Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Weird comet in asteroid belt targeted by Webb

The Webb telescope has observed Comet Read, a weird comet in the main asteroid belt. Among the findings ... water vapor, yes. But carbon dioxide, no.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 24, 2023

Distant volcano-covered world is the size of Earth

Astronomers say they have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet 90 light-years away that may be a volcano-covered world, possibly as active as Jupiter's moon Io.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 21, 2023

Evidence for ancient river on Mars in new rover images

NASA's Perseverance rover has spotted new signs of an ancient river on Mars, deeper and faster than any seen before. Curving layers of rocks provide the clues.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 19, 2023

Saturn’s rings much younger than Saturn itself

How old are Saturn's rings? A new study suggests they're only about 400 million years old at most, much younger than Saturn itself. Dust provided new clues.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 17, 2023

Moon’s inner core is solid, like Earth’s, scientists say

Researchers in France say that the moon's inner core is solid, with a density close to that of iron, solving a long-standing debate about the heart of the moon.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 11, 2023

Oceans for 4 Uranus’ moons likely, astronomers say

A new study suggests oceans for 4 Uranus' moons. If true, they'd join a growing number of ocean worlds in the outer part of our solar system.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 8, 2023

Webb finds water vapor near star with exoplanet

Astronomers using NASA's Webb Space Telescope have found signs of water vapor. But is it on a rocky exoplanet or the planet's star?

Paul Scott Anderson

May 7, 2023

SETI Institute expands search for aliens with VLA

As part of SETI, astronomers are now using the Very Large Array radio telescope array in a comprehensive new search for radio signals from alien civilizations.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 4, 2023

Marsquakes reveal red planet’s deep secrets

NASA's InSight lander provided seismic data from marsquakes that shows that Mars' core is smaller and denser than scientists previously thought.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 3, 2023

Black hole and its jet imaged together for 1st time

For the 1st time, astronomers have taken an image of a black hole that shows both the black hole and a powerful jet of material being blasted away from it.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 2, 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.