Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Let NASA take you on a virtual trip to exoplanets

Exoplanets are worlds orbiting distant stars. Until recently, they existed only in the realm of imagination and probability. Now we know thousands! NASA's Exoplanet Travel Bureau lets you explore them.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 7, 2018

Dunes on Pluto? Yes, but made of methane ice

The discovery of methane dunes on Pluto is an indication of another way in which this planet mimics Earth, but in a way that is utterly unique and alien.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 5, 2018

Planet-hunter Kepler keeps going as fuel dwindles

Kepler has discovered thousands of exoplanets, and soon will run out of fuel. Now it's begun its 18th observing campaign, with a focus on objects including the famous nearby Beehive star cluster and infamous asteroid Apophis.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 30, 2018

Does Planet Nine exist? Astronomers point to new evidence

A new study concludes that a large, as-yet-unknown Planet Nine - an estimated 4 times the size of Earth and 10 times its mass - is influencing the behavior of an oddball object in the outer solar system.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 27, 2018

A tiny helicopter for Mars 2020

"After the Wright Brothers proved 117 years ago that powered, sustained, and controlled flight was possible here on Earth, another group of American pioneers may prove the same can be done on another world."

Paul Scott Anderson

May 22, 2018

Spacecraft sees Jupiter as never before

Check out the massive cyclones at Jupiter's north and south poles, on display in stunning new images from the Juno spacecraft.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 18, 2018

Stunning Mars images, from Curiosity

The Curiosity rover has sent back some beautiful new images of the foothills of Mount Sharp in Gale crater on Mars.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 16, 2018

Astronomers discover 1st possible exoplanets in another galaxy

“We are able to study them, unveil their presence and even have an idea of their masses. This is very cool science.”

Paul Scott Anderson

February 11, 2018

Mars life clues from methane and ‘sticks’

The Curiosity rover has made 2 new and interesting discoveries - the first about methane in Mars' air and the other about stick-rock formations - both related the possibility of life.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 12, 2018

Opportunity rover on Mars still going strong after 14 years

Opportunity has been exploring Mars for 14 years. It and its solar panels recently survived the winter darkness in its location and are now facing a possible planet-wide dust storm in 2018.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 18, 2017

Paul Scott Anderson

Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. He studied English, writing, art and computer/publication design in high school and college. He later started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was later renamed Planetaria. He also later started the blog Fermi Paradoxica, about the search for life elsewhere in the universe. While interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science and SETI. In 2011, he started writing about space on a freelance basis with Universe Today. He has also written for SpaceFlight Insider and AmericaSpace and has also been published in The Mars Quarterly. He also did some supplementary writing for the iOS app Exoplanet. He has been writing for EarthSky since 2018, and also assists with proofing and social media.