Blue-green algae bloom in Lake Erie’s summer conditions. Unfortunately for those looking to spend summer on the water, the dominant organism in this bloom produces a toxin that “can cause Keep reading
Eerie Aurora
This surreal image comes from an aurora on Halloween 2013. Photographer Ole C. Salomonsen captured it in Norway during one of the best auroral displays that year. The shimmering green Keep reading
Marangoni Blossoms
When surface tension varies along an interface, fluids move from regions of low surface tension to higher surface tension, a behavior known as the Marangoni effect. Here, a drop of Keep reading
The Great Red Spot’s Cycle
First spotted by humanity in 1664, Jupiter‘s Great Red Spot is a seemingly endless storm. Strictly speaking, there is debate as to whether observations prior to 1831 were of the Keep reading
A Plasma Arc Lights
Plasma lighters — as their name indicates — use plasma in place of burning butane. Plasma — our universe’s most common state of matter — is a gas that’s been Keep reading
“Last Breath of Autumn”
On a rainy autumn day, Agorastos Papatsanis headed to the forest in search of fungi. There he captured this fairytale-like scene with falling rain and drifting spores. Near the forest Keep reading
Self-Cleaning With Salt Critters
Even freshwater contains trace salts and minerals that cause scaly buildups as they evaporate. Getting rid of the scale usually requires toxic chemicals and/or lots of scrubbing, neither of which Keep reading
Lenticular Landscape
Mountain ridgelines push oncoming winds up and over their peaks, creating the conditions for some spectacular condensation. If the displaced air is moist enough, it cools and condenses into a Keep reading
Waves Break Up Floating Rafts
Small particles can float on a liquid, held together as a raft through capillary action. But those rafts — like the tea skin below — break up when waves jostle Keep reading
Feeding Hurricanes
With the strong hurricane season pummeling the southern U.S. this year, you may have heard comments about how warm oceans are intensifying hurricanes. Let’s take a look at how this Keep reading