This map changed how the world saw itself.

Cool Finds

Discover One of History’s Most Ambitious Maps

Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 map was the oldest document to use “America” to describe the body of land between Africa and Asia

Two 2001 images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance when haze raised by dust-storm activity in the south became globally distributed. The images were taken about a month apart.

New Research

Major Martian Dust Storms Might Soon Envelope the Red Planet

A plus for meteorologists but perhaps bad news for rovers

The HMS Terror was missing for nearly 170 years after it got trapped in ice and sunk in frigid Arctic waters.

Second Ship From Sir John Franklin’s 19th-Century Expedition Found

Two years and a day after its sister ship was discovered, Canadian researchers find the H.M.S. Terror

Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the parks featured in the virtual reality tours.

Virtual Travel

Explore Some of America’s Greatest National Parks in Virtual Reality

The next best thing to celebrating the Centennial in person

Cool Finds

Adorable Stubby Squid Found Off the Coast of Southern California

Researchers aboard the E/V Nautilus happened across a particularly cute stubby squid

In NASA's new "Mars Rover" game, players drive a rover through rough Martian terrain, challenging themselves to navigate and balance the rover.

Cool Finds

Take a Spin Around Mars in NASA’s New Rover Game

Tour the Red Planet without the risk of a multi-million dollar crash

A researcher examines inscriptions by 16th century Europeans in a cave on Mona Island

Cool Finds

Cave Graffiti Shows Natives and Europeans Had Early Dialogue in the Caribbean

Cave art from both Taíno people and Spanish explorers in a cave on Mona Island shows the two had some early cultural understanding

An acorn worm observed at a dive spot called Twin Peaks

Journey to the Center of Earth

Mission to Mariana Trench Records Dozens of Crazy Deep Sea Creatures

The Okeanos Explorer has spent three months mapping the seafloor and recording deep sea life in the ocean’s depths

Ski mountaineering legend Kit DesLauriers ascends Mt. Isto, the new highest peak in the Brooks Range

Cool Finds

After 60 Years, An Expedition Determines Highest Peaks in U.S. Arctic

Glaciologist Matt Nolan and ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers tested a new mapping system to end uncertainty about the highest mountain in the Brooks Range

A cruise ship in Alaska, similar to the one that will cross the Northwest Passage in August

Trending Today

Cruise Ship Set to Sail the Perilous Northwest Passage

Crystal Cruises will sail a ship with over 1,000 passengers through the legendary—and deadly—Arctic route

An artist's rendering of the ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter

Trending Today

Mission to Find Life on Mars Blasts Off

The European Space Agency kicks off its ExoMars project to look for methane and other signs of life in the Martian atmosphere

Cool Finds

Deep-Sea Robot Spies Ghostly, Unknown Octopus

Previously-undiscovered octopus spotted hanging out on the ocean floor

Shackleton brought everything from trashy novels to accounts of Arctic rescues with him to Antarctica.

Cool Finds

Historians Finally Figured Out What Was on Shackleton’s Bookshelf

The brave explorer likely found solace in his library

Polar explorer Henry Worsley (right) with Prince William of Britain in October, 2015.

Trending Today

Antarctic Explorer Dies 30 Miles Short of Goal

Henry Worsley nearly crossed Antarctica, unaided

When the crew felt they had a good chance of freeing the trapped Endurance from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea, they put the sails up. As we know, this and other attempts failed. Realizing the ship wasn't moving, Hurley went onto the ice to take this photograph. New details of sea ice have been revealed.

Trending Today

Restored Photos From Shackleton’s Antarctic Wreck Reveal New Details

Photos taken during Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition have been digitally restored for the first time

During the first two years of the team's studies, snow sealed the entrance to Snow Dragon cave. But in recent years, low snowpack has kept the entrance open year-round.

Cool Finds

Behold the Beauty of Disappearing Glacier Ice Caves on Mt. Hood

Catch them before they’re gone — these tunnels and caverns may soon melt away

Cool Finds

Arctic Explorers Uncover (and Eat) 60-Year-Old Food Stash

Tins of jam and crackers hidden in Greenland’s Arctic desert made for a delicious surprise

A detail of "Lewis and Clark at Three Forks" by Edgar Samuel Paxson, mural in lobby of Montana House of Representatives

Cool Finds

How to Reconstruct Lewis and Clark’s Journey: Follow the Mercury-laden Latrine Pits

One campsite has been identified using the signatures left by men who took mercury-laced purgative pills to treat constipation and other ills

A stone etching on the grave of crewmember Lt. John Irving depicts the dire conditions that the Franklin expedition faced when they reached the Canadian Arctic.

New Research

Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Ended in Gruesome Cannibalism

New bone analysis suggests crew resorted to eating flesh, then marrow

Urban Explorations

There Are New World Heritage Sites, Here Are the Ones You Should Travel to Now

This year, 24 sites from across the globe have been added to the heralded Unesco list

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