Roughly 5,000 years ago, ancient inhabitants of the British Isles somehow dragged as many as 40 giant stones—the heaviest weighing an estimated 16 tons—onto this grassy plateau in what is now England"s Lake District National Park in Cumbria. They then grouped them into the stone circle at Castlerigg, seen here casting shadows from the low winter sun. Archeologists believe stone circles were arranged to align with solar and lunar positions. They were used in elaborate rituals to celebrate occasions like today"s winter solstice, the shortest day (and longest night) of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Shadows on the solstice
Today in History
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Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California
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A rest stop for the birds
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Merry Christmas
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Aerial view of a heart-shaped field in Trittau, Germany
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We re gonna need a bigger birdhouse
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Mossy Grotto Falls, Oregon
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Sand, sun, and sk8ers
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Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
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Visiting a Maratha fortress
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Swimming into the season
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A light on National Hispanic Heritage Month
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Join us in celebrating World Water Day
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Bathing in the light of Pride
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Virgin Islands National Park established
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International Sloth Day
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That bill s just not going to fit
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Helloooooo, Innsbruck
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Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
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Infant Sumatran orangutan, Indonesia
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Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve, Zanzibar, Tanzania
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International Tiger Day
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Moving as one
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Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California
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Rumelihisarı in Istanbul, Türkiye
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World Philosophy Day
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Happy trails for the 21st century
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National Hummingbird Day
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
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Fresh water on the Silk Road
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