Carnival season 2015 is underway across Europe and the Americas. These pre-Lent festivals, often a blend of local pagan and catholic traditions, usher out the winter and welcome in spring. The largest and most famous—the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—took place this weekend.
Two nights ago, as the stroke of midnight rolled across the world's time zones, people gathered in private and took to the streets to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, 2015.
With only a few days left until Christmas, lighted displays, colorful markets, and Santa's helpers are out in force. From Europe to the Americas and Asia, gathered here as an early gift to you, is a collection of holiday cheer and light wrapped up in 30 photographs.
A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition
A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope
Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican, scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025, a humanoid-robot half-marathon in China, and much more
Images of the people, animals, and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions, photographed by Olivier Morin