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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I created this little earthquake explainer for Scientific American - @sciam.bsky.social I loved making cross sections in this art style #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures #earthquakes

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Fission and Fusion are both nuclear reactions that release energy but they aren't the same. One happens in the sun and one usually happens on Earth in nuclear power plants. #scienceillustration #education #chemistry #physics #sciencefigures #nuclear

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I really liked drawing these neurons in this fun cartoon style! Created for Newsela #scienceillustration #education #sciencefigures #biology

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

It's difficult to picture how big some animals in the ocean are. Especially fish! This is a graphic showing the size of the largest sunfish ever found. Created this for Newsela #scienceillustration #education #sciencefigures #biology #K12

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

At the start of the pandemic, @Newsela published articles relating to social distancing and health. I created this graphic to show that cloth masks, while not as effective as N95s, still offered protection against contaminated aerosols. #scienceillustration #education #sciencefigures #covid #masks

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I absolutely loved working on the figure on microbial dormancy for researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory. #scienceillustration #education #geology #sciencefigures #soil #biology #microbes #microbiology

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I worked on this figure with Dr. Bowles at the University of Berkeley, California, who is always fantastic to work with. I had a lot of fun illustration directly on top of these graphs. #scienceillustration #education #sciencefigures #soil #biology #agriculture

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I created these carbon macromolecules for Scientific American several years ago (and am just getting around to posting now 🤣 ) The fullerenes (the buckyballs, C70 and C60) were extremely fun to map out and render. #scienceillustration #education #physics #sciencefigures #carbon #buckyball

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

I made this figure for @andreajilling.bsky.social at the University of South Carolina to show how mineral associated organic matter (MAOM) can sequester carbon and nutrients in soil. Grateful for the chance to work on this! #scienceillustration #education #sciencefigures #soil #biology #agriculture

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Common eye traits among prey and predator animals. I made this graphic for a Newsela article. #scienceillustration #education #lifescience #biology #animals #sciencefigures

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Was so thrilled to receive a copy of Bay Nature Spring 2026 issue. I created a close up of the Dodder plant and pickleweed interaction for the article "Sensing is Becoming" by Jules Litman-Cleper #scienceillustration #education #baynature #geology #physics #sciencefigures #biology #parasite

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

The @soilbiome.bsky.social lab has always been a joy to work with! I have been slow to post some of the projects I've worked on with them because I am allergic to social media 🤣 but late is better than never! #scienceillustration #education #geology #agriculture #soil #farming #microbes

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

I'm always excited to work on thumbnails for New Nature's (@newnature.bsky.social) videos since they always involve cutting some earth in half. #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures #icesheet #antarctica

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Graphite and diamonds are made of the same element, carbon, just arranged differently. Illustration made for Newsela. #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Best way to cool your house down? Wind catchers in many ancient Persian houses used passive ventilation to keep buildings cool in hot climates. Illustration made for Newsela #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Atoms come together to form all sorts of patterns. How do they stack up? Illustrations made for Newsela #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Earthquakes release P waves and S waves, but what do they look like and how do they traverse through the earth? Illustration originally made for Newsela #scienceillustration #education #geology #physics #sciencefigures

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

I create custom graphics for scientists and educators. Reach out if you'd like to bring your ideas or research to life!

graphic showing how an earthquake occurs

graphic showing chemical levels in dry soil versus flooded soil.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Aerodynamic Laser Levitation Furnace and FTIR Instrument set up #laboratory #setup #FTIR #instruments 🧪

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Ionic liquids on exoplanets. Created for Prof. Sara Seagar at MIT 🧪 #astronomy #space

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Very early this year (I am quite slow to post work haha), I had the pleasure to work with @hydro-adrienne.bsky.social to create this illustration showing how energy infrastructure interacts with the water cycle. 🧪 #sciart #scienceillustration #watercycle

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Absolutely loved working on this piece commissioned by @newnature.bsky.social 's for their video on the Mariana's Trench. I'll link the video link in the thread, go check it out! 🧪 #sciart #scienceillustration #physics #astonomy #space #sun #earth

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Reposted by Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator

New Nature @newnature.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

New video alert! The Day the Sun Dies. Featuring another beautiful artwork by the brilliant @elabarts.bsky.social #science #heliophysics

youtube.com

The Day the Sun Dies (You’ve Never Seen It Like This) 4K

YouTube video by New Nature

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Reposted by Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator

Robert Simmon @rsimmon.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Looking through an exhibit of illustrations by @elabarts.bsky.social at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, it was neat to see a @jenchristiansen.com credit. Visualizing the atomic scale is challenging! (Featured in SciAm: www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...) #dataviz 📊

Digital painting of covalent bonds in helium hydride (HeH+) and hydrogen (H2+) molecules. On the left is a ball-and stick representation, on the right a version that emphasizes the electron clouds.

