Astronomers at MIT have observed unusual black hole X-ray flashes that are accelerating in frequency. A white dwarf star near the black hole might be the cause.
A new study suggests microbes on Mars might exist deep below the surface, and in one region in particular. They might even explain Martian mysterious methane.
Scientists found an unusual dark spot on Enceladus while looking at old images sent back by Cassini. The odd reddish-brown patch faded away over 3 years.
Does Jupiter's moon Io have a global subsurface magma ocean? A new study said no, and that Io's raging volcanoes are self-powered with their own magma pools.
Does exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b have an atmosphere? A new study said it either has a hazy atmosphere or is geologically active, with volcanoes or plate tectonics.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the closest-ever look at a distant quasar. The new images reveal complex blobs and filaments around the quasar.
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.