Noctilucent clouds are the “highest, driest, coldest, and rarest clouds on Earth.” Formed in the mesosphere at altitudes over 80 kilometers, these clouds typically form at polar latitudes where they Keep reading
Why Creases Don’t Disappear
Flex your fingers and you’ll see your skin fold into well-defined creases. Many soft solids (including old apples) fold this way, and like your skin, the creases never fully disappear, Keep reading
Cleaning Up Combustion
In space, flames behave quite differently than we’re used to on Earth. Without gravity, flames are spherical; there are no hot gases rising to create a teardrop-shaped, flickering flame. In Keep reading
Outtakes
When filming, things don’t always go according to plan. Glasses break, splashes obscure your subject, and sometimes effects just don’t turn out the way you expect. But if you’re the Keep reading
Spiral Shark Intestines
We’ve seen previously just how fluid dynamically impressive sharks are on the outside, but today’s study demonstrates that they’re just as incredible on the inside. Researchers used CT scans of Keep reading
“Feeding the Sea”
It’s impressive when a microscopic organism is visible from space, but that’s a regular occurrence for phytoplankton, the tiny marine algae that feed much of the ocean. In this video Keep reading
Megaripples Beneath Louisiana
Approximately 66 million years ago, a 10-km asteroid struck our planet near Chicxulub on the Yucatán Peninsula. The impact was globally catastrophic, causing tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes, and so much atmosphere-clogging Keep reading
Sandsculpting Bees
Building sandcastles is more than a pastime for the bumblebee-mimic digger bee. This species of bee collects water into an abdominal pouch, then uses it to wet sand to help Keep reading
Candy Clouds Mid-Storm
There’s nothing quite like a towering storm cloud to showcase nature’s power. This gorgeous photo by Laura Rowe shows pastel clouds over West Texas in the middle of a thunderstorm. Keep reading
Hydrodynamic Spin Lattices
Droplets bouncing on a fluid bath display some strikingly quantum-like behaviors thanks to the interactions between a drop and its guiding surface wave. Here, researchers use submerged wells beneath the Keep reading