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Reposted by Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 25/04/2025

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Im absolutely thrilled for this park and I’m loving seeing all the features and murals coming to life!

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

While at @newsela.bsky.social, I was usually tasked with creating simple but clear graphics to explain certain concepts with minimal text. I also tried to make them usable for a wide range of grades. #sciart #scienceillustration #physics #sandcastles

A graphic showing two sand mounds. One is a pile of sand, labeled 'dry sand' while the other is a sand castle labeled 'wet sand'. Two pop ups showing a close up view of the sand grains are positioned next to each mound. The 'wet sand' pop up shows rings of water around sand grains.

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Reposted by Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

AOC: I want to live in an America that guarantees healthcare to every person. I want to live in an America that has a living wage for every person I want to live in an America where you have free speech to express yourself and not be afraid of being put on a list or deported.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Check out this awesome video about the future of our Sun! Thanks @newnature.bsky.social for letting me design the thumbnail art!

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

I decided to make another, more fun slice of Earth (though probably not the most accurate). #geology, #earth, #platetectonics, #volcano

A cartoon illustration of a slice of Earth. A volcano sits on top of an inverted pyramid shape with four different layers. The bottom is a solid yellow tip. The second layer is a liquid. The third layer is a red putty. And the top layer represents a solid rocky texture.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

I've always been fascinated by Earth's interior and how scientists have described their textures. I decided to make my own slice while at @newsela.bsky.social. #geology, #earth, #platetectonics 🧪

A graphic illustrating the different layers of Earth and their theorized textures. The inner core is solid. The outer core flows like honey. The mantle is a softer solid. The Asthenosphere is a putty-like solid. The lithosphere is a crumbling solid.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Check out this awesome video by New Nature. I was honored to design the thumbnail for this video. #space #geology #scienceillustration

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

I was commissioned by Scientific American in 2019 to illustrate a bunch of molecules for an article titled "The First Molecule." I had so much fun painting these little guys. 🧪 #chemistry #space #molecules #atoms #science

An assortment of simple molecules in the ball and stick form. They are illustrated with bright colors.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

An atoll illustration I was commissioned for several years ago. I love making slices of geologic features so this was a treat to work on! #geology #atoll #oceanscience #scienceillustration

The illustration in the background is of an atoll. A white rectangle makes a cut in the front area of the atoll. This references the illustration in the front which is a cross section of an atoll side.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

A cross section of the magma chamber under Mt. St. Helens and how it interacts with the underlying tectonic plates. #geology #mtsthelens #volcano #platetectonics

a painting of the magma chamber of Mt. St. Helens. Below the mountain is a tall rocky structure and a cone shaped molten magma chamber. Under the magma chamber shows a green wedge in between two tectonic plates.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

One of my first projects out of graduate school is a cross section of an iron asteroid. I was inspired by Super Mario Galaxy when creating this piece for two scientists at the University of Santa Cruz. 🧪 #geology #science #astrophysics #astrogeology

A round cratered asteroid leaking lava and eruptions has been sliced in half, revealing a hot, molten core.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

An old project from graduate school: an ice dam. During the Ice Age, enormous lakes were formed due to ice dams created from glaciers. When these dams broke, cataclysmic flooding occured. #geology #iceage #science

Two cross section illustrations of a glacier formed as an ice dam. The bottom illustration shows the ice dam breaking, thus allowing water from the lake to flow.

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Elena Hartley | Science Illustrator @elabarts.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Project from graduate school of one of my favorite National Parks. Crater Lake & Mt. Mazama #science #geology #volcanoes

Illustration of a cross section showing a mountain that collapsed into a lake.

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