Maris Fessenden

 

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

A red squirrel from the Rocky Mountains, contemplating its next attack on the power grid, probably.

Move Over Hackers, Squirrels Are the Power Grid's Greatest Foe

Cyberattacks may loom large in peoples' minds, but these fluffy rodents are the ones actually taking down the grid

Colored images show the bright supernova as seen by two different telescopes (the Dark Energy Camera on the left and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network 1-meter telescope on the right).

The Brightest Supernova Ever Observed Tests the Limits of Physics

This explosion blazes about 570 billion times brighter than our Sun, according to researchers

A climber stands in front of Mount Everest at Kala Patthar in Solukhumbu District of Nepal

Virtually Climb Mount Everest From Your Living Room

A new virtual reality experience allows users delve into the world of Everest and scale the beast firsthand

The data readout of the "Wow! signal"

Was the "Wow!" Signal From Aliens or a Comet Flyby?

The 1977 blast from space is often cited as our best evidence of alien contact, but a news study suggests it may have just been comets

Matt de la Peña became the first Latino author to win the Newbery Medal for his book, "Last Stop on Market Street."

These Are the American Library Association's Picks for Best Children's Literature

Meet the 2016 Caldecott and Newbery Award winners, among others

Columbia librarians prepare the 17th-century medical pop-up book for digitization

Check Out a Medical Pop-Up Book From the 17th Century

Early movable books were geared towards informing adults not entertaining children

A Chicago rally of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s

The Ku Klux Klan Didn’t Always Wear Hoods

The white hood and robe is just the most popular of a variety of costumes used by the hate group

A piebald horse is usually called a pinto or paint in the U.S.

Geneticists Figured Out How Animals Get Their White Spots

The answer could help people with certain genetic conditions and diseases

Microbe Cells Don't Outnumber Your Own

For years people have cited the ten-to-one ratio, with microbes dominating human cells, but that number is probably wrong, according to recent research

A blue bead uncovered at the Iron Age village archeological site in Norway.

There’s a 1,500-Year-Old Farming Village Beneath a Norwegian Airport

An airport expansion gives archaeologists the chance to dig for historical treasures in a pre-Viking settlement

A trial at the Destrehan Plantation sentenced 45 men from the uprising to death or to go to New Orleans for future trials.

How a Nearly Successful Slave Revolt Was Intentionally Lost to History

More than 500 slaves fought for their freedom in this oft-overlooked rebellion

Wrecking balls remain ubiquitous in popular culture today, despite their dwindling use at construction sites.

The Rise and Fall of the Wrecking Ball

The instrument of destruction was popular in the 1950s and '60s but is now a rare creature on the demolition site

A rendering of the MoonArk

What's Inside this Artistic Capsule Headed to the Moon?

See how these artists captured a portrait of humanity in just six ounces

Globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Old, Dense Star Clusters Might Be the Place to Look for Complex Alien Life

The age and density of globular star clusters could give alien life both the time and resources necessary to brew complex society

A First Folio kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, U.K.

Shakespeare’s First Folio Goes on Tour in the U.S.

Rare copies of the tome, containing 36 of the Bard’s plays, will visit every state for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death

A women harvests millet in Arunachal Pradesh, India

This Ancient Grain May Have Helped Humans Become Farmers

Millet's short growing season and low water needs might also benefit a modern world stressed by climate change

Popular Brain Game Maker Luminosity Faces a Fine for False Advertising

The science doesn’t back up the claims that playing memory and attention games can prevent mental decline

A nautical-themed hairstyle from the mind of Danny Lewis.

Create Your Own Delightful, Excessive Version of 18th-Century Women’s Hairstyles

A museum’s interactive tool gives the powdered styles of the French Court of the 1700s some fierce competition

Trioceros hoehnelii, one of the 20 chameleons whose tongues a researcher tested for speed

Tiny Chameleon’s Tongue Can Beat the Fastest Sports Car

The Rosette-nosed Pygmy Chameleon can launch its tongue toward prey at 8,500 feet per second

A logarithmic scale captures the whole universe

This Image of the Universe Captures Its Immensity

Comets, planets, galaxies and the cosmic web crowd together in this portrait of everything known

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