Many of the bright colors found in Yellowstone’s hydrothermal basins come from thermophiles—microorganisms that thrive in hot temperatures. So many individual microorganisms are grouped together—trillions! —that they appear as masses of color.

Many of the bright colors found in Yellowstone’s hydrothermal basins come from thermophiles—microorganisms that thrive in hot temperatures. So many individual microorganisms are grouped together—trillions! —that they appear as masses of color.
People watching the first sunrise in the United States at Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Maine are silhouetted against a bright sun
A bright, color-unenhanced, orange full moon up against a dark sky
The brightness of the moon lights up the surrounding clouds
Bright, colorful homes on the beach at Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Though rusted, this truck at Old Car City still displays a variety of bright colors