Posts by Sophie Clearwater
What Lies Beyond Artemis 2? These Other Missions Are Setting Their Sights on the Moon This Year—and on a Future With Humans in Space
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As the historic lunar flyby comes to a close, space companies and nations around the world are also shooting for the moon. Upcoming landings aim to change the landscape of space exploration David A. Taylor April 9, 2026 From the perspective of the Orion spacecraft, seen at left, the moon eclipsed the sun on April…
Read MoreHear From a Wildlife Photographer’s Dramatic Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox
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There’s More to That A Smithsonian magazine special report Gretchen Kay Stuart has chronicled the work of a small team of biologists who are trying to keep a little known and breathtakingly beautiful endangered species from disappearing Ari Daniel | Host, “There’s More to That” April 9, 2026 Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / Images by…
Read MoreEarth’s Smells Are Disappearing Because of Climate Change, and It’s a Vast Cultural Loss
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A triple threat of pollution, extinction and warming temperatures is altering the way the planet smells. Scientists are only beginning to understand the stakes for humans Serena Jampel April 8, 2026 More than 95 percent of the world’s bergamot oil production is concentrated in Southern Italy’s Calabria region. But harsh conditions driven by climate change…
Read MoreThe La Brea Tar Pits Have Been Sucking in Visitors for Millennia. Paleontologists Are Still Finding Out What Lies Within the Ooze
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In Los Angeles, scientists are delighted to decode one of the richest fossil records on Earth By Richard Conniff Photographs by Michael Christopher Brown April/May 2026 A visitor gazes at a statue of a giant short-faced bear. At around 11 feet tall, the Ice Age animal was the largest carnivorous mammal ever to roam North…
Read MoreThe Endangered Proboscis Monkey Is Easily Identifiable By One Physical Trait: Its Supersized Schnoz
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When you see this primate’s nose, you know you’re in Borneo, where efforts are underway to restore its habitat By Alex Fox Photograph by Roberto García-Roa April/May 2026 Some 150 proboscis monkeys like this one make their home in Bako National Park, a protected area on the northwestern coast of Borneo. Roberto García-Roa If Cyrano…
Read MorePurple Martins Rely on Human ‘Landlords’ to Provide Nest Boxes Each Spring. Can That Dynamic Last?
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The large swallows have nested alongside human settlements for centuries. Now, the birds’ breeding success depends on caretakers who are beginning to age out of the role Brian Payton, bioGraphic April 3, 2026 Purple martins are long-distance migrants that nest in human-provided boxes across North America. Claudio Contreras / Nature Picture Library We’re in the…
Read MoreSpectators Flocked to the Artemis 2 Launch to Witness History Being Made. One Awed Viewer Called It ‘the Best Thing Ever’
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Wednesday evening, a human mission to the moon lifted off for the first time in more than 50 years. These 13 photographs capture what it was like to experience the moment Jay Bennett | Former Associate Web Editor, Science April 2, 2026 Onlookers capture photos and videos as the Space Launch System rocket carrying the…
Read MoreCascade Red Foxes Are Notoriously Reclusive. So How Did This Photographer Capture These Stunning Images of the Endangered Species?
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Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022. Gretchen Kay Stuart You never forget your first glimpse of a Cascade red…
Read MoreWas Spinosaurus Really a ‘Hell Heron’? Digging Into the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Dinosaurs’
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With an incredible sail and heavy bones that might have acted as ballast, Spinosaurus seems primed for snatching fish. The creature has long captivated the public, from its early mysteries to the recent discovery of a new species Riley Black | Science Correspondent March 30, 2026 Spinosaurus was the largest and most aquatic of the…
Read MoreFish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?
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A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon. Even as some conservationists embrace the technique, its return has reopened old wounds among local fishers Zach Theiler March 27, 2026 Modern fish traps require pilings that are driven into the riverbed and netting that reaches across part of a…
Read MoreHow a Small Winter Flower Has Attracted Droves of Admirers—and Offers a Symbol of Resilience
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The snowdrop, or Galanthus, blooms when the world is still frozen. Gardeners enamored with the plant gather each year in Pennsylvania to celebrate its subtleties and endurance Margo Rabb March 25, 2026 Snowdrops can push through snow and icy ground to bloom in winter, bringing their blossoms to the largely dormant landscape. Andrew Hart On…
Read MoreAlien Life Could Look Nothing Like What We Expect. Here’s How Microbes Beyond Earth Might Live Without Liquid Water
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Like the lead character of “Project Hail Mary,” some scientists are proposing ways that life might exist beyond a star’s “habitable zone,” often considered the gold standard of potential livability McKenzie Prillaman | Assistant Digital Editor, Science & Innovation March 20, 2026 An artist’s illustration of the exoplanet HD 219134 b, a rocky world about…
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