Desert Exposure

Blending art with science

Often the sciences and arts are seen as opposing forces. However, Kayla Blundell set out to use art as a medium to explain scientific phenomena while working under Juie Shetye’s research …

REPTILE RALLY

Snakes, snakes and more snakes!

Contrary to its reputation for being desolate, the deserts of New Mexico are full of various types of wildlife, including snakes. The floors of the desert are crawling, or in the case of snakes …

Mata Ortiz Pottery

What is the secret to Mata Ortiz pottery? Oralia Lopez knows. Lopez, who lives in Phoenix, grew up in the village of Mata Ortiz, Mexico. She is a great-niece of legendary Mata Ortiz potter …

The Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope fires a laser to locate retroreflectors on the surface of the moon.

NMSU navigation system helping NASA navigate the moon

A New Mexico State University research team has been working on a lunar laser project to help place humans on the moon again for the first time in over 50 years. Under NASA, the Lunar Laser …

Bringing Creativity to the Community

Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” From an early age, children naturally embrace creativity—drawing, painting, …

Ian McHardy of the Isle of Lewis, UK, talks about astrological alignments at the stones of Calanais during a 2024 tour. McHardy will be in New Mexico as a presenter for the July Archaeoastronomy & Celestial Geometry conference in Ruidoso.

Understanding Ancient Astronomies

Archaeoastronomy & Celestial Geometry: Understanding the Mysteries of Ancient Astronomies is scheduled to be held at the Ruidoso Convention Center July 7-9, with tours and other activities on …

BLM Archaeologist Martin Goetz at the restored schoolhouse at the Lake Valley Historic Townsite in New Mexico.

A former boomtown’s second life as storyteller in New Mexico

This is the last in a three-part series about the efforts of the Bureau of Land Management to restore the historic mining town of Lake Valley.

WILDLIFE & Nature

TINY PRINTS

High Level Tracking

After years of watching for wildlife tracks, the mice have become my favorites - those exquisitely tiny prints, like small human hands. Miniaturization has such strong appeal. A perfect …

Numbers are up but conservationists sound alarm on the lobo

Conservationists have been sounding the alarm about a looming “genetic crisis” in the Mexican gray wolf community as reintroduction continues. The group of conservationists …

Mother Bobcat

If you have watched house cats, you have seen bobcats. Obviously, they are not the same species. Adult bobcats are larger, with males weighing fifteen to forty pounds, females somewhat smaller, coats …

That Black and White Aesthetic

Where I live in rural New Mexico, I see striped and hooded skunks throughout the year. I see skunk tracks all the time, every day, around my house, in the fine substrate of the road that leads up to …

Gray Foxes

Gray foxes range throughout New Mexico and most of the United States. Unlike red foxes—who are in a different genus—gray foxes diverged early in North America from the Order Carnivora. …

Backyard Birding in Southern New Mexico

Backyard birding is a simple way to connect with nature while providing essential resources for local and migratory birds. All it takes is a little know-how and a few supplies to get started …