Maris Fessenden

 

Maris Fessenden is a freelance science writer and artist who appreciates small things and wide open spaces.

Gustavia, St. Barths

St. Barts Is Like the Galapagos for Linguistic Diversity

Beyond the glitz of tourism, St. Barts natives speak in unique varieties of French

An artist’s interpretation of an object slamming into the early Earth

Metal Rain Could Explain Why the Earth Made of Different Stuff Than the Moon

A new study shows that iron-rich asteroids could have vaporized when they hit the early Earth

Rain Took This Fruit Bat's Happy Away, a Banana Gave it Back

An Australia-dwelling flying fox needed rescue after rains drove it to search for food

The First Photos of Free-Falling Snowflakes Reveal Their Imperfections

Collisions in mid-air often produce ice crystal aggregates, rather than single symmetrical flakes

Halfway through the 2015 Super Bowl, Seattle Seahawks strong safety DeShawn Shead #35 lines up for a kickoff

There’s a Competition to Be the Last to Hear About the Super Bowl Winner

It’s hard to last past Monday morning

Vigilantes in Quito Have A Mission to Correct Graffiti Artists' Spelling and Grammar

Meaning is important, the group says to explain their illicit copyediting duties

Our familiar, and only true, Moon -- the only photos of the 'second moon' are of a distant, blurry object

Bet You Didn't Know About the Earth's 'Second Moon'

Even astronomers didn't realize it was following the Earth until 1997

Smokey the bear being given a fire helmet by Washington Fire Departments’ deputy fire chief, M.H. Sutton in 1950

The Real Smokey Bear Has A New Biography

It’s officially licensed by the Forest Service and written from Smokey’s point of view

A TV tower on Burnt Island in Fife, Scotland, reaches just 410 feet -- but others of its kind top 2,000

The Fourth Tallest Man-made Structure Isn’t a Building at All

TV towers and power station chimneys are some less well-known record-breakers in the history of super-tall structures

Allergy Treatments Could Someday Start Before You Are Born

Studies in mice are showing that it might be possible treat disorders that have a genetic basis during pregnancy

Victor Hugo with friends during his exile to Guernsey

Victor Hugo Also Created Dramatic Pen and Ink Drawings

The sketches, many done with pen and ink, are almost modern and surreal

Two spots shine like beacons from the dwarf planet Ceres

The Dawn Spacecraft Is About to Reach Its Next Destination—the Dwarf Planet Ceres

We might just learn what the mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet are—and much more

This Is How New Words Enter the Vernacular of ASL

Selfie, photobomb and five-second rule all have signs in progress

Like People, Bees Can Be Fooled by False Memories

Bumblebees gravitate toward unfamiliar flowers that merge two patterns they know—a classic error of long term memory

Young People Mistrust Government So Much They Aren’t Running for Office

The advancing age of Congress isn’t just due to reelection rates

A rover developed by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation and considered for use in the early 1970s, not a moon race competitor

Forget the Race to the Moon. These Rovers Will Race on the Moon.

It's going to be a pretty slow race, however

Screen shot of video "Global ship traffic seen from space - FleetMon Satellite AIS and FleetMon Explorer"

See Shipping Traffic Move Through Straits Around the World

A visualization shows a week’s worth of vessel movement

Meet the Man Who Can Taste Words

For some, taste mixes with other sense—a form of synesthesia that isn't as common as experiencing the colors of words

Animal furs on display at Grand Portage National Monument

The 18th Century Fur Trade Polluted Lake Superior's Shore With Mercury That's Never Gone Away

The area’s elevated mercury levels aren’t healthy for fish, birds or humans

Jackie Kennedy Onassis, New York Harbor in 1976

For the Kennedys' Virginia Home, Jackie Had Ideas About Every Detail, Down to the Guest Room Ashtrays

She drew inspiration from French magazines and colors from Colonial America

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