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  • Reuters

    People launch floating paper lanterns into the sky to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 83rd birthday in Bangkok.

    Launch of paper lanterns celebrates Thai king's birthday

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  • NASA

    Russia's Lena Delta Reserve, shown here in a false-color image captured by the Landsat 7 satellite in 2000, is an important refuge and breeding grounds for Siberian wildlife.

    Holiday calendar: Dazzling delta

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

    This picture may look like a delicate ocean coral ... or a microscopic view of a stained tissue sample ... or a visualization of someone's psychedelic dream. But it's actually an image of Russia's Lena River delta, captured in the year 2000 by the Landsat 7 satellite. The colors don't reflect what you would actually see if you were looking down from Landsat's 438-mile-high orbit; rather, they represent different types of surface composition, ranging from vegetation-covered terrain to bare ground and bodies of water. This online tutorial explains the seemingly crazy color scheme.

    The Lena River is about 2,800 miles (4,400 kilometers) long, making it one of the largest rivers in the world. The Lena Delta Reserve is the most extensive protected wilderness area in Russia, providing an important refuge and breeding grounds for many species of Siberian wildlife.

    This picture of the Lena Delta is the fifth treat in our Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar. Every day from now until Christmas, a fresh image of Earth as seen from space will be posted to Cosmic Log and Photoblog. But you don't have to wait until tomorrow to sample some more Landsat goodness: Go ahead and feast your eyes on this year's "Earth as Art" slideshow.

    Here are more space images, from our own Advent calendar as well as others on the Web:

    Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter.

  • Benoit Tessier / Reuters

    Barbara Morel celebrates after being crowned Miss Nationale in Paris, Dec. 5. The self-styled doyenne of decorum, 78-year-old Genevieve de Fontenay set up the rival pageant in a moral crusade against current Miss France owners, a reality TV company, which she accuses of cheapening the contest.

    Skin or no skin? Beauty pageants vie in France

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Apparently Ms. de Fontenay sold the rights to the Miss France pageant in 2002 to the reality TV giant Endemol and was not thrilled with the direction things were going after pictures of contestants in what she considered to be inappropriate poses surfaced. The Miss France pageant also switched from using one-pieces to bikinis in the swimsuit portion on the competition. You can read more about de Fontenay's efforts to promote her demure pageant in an uphill battle against a large media company and a public's desire to see more skin here.

    

  • Ahmed Ali / AP

    Egyptian voters protest in front of anti-riot vehicle as they claim they were prevented from casting their votes in Damas village near El Dakahlia, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 5. Egypt held runoff parliamentary elections Sunday that are certain to hand President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party a crushing victory after the two main opposition groups decided to boycott in protest of alleged fraud in the first round.

    Controversy persists in Egyptian elections

    Read more about the elections here.

  • Robert F. Bukaty / AP

    In this photo taken on Dec. 2, Albert Carver looks at a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree made of lobster traps on Beals Island, Maine. Some of the top lobster-fishing ports in New England are claiming bragging rights about who has the biggest and best Christmas tree created from lobster traps. The groups that put up the trees say they draw attention to the ports' maritime heritage, bring people together and raise money for good causes. The tree in Beals Island helps raise money for the Beals-Jonesport Fourth of July festivities and one in Gloucester benefits a nonprofit devoted to the arts.

    My Christmas tree is bigger than yours: New England lobster-fishing ports look for bragging rights

    You can read more about the friendly competition here.

  • Tyrone Siu / Reuters

    Protesters hold posters of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo at the Government Headquarters during a protest urging his release in Hong Kong on Dec. 5. An empty chair will represent Liu at the Dec. 10 awards ceremony and will symbolize China's policies to isolate and repress dissidents, a top Nobel official told Reuters on Friday.

    Protesters demand China free Nobel winner Liu

    Read more here.

  • Boeing 747 goes to help extinguish Israeli forest fire

    Read more about the fire here.

    Jack Guez / AFP - Getty Images

    US Evergreen 747 supertanker sprays over a burning area in Ein Hod in the Carmel Forest on the outskirts of Haifa, Israel, on Dec. 5, as dozens of firefighting planes from around the world battled the blaze which has killed 41 people so far.

    Dana Friedlander / AP

    In this photo taken on Saturday, Dec. 4, smoke rises from a forest fire outside Haifa, Israel.

    Abir Sultan / EPA

    A man inspects the remains of a burnt house in the village of Ein Hod, outside Haifa, Israel, on Dec. 5.

