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When you hear the name "Hubble," you might think of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. But, decades before this telescope was built, Dr. Edwin Powell Hubble revolutionized the field of astronomy. This video looks at the life and work of…

In nature, living things die, decompose, and eventually become nutrients for other life. Yet humans use embalming, coffin-based burial, or cremation in typical after-death practices, which may interfere with this “circle of life.” This video…

Vanilla is a flavor so common that some people use it as an adjective to describe something plain or ordinary. But watch out! This beloved, flavorful bean may soon become a rarity. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This animation explains the concept of biomes (major communities of organisms distributed over wide areas) and describes some of the biomes found around the world.

When it’s time to vote on Election Day, how do you decide on a candidate? In this video, neuroscientist Michael Shadlen explains how our brains secretly do math in order to make decisions. Credit: Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute

Thanks to the demands of eco-conscious consumers, biodegradable and compostable plastics are cropping up everywhere. Are these green plastics the solution to our throwaway lifestyle? Well, it’s complicated, as this video explains. Credit:…

This animation shows how chaotic systems are unpredictable because of their extreme sensitivity to their initial conditions.

This animation explains what a comet is and shows the different graphical distinctions of a comet with respect to its distance from the Sun

This animation explains what a cylcoid is and shows how the size of a cycloid relates to the size of the rolling circle that generates it.

Yes, you read that correctly. Comets may have helped seed life on Earth. Far out, right? Sarah Everts of C&EN has the chemical clues that back up this out-of-this-world hypothesis. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Much can be learned when a planet crosses between its host star and Earth. This video describes how astronomers get information about planets beyond our solar system using such transits. The video also introduces sophisticated technologies…

How do astronauts survive the deadly radiation of deep space? NASA is still figuring out how to protect astronauts from cosmic radiation using plastic shielding and magnetic deflectors. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Online entrepreneurs may try to sell bottled human pheromones, but do these even exist? It's doubtful, according to this video. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This animation explains how seasons depend on the Earth's orbit and explains how the Earth's orbital distance and axial tilt give rise to seasons.

This animation shows how eclipses occur when the Sun's rays are blocked.

This animation depicts how the solar system formed from a spinning disk of interstellar gas.

This animation explains that fractals are self-similar geometrical objects at different scales and magnifications and shows how fractals can be generated by applying simple mathematical rules repetitively.

Born in 1868, Henrietta Leavitt was an astronomer ahead of her time, whose work helped to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. While working at Harvard Observatory, Leavitt began to study stars of fluctuating brightness. This…

When food and water are scarce, many animals—especially mammals—go into hibernation. Climate change is affecting how some animals hibernate, causing certain squirrels, chipmunks, and bears to emerge from hibernation either much sooner or much…

Immediately after the universe started with the big bang, the cosmos was dark. Only the first stars appearing millions of years later brought light. These first stars and their radiation drastically changed the universe during what is known…

If you’ve eaten food today that has at least one ingredient that was farmed, you probably owe some thanks to earthworms. How do these lowly invertebrates turn what humans find inedible into beloved compost? Earthworms have an extra enzyme…

This video tells the story of what happens to the Hubble Space Telescope in the mysterious region known as the South Atlantic Anomaly. When satellites pass through this area, they are bombarded with swarms of intensely high energy particles.…

Many people have done it, but few admit to it. This video explains why, from an environmental perspective, it is absolutely acceptable to urinate in the ocean. (Correction: At 1:50, the narration and text should read "250 gallons," not…

This animation explains Kepler's first law of planetary motion and demonstrates a planet's elliptical orbit around the Sun.

This animation demonstrates Kepler's second law of planetary motion using 12 triangles of equal area.

This animation shows Kepler's third law of planetary motion by comparing the revolutions of two planets around the Sun.

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles measuring less than five millimeters (about 0.2 inches) in length whose sources include polymer textile fibers, microbeads from personal care products, and environmental degradation of waste plastic…

This animation shows how the phases of the Moon depend on the relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.

Most cats love catnip, but that’s not why this flowering plant produces its volatile oils. The scent of catnip is actually an application of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" strategy. Find out exactly what that means in this video.…

This animation explains what telescope aberration is and shows how Earth's rotation affects the shape of viewed objects

Andy Klesh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab welcomes you to the cleanroom to talk about how satellites smaller than a briefcase could one day explore the chemistry of alien moons and planets. But first, Andy and his team have to show that…

This video focuses on one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s most important, but least known, functions. For much of their research, astronomers use Hubble’s spectrometers—devices that split up light into a rainbow of component colors—to reveal…

There are many misconceptions about what causes auroras as well as when, where, and how they occur. Watch this video to learn the true answers. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Pond scum is usually just a nuisance, but under certain environmental conditions, blue-green algae (which are actually bacteria) can blossom into harmful algal blooms. These blooms can release all sorts of deadly poisons into the environment.…

Carbon is the backbone of all forms of life on Earth, and perhaps in the surrounding universe. This video explores the chemistry of carbon to explain why. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Why do wasps become more aggressive after you kill a hive member? The answer is the same reason as why you should be wary of bees that smell like bananas. This short video uses chemistry to explain that statement. Credit:…

This video explores the curious question of why dust from the surface of the Moon smelled like spent gunpowder to Apollo astronauts. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

As the late Carl Sagan famously said, "We are made of star stuff." What exactly did he mean? In this video, best-selling author Sam Kean explains the chemistry behind this iconic quote. [Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society…