National Geographic Magazine - UK

What's inside the yellow box? Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine.

FROM the EDITOR

Our WORLD • BEHIND THE SCENES WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Why Tom Hiddleston Can’t Stop Thinking About Pompeii

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORERS • These contributors have received funding from the National Geographic Society, which is committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world. Learn more about the Society’s support of Explorers at natgeo.com/impact.

IN FOCUS • JUST IN FROM OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED • It was one of history’s most dramatic moments—but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wasn’t a single disaster. New evidence reveals how three settlements in the shadow of the volcano faced three distinct fates, reshaping our understanding of how ancient Romans lived and died.

LIFE BEFORE THE ERUPTION • AROUND HERCULANEUM, OPLONTIS, AND POMPEII

FROM DAILY LIFE TO • One eruption, three communities, three different outcomes

DISASTER • There were warning signs before the eruption: Steam rose from Vesuvius’s summit, the earth trembled. Then a column of ash and stone burst into the sky. Over the next 30 hours, fragments of pumice, called lapilli, covered the towns below and superheated avalanches of gas and ash known as pyroclastic currents raced down the mountainside.

OPLONTIS • THE SEASIDE SUBURB WHERE THE WEALTHY AND THE ENSLAVED WERE TRAPPED TOGETHER

HERCULANEUM • THE COASTAL RETREAT WITH AN ANCIENT LIBRARY FINALLY YIELDING ITS SECRETS

SECRETS IN THE SCROLLS • Herculaneum’s millennia-old papyrus scrolls were too charred to open—until scientist Brent Seales and his team invented a way to read them. Here’s how they virtually unwrapped one.

POMPEII • THE COMMERCIAL HUB WHOSE TINY BITS OF LIFE COULD UNLOCK BIG MYSTERIES

PORTAL TO THE PAST • The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is known for its dazzling collection of mosaics, statues, and frescoes recovered from the ashes of Vesuvius—but its storerooms hold an even greater trove. There, in areas generally off-limits to the public, National Geographic gained access to thousands of fragile archaeological treasures from Pompeii and Herculaneum that capture the customs and joys of ancient Roman life.

THE QUEST TO SAVE the World’s Rarest ORCHIDS • In the face of an extinction crisis, one maverick botanist is turning his vast flower collection into a resource for science.

REVEALING EVERY ANIMAL ON EARTH • Twenty years ago, wildlife photographer Joel Sartore set out to capture portraits of every species in human care. Today, after 18,000 creatures, the conservation mission at the heart of his Photo Ark project has never been more urgent.

BEFORE THEY VANISH • Among the more than 18,000 animals that Joel Sartore has photographed are some of the most threatened species on Earth. During the 20-year project, some have disappeared, others are rapidly slipping toward extinction. Here are a small number of the ever growing category of vulnerable animals—photographed with Sartore’s urgent hope that portraits might galvanize protection.

WELCOMING CREATURES ABOARD THE ARK • Sartore sends his collaborators a how-to guide ahead of every shoot for the Photo Ark so that he can move efficiently, get the shot fast, and minimize stress on the subject. The strategies vary by species—but if it’s a cat, he has probably packed Zyrtec, because he’s allergic.

The HIDDEN HIGHWAYS of the NIGHT SKY • Charting the invisible traffic patterns within one of the most congested corridors of airspace on Earth

THE RISE OF MOROCCO’S HORSEWOMEN • For centuries, the equestrian sport of tbourida was reserved for men. Now female riders are bringing the hard-charging...