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Where is it? Great Bahama Bank, Bahamas [ 23.547188707, -76.46352937 ]

What's in the photo? Submerged sandbanks and seagrass beds in shallow water

Which satellite took the photo? Landsat 8

When was it taken? Feb. 15, 2020

This ethereal satellite snap shows beautiful, "painting-like" folds within an ancient underwater structure in the Bahamas.

The Great Bahama Bank (GBB) is a massive submerged platform stretching around 330 miles (530 kilometers) across a shallow ocean channel between Andros Island and the Exuma islands, according to Britannica . The crescent-shaped bank surrounds a darkly colored ocean drop-off known as "The Tongue of the Ocean," which plunges to depths of 6,500 feet (2,000 meters), according to NASA's Earth Observatory .

The photographed section of the GBB is around 23 miles (37 km) across and features a series of submerged sandbanks — most of which are covered with dense seagrass beds — that lie between 7 and 40 feet (2 to 12 m) below the ocean's surface.

The varying water depth and seagrass concentration cause multiple hues of green and blue to shine across the sandbanks, which have been carved into smooth, folding ribbons by ocean currents over thousands of years.

"The varying colors and curves remind us of graceful strokes on a painting," Earth Observatory representatives wrote.

The Great Bahama Bank is a crescent-shaped structure spanning around 330 miles (530 kilometers) between Andros Island and the Exuma islands. (Image credit: NASA/Landsat) This section of the GBB was first photographed in 2001 by the Landsat 7 satellite and has often appeared on lists of the most iconic aerial images of our planet.

"There are many nice seagrass and sand patterns worldwide, but none like this anywhere on Earth," Serge Andréfouet , an oceanographer at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development who first shared the 2001 image, told the Earth Observatory. "I am not surprised it is still a favorite, especially for people who see it for the first time."

The sandbanks are like giant underwater dunes carved out by ocean currents.

"Tides and ocean currents in the Bahamas sculpted the sand and seaweed beds into these multicolored, fluted patterns in much the same way that winds sculpted the vast sand dunes in the Sahara Desert ," Earth Observatory representatives wrote in 2001.

The GBB lies atop a roughly 3-mile-thick (5 km) bed of limestone dating to the age of the dinosaurs, more than 65 million years ago. This hefty mass, made up of the remains of long-dead coral reefs, is so large that Earth's crust directly below the GBB has "sagged under the weight," according to the University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute .

The Great Bahama Bank surrounds the edge of a deep sea drop-off known as the "Tongue of the Ocean," creating a striking contrast when viewed from above. (Image credit: USGS/ESA) Before the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago, this limestone slab had risen to more than 400 feet (120 m) above sea level and only resubmerged as global sea levels rose due to the melting of glaciers, according to the Marine Science Institute.

The Bahamas has more than 3,000 islands and smaller cays and is home to several other intriguing oceanographic features, including deep tidal channels off the coast of Great Exuma Island (which once harbored famous pirate ships ) and a series of aurora-like sandbanks that appear to shine along the nation's northernmost islands .

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2026 has been the year of internet horror and horror filmmakers. Veteran YouTuber Mark Fischbach , better known as Markiplier, kicked things off with his theatrical debut, Iron Lung , which shocked Hollywood after earning $51 million at the box office and going toe-to-toe with Sam Raimi 's Send Help during its first weekend. More recently, the buzz has been around two more films from the video platform's creators, Curry Barker 's Obsession at Neon and Kane Parsons ' Backrooms at A24, which each scored over $350 million. Backrooms , in particular, has sparked a search for more popular YouTube series to adapt to the big screen, like Alex Kister 's analog horror The Mandela Catalogue , the rights of which were recently acquired by a team including Steven Spielberg .

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Grab your popcorn buckets and your M&Ms, book lovers. If you’re looking for some fun new shows and movies to watch at home or in theaters, there are a lot of fun book adaptations coming out this July. From sequels to series to epic blockbuster movies perfect for a summer at the movie theater, this month has it all! Let’s take a closer look at what will be gracing our screens in July 2026.

Enola Holmes 3 (Netflix, July 1)

Netflix returns to the world of Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes 3. This is the film adaptation of the third book in Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes mystery series, The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets . Millie Bobby Brown reprises her role as the title character Enola, who is preparing to marry Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). But the wedding is derailed when Enola’s brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is kidnapped. Himesh Patel, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster also star. The third film is directed by Philip Barantini ( Boiling Point ), who takes over the reins from the director of the first two films, Harry Bradbeer.

