National Geographic Magazine

the viking difference

Celebrating more than 20 years of cruise excellence. From its humble beginnings in 1997, Viking is now the world’s most recognized cruise line, with award-winning river and ocean fleets exploring the world’s great waterways. Small ships, big advantage. Intimate vessels sail into the heart of your destination—where new discoveries are just a short walk from your ship. Sail in Scandinavian serenity. Viking has fine-tuned the art of exploring the world in comfort. Understated, elegant ships, thoughtfully engineered by nautical architects to bring the outside in. Graceful staterooms and public areas designed to inspire and refresh you. Cultural enrichment from ship to shore. Every Viking cruise opens doors of discovery and enrichment with an included excursion in every port. Viking also takes you beyond the iconic with Local Life, Working World and optional Privileged Access® experiences; and a…

apollo: missions to the moon takes viewers along

NAT GEO FILMS To mark the 50th anniversary of the first crewed lunar landing, National Geographic brings NASA’s Apollo space program to life with the two-hour documentary Apollo: Missions to the Moon. The film combines archival TV footage, never before heard radio broadcasts, home movies, NASA film, and Mission Control audio to create a riveting, you-are-there experience. Kicking off a multi-night television event, Apollo will air at 9/8c on July 7 on National Geographic. BOOKS Experience The Mindful Day Meditation expert Laurie Cameron offers practical advice on integrating mindfulness into busy lives. The Mindful Day, now in paperback, is available wherever books are sold and at shopng.com/books. TELEVISION A return visit to Yellowstone Live This four-night event follows cinematographers in real time as they explore an iconic American wilderness and showcase its denizens. Season two of Yellowstone…

preserving earth’s undersea treasures

‘FIVE PERCENT OF THE OCEAN IS PROTECTED. SCIENCE SAYS HALF THE OCEAN MUST BE PROTECTED TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE.’ ENRIC SALA has made it his mission to save wildlife and habitat. In the past 10 years alone, thanks to his efforts and partnerships with governments around the world, an area half the size of Canada has been protected from all manner of human exploitation. The reserves that marine ecologist Sala has helped establish aren’t on land but in the oceans. His Pristine Seas project, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, has been instrumental in getting more than two million square miles set aside—keeping untouched wild areas healthy and giving depleted ones a chance to recover. Sala’s article this month recounts how Pristine Seas lent support to the creation of a protected marine…

spirit worlds

What remains in a glass of Scotch whisky after the liquid is gone? A potential collection of otherworldly landscapes.…

the back story

WASHING DISHES—the most ordinary of chores—led photographer Ernie Button on a decadelong discovery of a fantasy universe. While placing an empty whisky glass in the dishwasher, he noticed at the bottom a thin residue of evaporated alcohol—specifically, Scotch, the term for a whisky aged more than three years in oak barrels in Scotland. When the last drops of alcohol dried up, they left sediment from the whisky’s distillates. Button took the glass to his studio, laid it on its side, and took pictures. The whisky-sediment patterns are like snowflakes; each has a unique design. They all, however, are light gray until Button lights them with multicolored lamps. The gray lines and swirls spring to life and make the rich designs resemble colorful landscapes of planets and moons. “I think of it…

let’s send only women to space

IF YOU’RE PACKING for an interplanetary space mission—one that’s very long and might involve populating a faraway world—sending an all-female astronaut crew could be an intelligent choice. IN THIS SECTION Straw Substitutes High-Tech Health Help Why Words Are Funny Flight of the Dandelion Before you raise an eyebrow at the prospect, remember that NASA recruited and flew only all-male crews for decades. In fact, in the 58 years that Earthlings have launched humans into orbit, about 11 percent of them—63 individuals—have been women. “An all-female mission tends to be something that NASA has avoided in assignments because it seems like a stunt,” says Margaret Weitekamp, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum. But in some ways, women are potentially better suited for space travel than men. Let’s focus on four factors. Women are…