An illustrated trip from smallest to biggest.

How Big Can Life Get?

className

core/image

core/paragraph

Kristen French is a senior editor at Nautilus. She has worked in science journalism since 2013, reporting and writing features and news for publications such as Wired, Backchannel, The Verge, and New York Magazine. She has a masters degree in science journalism from Columbia University.

Kristen French

Physics

Could Physics Help Us Solve the Mystery of Aging?

David Nield has written about science and technology for more than 20 years. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including Wired, Popular Science, The Guardian, and Gizmodo.

David Nield

55 Years Ago, an Apollo 15 Astronaut Dropped a Hammer on the Moon

The Unlucky Ones: What It Feels Like to Get Struck By Lightning

Jake Currie is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY.

Jake Currie

The Physics Behind the Poo Emoji’s Shape

See the Southern Lights from Space in New ISS Video

How to Protect Earth Against Violent Space Weather

Footer 1

Nav Bar

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Member-exclusive 

You've run out of free articles. Read unlimited, ad-free stories (including this one) by becoming a Member. 

Join to continue reading

BACK TO SCHOOL SALE
Save 25% on a year of Nautilus— for everyone who never stopped learning.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our lowest price of the season.

Unlock this story + our newsletter, for FREE! Already a newsletter subscriber? Just click the "Log in" link above. 

Register to continue reading.

Nautilus

Environment

How Our Attraction to Natural Fixes Can Stymie Climate Progress

Arts

“We Wanted to Create An Experience of Microscopic Awe”: A Radical New View of Sacred Plants

Devin Reese is the executive editor of Natural History and a science writer based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Devin Reese

Who Keeps Spreading the Seeds of This Parasitic Plant?

Researchers Return to a Forgotten Forest Experiment 30 Years Later—With “Astounding” Results

Charles Digges is an environmental journalist who edits the website of the Norwegian environmental group Bellona.

Charles Digges

Geoscience

The Soviets Drilled the Deepest Hole Ever

Seven Rasmussen is an astrobiologist, author, and science communicator whose work has been featured widely in the media, including Popular Science, Wired, Nature, Scientific American, Inside Higher Ed, Science, and <a href="http://space.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space.com</a>. Her latest book, Cloudy with a Chance of Starships: How the Drake Equation Reveals the Odds of Life in the Cosmos is out now from Princeton University Press. Rasmussen is currently an instructor at Columbia University and in the CUNY system and her literary speculative fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Diabolical Plots, Neon Hemlock, and more. She can be found online as @toomanyspectra.

Seven Rasmussen

Anthropology

An Astrobiologist’s Guide to the Best Sci-Fi Reads

John Hendrix

post

Philip Ball is a freelance writer based in London, and the author of many books on science and its interactions with the broader culture. His latest book is How Life Works.

Philip Ball

Schrödinger’s Kittens Are All Grown Up