Silo (Apple TV+, July 3)

Apple TV+’s sci-fi series based on the Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey is back for a third season. This season will be primarily based on Shift , the second novel in the trilogy. Rebecca Ferguson returns to star as scientist Juliette Nichols. Joining this season are Ashley Zuckerman and Jessica Henwick. The first episode of the season drops on July 3, and episodes will come out weekly every Friday.

Reading Lolita in Tehran (Theatrical Release, July 10)

After having a festival run in 2024, this adaptation of the critically acclaimed memoir of the same name by Azar Nafisi finally hits theaters this July. The film is directed by Eran Riklis ( Lemon Tree and The Syrian Bride ), who also wrote the screenplay with Marjorie David. Golshifteh Farahani stars as Azar Nafisi, a university literature professor who organizes a secret reading group to discuss forbidden Western classic literature.

Lucky (Apple TV+, July 15)

This crime thriller mini-series is based on Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Lucky Armstrong, a con artist who is on the run after a heist gone wrong. Annette Bening also stars as Priscilla, a mob leader pursuing Lucky. The series is executive-produced by Taylor-Joy and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company. Jonathan Tropper and Cassie Pappas serve as show runners. The seven-episode series premieres on July 15 and drops weekly until August 19.

Heartstopper Forever (Netflix, July 17)

Get ready to cry, because the final chapter of Heartstopper hits Netflix on July 17. This film is the follow-up to the three-season series based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman. Kit Connor and Joe Locke star as Nick and Charlie, a young queer couple navigating romance and growing up alongside their group of friends, played by Yasmin Finney, William Gao, Tobie Donovan, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, and Rhea Norwood. Wash Westmoreland directs.

The Odyssey (Theatrical Release, July 17)

July wraps up with a bang with not one but two big summer blockbusters. First up is Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey , starring Matt Damon as Odysseus. The star-studded cast also includes Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Calypso, and more. This epic fantasy action film will also be playing in IMAX.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Theatrical Release, July 31)

Tom Holland and Zendaya are back for another must-see blockbuster film adaptation at the very end of July. We all know and love Spider-Man, based on the Marvel superhero created by Stan Lee. In this film, Peter Parker (Holland) deals with the repercussions of erasing himself from everyone’s memories. Zendaya reprises her role as MJ, and Jacob Batalon returns as Ned. Sadie Sink is also starring in an undisclosed role. Destin Daniel Cretton ( Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ) directs.

July is full of a lot of exciting new adaptation releases, but not a lot of adaptations from authors of color, unfortunately. If you’re looking for more adaptations from diverse voices, here are some of the best movies based on books by authors of color out in 2026 .

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a game of many excellent parts, and some of its most excellent are lead characters Henry of Skalitz and Lord Hans Capon. That's in no small part down to the fact that both of them have great voice actors: Tom McKay for Henry and Luke Dale for Capon, who both turn in fantastic and memorable performances.

Just, not memorable enough for the games industry, I guess, because in a recent appearance on Firezide Chat , Dale said that—for as lauded as his work as Capon was—"I wish I could say that Kingdom Come 2, the work I've done and the fact it's been played by millions of people led to more work, but it didn't."

Dale had, he says, hoped that his work in KCD1 and 2 would lead to more work in more games, but no dice. "I always hedge my bets because I don't think the industry has been particularly kind to me," he said. "Warhorse have been absolute gems. They're so supportive and really believed in me the whole way through. But the industry at large has never really given a fuck."

Since first starring in KCD1, Dale has appeared in only two other videogame roles, per his IMDB : voices in Battlefield 5 and a role in the VR game TaVRn's Takedown – Naheulbeuk.

His attitude regarding the industry is what has led Dale to start streaming (he currently has 72,000 followers on Twitch ). "I thought, 'How can I turn this into something really cool for me?' That's where streaming came in. I thought, 'People seem to want me to do it, so let's do that.'

"If more acting work comes from this, great, but I'm not going to rely on that. I know people want me to stream, and I can build a community here if I choose to and work really hard. So I did, and that's worked incredibly well."

Dale isn't the only KCD actor to fire up a Twitch channel—McKay has too, and has been playing, well, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 .

"I've seen a lot of actors who've had these big opportunities to stream the game they're in as the lead character, and I'm thinking, 'Why aren't you doing that?'" said Dale. "It's not for everyone, so I get that, but give it some thought. Don't just let it pass you by, because it could be the best thing you ever did. It certainly was for me. It changed my life completely."

2026 games : All the upcoming games

Best PC games : Our all-time favorites

Free PC games : Freebie fest

Best FPS games : Finest gunplay

Best RPGs : Grand adventures

Best co-op games : Better together