Mount Everest North Face Tibet

How to Measure a Mountain

It’s not easy to measure a mountain. Mount Everest's height has been known since the middle of the nineteenth century, but how did they figure it out with no altimeters or GPS?
dark side of the moon

What Awaits on the Dark Side of the Moon?

An unmanned Chinese probe will be exploring the moon's far side in 2018. The side that faces away from the earth differs significantly from the familiar face of the moon. So why are the two sides so different?
dna illustration

A Primer on e-DNA

eDNA is DNA that an animal sloughs off into its environment through feces, shedding, or lost skin. The technology can detect invasive species.
First sentence

Female Inventive Talent

Brief commentary on one line from JSTOR: An unsigned editorial from an 1870s issue of Scientific American suggests that women can be great inventors, too.
Neutron star collision

A Primer on Neutron Stars

In the far off constellation of Hydra; two neutron stars collided, producing vast clouds of gold and other heavy elements. What's a neutron star anyway?
Cat playing Peek a Boo in a box

The Ig Nobels: The Lighter Side of Scientific Research

What exactly are the Ig Nobels? And what can we learn from the Journal of Irreproducible Results and the Annals of Improbable Results?
Drained Tampa Bay

When the Sea Recedes

When caused by storms, receding oceans are result of an inverted storm surge, a “negative surge.” Storm surges have a few causes.
Urania painting

Before the Civil War, Women Were Welcomed into the Sciences

Women in the STEM fields are reclaiming the memory of a richer scientific past than some might think.
Victorian eclipse

Solar Eclipse Tourism: The Victorians Were the Pioneers

People have been planning for this month's total solar eclipse for years. They aren't the first to do so: the Victorians pioneered eclipse tourism.
Jupiter great red spot

The Secrets of Jupiter’s Incredible Great Red Spot

Astronomers have worked out that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a massive storm system, but what keeps a storm going for hundreds of years?