So far, the weather this spring has brought us all sorts of dashed hopes, with warm, “normal” days immediately followed by chilly, windy, rainy weeks. Whereas the beginning of this week had many stripping off their winter layers and getting out of the house to enjoy temperatures above 60 and sunshine, the end of the [...]

“Science Photography” can be read two ways: 1. as illustration of scientific subject matter, or 2. as a tool to gather data as part of the scientific process. What’s the difference? Images can be intended to convey information, or to collect it. Most science photography, including the majority of images featured in this blog, is of [...]

GOWANUS, NEW YORK CITY–The winds continue to increase here, howling past windows and splattering the rain. Tiny beads of water almost feel like sand when you step outside thanks to the strong gusts. Such is Hurricane Sandy as it speeds into the New York metropolitan region and prepares to turn and slam in slow motion [...]

Take a hurricane moving up from the south. Mash in a colder storm moving in from the west. Add a ridge of high pressure extending through the atmosphere above the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Greenland, blocking the typical flow of the jet stream. That’s the recipe for what will become “Post-Tropical Storm Sandy” or, as [...]

The winter of 2010–2011 has been a good one for sledding and snowball fights, as snowstorms have dusted the U.S. from Georgia to New England to the Pacific Northwest. And Tuesday is no exception, with snowstorms forecast for much of the northern U.S. But good news for snow lovers is not always good news for [...]

‘Tis the season for snowstorms and for the holiday-themed artwork that references them. Snowflakes abound these days, even in places not buried in last weekend’s East Coast blizzard—in advertisements, on Christmas cards, on paper cutouts made by schoolchildren. But at least one scientist has a gripe: many of those so-called snowflakes bear little resemblance to [...]