A photo's brightness can be controlled by the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO

Explore a guide to photographing auroras

Using a wide aperture and increasing your camera's native ISO to a value between 3200 and 8000, depending on atmospheric conditions, will help capture as much light as possible while freezing the movement of the auroras. The camera should also be kept as still as possible and in environments with minimal weather impediments, such as clouds.

The selfie camera exists thanks to Einstein's discovery of the photoelectric effect

Smartphone cameras utilize sensors such as CMOS or CCD to capture light by converting it into electrical signals through the photoelectric effect. Einstein explained this effect by demonstrating that light behaves as both particles and waves simultaneously, a discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize in physics.

Astrophotographer Vincent Bouchama's stellar photo archive

Astrophotographers specialize in collecting as much light from celestial objects as possible while minimizing the movement of the object they're capturing. It's a unique skillset—requiring unique tools—but the results are often universally...

Blurriness in the James Webb Space Telescope's infrared imaging was fixed by AI

Australian researchers developed the Aperture Masking Interferometry Generative Observations AI algorithm to sharpen images affected by electronic distortions in the JWST's Aperture Masking Interferometer.

Light can be used to slow the motion of atoms

While photons possess energy, they also have momentum, which allows them to collide with other particles, much like billiard balls, thereby slowing them down and reducing their kinetic energy, or temperature. Using multiple lasers from different directions, particles can be cooled to within one degree of absolute zero.

Infrared light is most often associated with thermal radiation and cooking food

Although extensively used in remote controls for electronics, where LED lights send signals wirelessly, infrared cameras allow for night vision and thermography—imaging of heat patterns in the body to non-invasively reveal blood flow for supplementary diagnostics. Infrared radiation also provides heat in toasters, saunas, and other technologies.

A composite of telescope images of the sun, which each reveal unique solar features

While traditional cameras can reveal sunspots—cooler regions on the sun's surface—in visible light, x-ray detectors can highlight explosions of high-energy plasma and magnetic fields known as coronal mass ejections. Hydrogen-alpha filters can reveal clouds and filaments of material suspended in magnetic fields above the sun's surface.

Visualize the purpose of stomata in photosynthesis

These openings on the underside of leaves can be opened and closed by specialized guard cells to regulate the movement of carbon dioxide into and oxygen out of cells, thus impacting the rate of photosynthesis. At night, when the light-dependent reactions in photosynthesis are not possible, the stomata close to prevent the plant from losing water through transpiration.

Roasting controls how your coffee will taste

James Hoffmann, winner of the 2007 World Barista Championship, is the best person to break down the importance of the roasting process. Arguably, along with where beans are grown, roasting is the most important variable in the flavor of your favorite drink.

Exploring how directors decide where to place the camera

The seamless experience of watching a film is the result of countless aesthetic decisions, one of the most important of which is the placement of the camera taking the shot. In this 8-minute video, directors and actors weigh in on the factors that shape the angles of cinematography, using famous scenes to demonstrate their observations. Watch it here.

Temperature and certain medications can also affect your circadian rhythms

Although light and dark have the largest influence on circadian rhythms, temperature, stress, and certain medications are among the factors that also play a role. Persistent trouble sleeping or staying asleep may signal it’s time to see your doctor to get a better sleep-wake schedule.

Chess can be played at lightning-fast or classical speeds

Time controls shape how the game is played—from bullet matches under three minutes, to blitz games under 10, to classical contests lasting over an hour. Each format demands different skills, from rapid intuition to deep calculation.

The Internet of Things connects everyday objects to the internet

The IoT enables physical devices to share data collected via sensors or specialized software, often without human intervention. Controlling the air conditioning and heating in one's home via an app, as well as receiving alerts when away from home about someone at the door, is made possible by the IoT.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar by helping absorb it into cells

Blood sugar levels increase after a meal when the body starts turning food into usable fuel—sugars, proteins, and more—which are absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestines. Blood sugar levels rise, releasing insulin, and letting sugar in the blood be absorbed into hungry cells, thereby dropping blood sugar levels.

The iconic photo of the Wright brothers' first flight was the photographer’s first

Using a then-state-of-the-art Korona V, rescue member John T. Daniels was tasked with squeezing the device’s rubber bulb the moment the plane left the wooden track on the sand. The camera produced negatives on 5 by 7 sheets of glass.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

See South Korea's nighttime light usage, far surpassing North Korea's

You can tell a lot about a place by looking at satellite imagery of the earth at night. Economists use such images to study poverty and inequality, especially about secretive countries where it can be difficult to get information any other way. An image from NASA’s Earth Observatory shows the difference in electrification between North and South Korea (and the lights illuminating the DMZ are visible from space).

'Instagram traps' are changing art museums

In the creator economy era, it feels like anyone has the potential to become an influencer—if they can just capture the right content. Naturally, some places are better suited for an Instagram photo than others. Museums-turned-photo-backdrops (think: the Museum of Ice Cream) are the best of the best.

Airborne microplastics may influence cloud formation and climate

Microplastics are increasingly found in the atmosphere and may affect the climate by reflecting or absorbing sunlight based on their pigmentation. Like mineral dust, they may become cloud seeders and alter regional precipitation patterns as they become more abundant.

LEDs emit pure colors, while incandescent bulbs filter white light

Traditional Christmas lights produce softer, less saturated colors by partially blocking the full spectrum of light, resulting in a particularly warm glow by dimming the cooler blue tones. LEDs are designed to emit a single wavelength of light, creating intense colors that are visually unbalanced in multicolor environments.

What pupils can reveal about a person’s thoughts and feelings

Eyes have long been said to be the window to the soul. In this article, a psychologist and pupillometrist explores research demonstrating pupils as a window into the mind. Pupils tell us how intensely someone is exerting mental effort, or even reveal what a person is imagining. Read this article for insight into the field of pupillometry and how it can offer insights into our psyches.

Raising interest rates can help control inflation

While controlling a complex and dynamic economy is difficult, interest rates—more specifically, the rate at which banks lend each other money overnight—are a powerful tool. Generally, raising the rate makes purchases more expensive and cools an overheated economy.

The macula is a small area in the center of the retina

This part of the eye—roughly the bullseye of the back of the eye—is responsible for processing the central vision of the eye. Degradation of the macula, formally called macular degeneration, leads to symptoms including blurred vision, the need for brighter lighting, and difficulty recognizing faces. The condition doesn't affect peripheral vision, but if you lose central vision, you can still be considered blind.

Relative motion between a source and an observer shifts the color of observed light

The phenomenon, known as the Doppler effect, is the result of experiencing an increase in the frequency of observed waves when approaching a source and a decrease when moving away. Because this property corresponds to color, approaching objects appear bluer than normal—blueshift—and receding objects appear redder than usual—redshift.

The event horizon is an inescapable sphere around a black hole singularity

The horizon is often surrounded by an accretion disc of superheated material that orbits the black hole while emitting radiation. Light emitted behind a black hole can be bent around it to create the appearance of a ring of material known as a photon sphere.

Home energy performance can be boosted through home orientation and shading

When designing a home, placing living areas to the north maximizes sun exposure during winter, while eaves and awnings can limit excessive summer heat. Breezeways and entry air locks can also reduce the dependence on heating and cooling costs.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.