The surface features of Mars — crossed by river deltas and sedimentary deposits — indicate a watery past. Where that water went after the planet lost its atmosphere 3 – Keep reading
Breaking Down a Water-Powered Timer
In his latest “cutaway” video, Steve Mould takes a look at how you can nest siphons to create a system that periodically flushes itself. This kind of water-powered timer is Keep reading
Shaped Splashes
When a raindrop hits a leaf, it spreads out into a rimmed sheet that breaks up into droplets. These tiny drops can carry dust, spores, and even pathogens as they Keep reading
A Triangular Prominence
Our Sun is a maelstrom of light and heat, a constant battlefield for plasma and magnetic fields. This recent prominence, captured by Andrea Vanoni and others, bore a striking triangular Keep reading
“Starlit”
In “Starlit,” filmmaker Roman de Giuli leverages paint, ink, water, and oil to create astronomical views. Colorful droplets spin past like neon exoplanets. Shards of glitter form comets. Satellite droplets Keep reading
Catching Krill With Bubble Nets
On their own and in groups, some humpback whales enclose their prey in bubbly columns before feeding. The whales build these bubble nets intentionally, swimming in a ring at a Keep reading
The Art of French Drains
Civil engineers face a constant challenge trying to protect their structures from water — both above and below the ground. Subsurface water can build up enough pressure to lift and Keep reading
Synchronizing Cilia
Just like human swimmers, microswimmers have to coordinate their motion to swim. But unlike humans, swimmers like the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii doesn’t have a brain to help it synchronize Keep reading
Engineering the City of Venice
In 452, Roman refugees established what became the city of Venice across a series of low-lying marshy islands in a lagoon. With no solid ground available, Venice has needed clever Keep reading
Beneath the Surf
A surfer duck-dives beneath a passing wave in this image from photographer John Barton. I always love seeing big waves from this underwater perspective. The turbulent surf looks like storm Keep reading