    Ronen Zvulun / Reuters

    Israeli police officers mourn during the funeral of their comrade Yitzhak Melina in Haifa Dec. 5. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faced calls for consequences on Sunday over a huge four-day-old forest fire that has killed 41 people, including Melina, and been called the worst in Israel's history.

  • Timothy Jacobsen / AP

    A portion of the 23,110 luminaries placed around the Antietam National Battelfield in Sharpsburg, Md., are shown in front of the New York Monument on Saturday, Dec. 4. Over 1,100 volunteers helped place and light the paper bag covered candles, which commemorate the soldiers who were killed or wounded during the three day Civil War battle.

    More than 23,000 luminaries light Antietam National Battlefield to remember Civil War soldiers

  • Oregon, Auburn to play in BCS title game

    You can read more about the matchup here.

    Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

    Quarterback Cam Newton of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after their 56-17 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks during the 2010 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 4, in Atlanta, Ga.

    Steve Dykes / Getty Images

    Wide receiver Josh Huff #4 of the Oregon Ducks celebrates on the field after the game at Reser Stadium on Dec. 4, in Corvallis, Ore. The Ducks beat the Beavers 37-20 to likely go on the BCS Championship game at the Tostitos Bowl on Jan. 10, 2011.

  • Fernando Llano / AP

    A dog lies on a shelf in a flooded house in Rio Chico, north central Venezuela, Saturday, Dec. 4. Flooding and landslides unleashed by the rains over the last two weeks have killed at least 32 people and forced more than 5,000 Venezuelans from their homes.

    Dog seeks higher ground as thousands of Venezuelans flee floodwaters

    Read about the flooding in Venezuela's neighboring country, Colombia, here.

  • GeoEye

    This half-meter-resolution satellite image features the Burj Khalifa building, located along the Sheikh Zayed Road in the heart of downtown Dubai. The skyscraper stands 2,717 feet (828 meters) high and is the tallest human-made structure in the world. The image was taken by the GeoEye-1 satellite from an altitude of 423 miles on Feb. 9, 2010, as it moved from north to south over the United Arab Emirates at a speed of 4 miles per second.

    Holiday calendar: Tallest building reaches for the sky

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News
    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

    The tallest building in the world casts a long shadow on downtown Dubai, as seen in this picture from the GeoEye-1 satellite. But this is no Tower of Babel: Its 2,717-foot height comes nowhere close to reaching the satellite's 423-mile-high orbit. The $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa building made its Dubai debut in January, and recently served as the setting for scenes filmed with Tom Cruise for the upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible 4." Check out our story about the building's opening for additional background and visual perspectives.

    It's particularly apt that Burj Khalifa figures in the fourth "Mission: Impossible" movie, because GeoEye's view serves as the visual treat behind Door No. 4 in our Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar. Check back with Cosmic Log or Photoblog every day until Christmas for another view of Earth from space.

    Here are some links to help you catch up with the calendar entries so far, and dig into additional treats from the holiday season's other space-themed Web calendars:

    Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter.

  • Contestant injured during stunt on popular German reality TV show on which Justin Bieber was to appear

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Hopefully Koch makes a speedy recovery for his sake and for his father's. Despite the accident happening during a planned stunt, I can only imagine how his father must feel considering he was driving the car. You can read more about the accident here.

    Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

    Samuel Koch jumps over a car during the 192th 'Wetten, dass ...?' show at the exhibition hall Dusseldorf on Dec. 4, in Duesseldorf, Germany. Koch tried to jump over a moving car, driven by his father, wearing "Kangaroo" shoes when he hit the car with his head and fell to the ground. The show was immediately stopped and Koch was reported to be recovering in hospital. Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber was due to make an appearance on the canceled show and asked his Twitter followers to pray for Koch.

    Ralph Orlowski / AP

    German TV host Thomas Gottschalk right, watches over contestant Samuel Koch after a stunt went wrong during the top rated German game show "Wetten Dass" (Bet it...?) in Duesseldorf, Saturday, Dec. 4 .

