilltop castles collectively known as the Drei Gleichen – or “Three Equals” – alongside Gleichen Castle and Muhlburg Castle.

Wachsenburg itself has a colourful past, originally built around the year 930, it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since and has served as a frontier fortification, a base for a robber baron and a prison. It has now been turned into a hotel, museum and a restaurant, which is popular with hikers. Thuringia itself is not short of an historic building or two. It boasts more than 400 palaces and castles, some in ruins, some complete – all with their own stories to tell.

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What's the name of this church?

This picturesque setting is from Reichenau Island, the biggest island in Lake Constance in southern Germany. In the background you can see the Minster of St Mary and St Mark, which was once the abbey church of the important Reichenau Monastery. The Monastic Island of Reichenau has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 and is notable for its vegetable farms. One third of the island is used for agriculture, which is why it is often called the “Vegetable island”. But as you can see in this image, there’s still enough space for a wildflower meadow.

Source: Bing