<p>Emperor penguins in autumn begin their roughly six-mile journey from the ocean to their Atka Bay breeding grounds in Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/as-ice-melts-emperor-penguins-march-toward-extinction-feature">The warming climate is defrosting the sea ice</a> they need to find mates.</p>

Emperor penguins in autumn begin their roughly six-mile journey from the ocean to their Atka Bay breeding grounds in Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land. The warming climate is defrosting the sea ice they need to find mates.

Photograph by Stefan Christmann

Our best photos from a fraught spring capture turmoil—and moments of grace

From mask-wearing to rule breaking, the coronavirus is still coloring our daily experiences. But life goes on—and our photographers are capturing it, from historic protests against police brutality to the launch of a new era of spaceflight.

This year continues to be marked by the life-altering and—all too often—life-ending coronavirus.

From Seoul to Baltimore, people are getting swabbed, donning face masks, and home schooling. But it’s hard to mask human nature—just take a family of musicians in Kenya who are composing ballads about hand sanitizing as one small example.

The virus also isn’t stopping the human capacity to fight for change. Street protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, continue to this day. Photographers are capturing quiet moments of grace, such as the lone figure of a man who calls himself “Royal G” holding an American flag inscribed with the words “I can’t breathe” above police officers in New York City. “I’m

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