National Geographic Magazine - UK December 2022

YEARS AGO when I was starting to explore the world in earnest—making my first trips to Africa and Asia and the Arctic—I made the decision not to take a lot of, or in some cases any, photographs. At the time, I believed that looking at the world through a lens hindered my ability to see what was really in front of me and to notice what mattered. I thought that trying to capture good pictures took me out of the moment and made me conscious of constructing an image rather than absorbing what I was experiencing. I’ve since changed my mind about that. Today I take plenty of photos, not just on my travels but in the everyday—when I notice an interesting mushroom while walking the dog, or watch the…

A-K MATTHEW ABBOTT Australian photojournalist Abbott enjoys telling long-form visual stories. Page 86 KARINE AIGNER Based in Washington, D.C., Aigner uses her camera to tell stories about the relationships between animals and humans. Page 124 STEFANIE ARNDT Arndt is a sea ice physicist with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany. Page 4 SASHA ARUTYUNOVA Moscow-born Arutyunova covers the world and events around her from her base in Brooklyn, New York. Page 92 ANUSH BABAJANYAN An Armenian photographer and National Geographic Explorer, Babajanyan covers social and personal stories in Asia and around the world. Page 46 CHRIS BURKARD California native Burkard photographs stories that explore the relationships between human beings and nature. Page 100 ALEJANDRO CEGARRA Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Cegarra now lives in Mexico. His passion…

When cracks opened up in La Palma’s Cumbre Vieja ridge in September 2021, they set off one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in the Canary Islands in 500 years. Carsten Peter arrived shortly after to cover the event, the 10th volcano he’s photographed for the magazine. Over the next three months, molten rock splattered from the volcano’s vents, while lava fountains blasted nearly 2,000 feet high. The eruption sent millions of cubic yards of lava on the march, bulldozing more than 2,800 buildings, 864 acres of farmland, and over 43 miles of road. Years of recovery now lie ahead for La Palma’s roughly 86,000 inhabitants.…

FEATURING BEHIND-THE-SCENES ON FIVE ASSIGNMENTS KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA LUNAR DREAMS With its Artemis I mission, NASA is kicking off an ambitious plan to return humans to the moon. When the rocket launches, this uncrewed trip’s commander will be the “moonikin” Campos, named after a NASA engineer who helped save the lives of the Apollo 13 crew. During a trip around the moon slated to last more than a month, Campos is sitting in for crew in the Orion capsule. Sensors in Campos’s headrest and behind its seat track vibration and acceleration, expected to reach four times that of Earth’s gravity. Campos wears radiation sensors and the survival suit that future missions’ flesh-and-blood passengers will use during launch, reentry, and other critical moments. NASA hopes a crew of four will…

132 Photographers sent out 60 Countries visited Locations of photos found in this issue of National Geographic Where National Geographic has sent photographers in the past year Photographers sent to highlighted countries Washington, D.C. Populated place Lake Champlain Water feature Camp Adventure Point of interest Mt. Everest Physical feature Lopé National Park Protected area 120°F Heat recorded by Matthieu Paley as he followed Sufi pilgrims in Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan Provinces -49°F Cold measured by Pat Kane in Canada’s Northwest Territories while covering Indigenous trappers…

It’s tempting to think of ceramics as strong yet brittle, like a coffee cup shattered on a kitchen floor. But to scientists at glass and ceramics manufacturer Corning, they’re flexible and durable. The ribbon ceramics they’ve devised can be spooled into strips thinner than a sheet of paper. The loops of heat-tolerant alumina seen here could make automotive sensors and other devices used in harsh environments quicker and cheaper to produce. They could also enable new kinds of batteries. The photographer captured the innovation as part of a 10-year project focused on the influence of U.S.-based manufacturers.…