  • First Brigade, 3rd Infantry returns home after year-long deployment in Iraq

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Welcome home.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Nov. 30, 2010 photo, members of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., sit in the belly of a C-17 aircraft at Sather Air Base in Baghdad as they begin their journey home after a year in Iraq. More than seven years after 1st Brigade entered Baghdad as the first conventional U.S. forces in Iraq, its soldiers are coming home from a yearlong deployment that saw the end of combat operations.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    A U.S. Army soldier from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division kisses his his wife after an 18-hour journey from Iraq at Fort Stewart, Ga., Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. More than seven years after 1st Brigade entered Baghdad as the first conventional U.S. forces in Iraq, its soldiers are coming home from a yearlong deployment that saw the end of combat operations.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Nov. 30, 2010 photo, U.S. Army soldiers play cards as they wait at the passenger terminal at Sather Air Base with members of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., as they begin their journey home after a year in Baghdad, Iraq.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, photo, U.S. Army Spc. Adam Dearman, left, from Athens, Ga., and Spc. Michael Walther, right, from Ft. Worth, Texas, right, with 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division catch a nap at al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq before their 18-hour journey home after a year in Baghdad, Iraq.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Dec. 3, 2010, photo, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Willis, 35, from Denver, N.C. stands with fellow soldiers from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq as the unit gathers before beginning their 18-hour journey home after a year in Iraq.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Nov. 29, 2010, photo, a U.S. Army soldier from 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., stands atop a Humvee at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, before his last mission before leaving Iraq.

    Maya Alleruzzo / AP

    In this Nov. 30, 2010 photo, U.S. Army Sgt. Lucy Lyker, from Pittsburgh, Pa., plucks her eyebrows during downtime in a tent at Camp Liberty in the days before 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division heads home from Baghdad, Iraq.

  • Sergei Remezov / Reuters

    International Space Station (ISS) crew member European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Angelo Nespoli sits inside Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft in the assembling hangar at the Baikonur cosmodrome Dec. 4, in Kazakhstan. The crew of Nespoli, NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman and Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev is due to travel by Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on Dec.15.

    Soyuz crew prepares for trip to International Space Station

  • Two killed, dozens injured when Dagestan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 makes emergency landing in Moscow

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Would you have the presence of mind to shoot a picture after surviving a crash landing? Read more about the incident here.

    Sergei Ilnitsky / EPA

    Magomed Magomedov, a surviving passenger of the Tu-154 passenger jet that crashed after an emergency landing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, shows the pictures he shot with his mobile phone after the incident on Dec. 4. Two people were killed when the plane with 171 people on board crashed at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, after all three engines failed, possibly due to faulty aviation fuel. According to the Interfax agency. The Civil Defence Ministry said that in addition to the two killed, 56 people were injured in the accident involving the Dagestan Airlines Tu-154 plane. The plane was bound for the Dagestan capital of Makhachkala.

    AP

    In this photo taken on a cell phone by an eyewitness, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet belonging to Dagestan Airlines is seen after an emergency landing on Saturday, Dec. 4.

  • Felix Ordonez / Reuters

    A dog waits in the snow in downtown Burgos, northern Spain, Dec. 3, 2010. Snow and icy weather has blanketed large parts of Europe, disrupting air, road and train travel.

    Winter weather around the world: doggone cold

    By Rich Shulman

    Pretty hard to resist a good snowy dog photo. Full Winter Wonderland slideshow here.

  • Shaun Best / Reuters

    A hockey player skates on Lake Louise in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Dec. 3, 2010.

    Lake Louise, greatest hockey rink in the world

    By Rich Shulman

    I grew up playing hockey on frozen rivers in northern New York State, so I was particularly taken by this scene on Lake Louise. There is something surreal about the goal sitting in the middle of this dramatic mountain scene.

  • Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images

    Lase Strum watches her dog Vhoebe catch a toy, as she prepares to land in a water tank during the Dock Diving heats of the 10th annual AKC/Eukanuba National Dog Championship in Long Beach on Dec. 3, 2010. Nearly 2,500 dogs will compete for more than $225,000 in cash prizes at the National Championship and dogs from 43 international countries will also compete in the Eukanuba World Challenge including dogs from Australia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Eukanuba World Challenge is a unique event offering top dogs from countries around the world the opportunity to compete for prestigious international recognition.

    Dock diving dogs join top dogs at San Diego National Dog Championship

    By Rich Shulman

    I am always amazed at how far these dock diving dogs can jump. This owner appears to be as engaged as her dog.

  • Guillermo Arias / AP

    People embark to Jeremie at the Port-au-Prince harbor, Haiti, Friday Dec. 3. Residents of the eastern Haitian town make the weekly journey to the capital returning with food and supplies.

    Haitians make a crowded journey for supplies

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    The next time I even consider complaining about having to run to the grocery store, I will try to remember this image.

  • Stephen Dunn / Getty Images

    Tiger Woods hits out of a bunker on the 11th hole during round two of the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club on Dec. 3, 2010 in Thousand Oaks, California.

    Is Tiger getting his mojo back?

    By Rich Shulman

    Tiger Woods got off to a blazing start Friday and played bogey-free in the second round for a 6-under 66 to take a four-shot lead into the weekend of his final tournament of the year.

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