Souvenirs of travel

Eclipse excitement

North Americans turned into literal lunatics on 21 August, as an eclipse sent thousands of obsessed sky-watchers scrambling to see the Moon block out the Sun. Here, a composite image shows the progression of the eclipse as seen from the Lowell Observatory in Madras, Oregon. Credit: Jasman Mander

Go northwest!

The Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean has become a much-examined signifier of climate change. As ice thins, more ships than ever before are attempting to push through this previously impassable sea route. On 29 July, the icebreaker MSV Nordica — pictured here — completed the route earlier in the year than ever before. Just a few weeks later, a reinforced Russian tanker made the journey successfully without an icebreaker escort. Credit: Dan Goldman/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Harvey's toll

Storm Harvey is still bringing death and destruction to the United States, as record rainfall in Texas triggered flooding and evacuations. These people in Houston, Texas, were among many forced to take to the waters to escape. Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Stork, stalking

This yellow-billed stork (Mycteria ibis) began hunting for fish right alongside a photographer’s hide in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Nicky Classen was inside the hide earlier this month to capture the shot. Credit: Nicky Classen/Solent News/REX/Shutterstock

Catching dinner

In the Netherlands, lions that were once trained to do tricks in circuses have been taught other skills. This lioness is catching a piece of meat during hunting training. Credit: John Thys/AFP/Getty

Do svidaniya!

On 28 July, a Soyuz rocket shuttled three crew members of Expedition 52 to the International Space Station. The mission plans to test out flexible solar panels that roll out like blankets; explore the physics of neutron stars; and test in rats an experimental drug to deal with bone-mass loss caused by weightlessness. Credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA

Cassini’s legacy

On 15 September, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will begin a plunge into Saturn’s clouds that will lead to its destruction and the end of its 13 years of data collection. Nature looks back at some of the pictures the probe has captured, and what they have meant for science. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
Credit: Sergio Tapiro Velasco/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year