In this March 7, 1991 file photo, a U.S. Marine patrol walks across the charred oil landscape near a burning well during perimeter security patrol near Kuwait City. Twenty five years after the first U.S. Marines swept across the border into Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, American forces find themselves battling the extremist Islamic State group, born out of al-Qaida, in the splintered territories of Iraq and Syria. The Arab allies that joined the 1991 coalition are fighting their own conflicts both at home and abroad, as Iran vies for greater regional power following a nuclear deal with world powers. (Photo by John Gaps III/AP Photo)

A Lockheed Super Constellation “Super Connie” lands during the Air14 airshow at the airport in Payerne August 30, 2014. The Swiss Air Force celebrates their 100th anniversary with the biggest airshow in Europe this year. (Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

A couple ride a motorcycle along a street during snow in Altay, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, November 8, 2015. Picture taken November 8, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

“Red Arrows” at the 2016 royal air tattoo, RAF Fairford, UK. By Jonny Williams, finalist: action. (Photo by Jonny Williams/UK National Geographic Traveller Photography Competition 2018)

Natalie Dormer attends the mtvU Fandom Awards at MTV Fan Fest at Comic-Con, July 24, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for MTV/AP Images)

Workers use the traditional craft of picking waterlilies by hand arranging them into fascinating shapes in Bogor, Indonesia in October 2022. After the waterlilies are harvested and cleaned, they will be sold in the market and are usually used for decoration and bouquets. (Photo by Gatot Herliyanto/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

A red deer looks as though it is yawning while it bellows at sunrise. The stag created a cloud of steamy breath as it was warmed by the first light of the sun in Richmond Park, London on October 28, 2025. (Photo by Cristian Vasile/Solent News & Photo Agency)