May 22, 2026

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We’ve had a string of gloriously sunny days in NYC lately, and I’m soaking them up as best I can (tanning on my roof). What are some of your favorite places to sunbathe?

-Holyn Thigpen, AO Community Editor

Tropical fruits in Longyearbyen

The World’s Northernmost Town Toasts the Sun With Mangosteens

In Longyearbyen, Norway—the world’s northernmost town—a local supermarket called Svalbardbutikken celebrates the sun’s springtime return with an annual Solfestuka Fruktfest, or “Sun Week Fruit Party.” Tropical fruits like mangosteens, rambutans, guavas are shipped in and stacked high in Svalbardbutikken’s produce aisles for Vitamin C-starved locals to enjoy.

Where in the Atlas?

Test Your AO Places Knowledge!

This hilltop museum once housed an early 20th-century vegetarian nudist colony.

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Soak Up the Sun

These 17 places are powered solely by the sun — Super solar power
In this Swedish town, the sun triggers a cannon boom — Gunpowder and glare
This saucy statue of the sun god sparked outrage in France — Apollo oh no

Place of the Day

National Capitol Columns

WASHINGTON, D.C.

National Capitol Columns

In 1958, the sandstone columns that had supported the east portico of the U.S. Capitol since 1828 were replaced with newer, marble columns. Unsure of what to do with the columns, the U.S. government held them in storage until 1984, when the Department of Agriculture and private donors arranged to display the columns at the National Arboretum.

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Watoga State Park

SPONSORED BY WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

West Virginia’s Dark-Sky Haven

At more than 10,000 acres, Watoga State Park is the largest state park in West Virginia. Built in the 1930s with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps, the park now offers miles of forest trails, lakeside cabins, and access to the Greenbrier River Trail. But its most remarkable feature may come after sunset: Watoga is an International Dark Sky Park, where the Milky Way shines brightly above the Appalachian landscape.

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The AO Podcast

The AO Podcast: Temple of Pythons

We visit southern Benin to hear the story of the Temple of Pythons and clear up some misconceptions about one of the world’s most misunderstood spiritual systems.

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