Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

‘Sandwich exoplanets’ shed light on planet formation

Scientists say they have discovered a new type of planetary formation called "sandwich exoplanets." This is where a small planet will form between 2 large ones.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 10, 2023

Gullies on Mars may be a result of melting ice

Were gullies on Mars formed by liquid water? A new study led by researchers at Brown University says that intermittent meltwater likely did indeed create them.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 9, 2023

Did we find life on Mars … and then wipe it out?

Did the Viking landers from a few decades ago find microbial life on Mars after all? Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch makes the case in Big Think.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 6, 2023

Could there be a captured planet hiding in the Oort Cloud?

Is there a rogue captured planet way out in the Oort Cloud of our solar system? A team of researchers says there is indeed a slim possibility.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 2, 2023

Young Jupiter-like exoplanet revealed in new images

Astronomers using the Keck II telescope in Hawaii have obtained new direct images of a young exoplanet 3 times the mass of Jupiter and 87.5 light-years away.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 2, 2023

Milky Way shines in new ‘ghost particle’ neutrino image

Scientists released a new "ghost particle" image of the Milky Way. It is the 1st-ever image taken of our home galaxy using neutrinos instead of visible light.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 30, 2023

Is Europa’s habitability limited by slow evolution?

Researchers at ASU say that Europa may have formed slower than thought, with less interior heat. That could affect the habitability of Europa's ocean.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 27, 2023

Sea-going search for alien fragments yields odd spherules

Avi Loeb and a team of scientists are combing the ocean floor near Papua New Guinea for alien fragments. They've found some odd tiny metallic spherules.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 23, 2023

Single supernova looks like 4. Why?

Astronomers have released a bizarre new image of a supernova. Gravitational lensing from a galaxy in the foreground causes the single supernova to look like 4.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 22, 2023

Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c not very Venus-like

New findings from NASA's Webb Space Telescope show that rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c is not Venus-like as theorized and only has a very thin atmosphere at best.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 22, 2023

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.