Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

See Mars’ Grand Canyon in stunning new photos

ESA's Mars Express orbiter has taken some stunning new images of Mars' Grand Canyon, Valles Marineris. It is the largest canyon system in the solar system.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 28, 2022

Why aren’t Jupiter’s rings glorious, like Saturn’s?

Jupiter's rings are not nearly as dramatic as Saturn's. Why? A new study says that the planet's 4 largest moons are to blame.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 26, 2022

Why do corals glow? To lure their prey

Why do corals glow? Researchers in Israel and the U.S. say they use fluorescent colors to attract prey like plankton, solving a long-standing aquatic mystery.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 24, 2022

Meet the black hole police (and hear what they just found)

A group of scientists known as the 'black hole police' have found their 1st black hole, a dormant black hole orbiting a massive star just outside our galaxy.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 19, 2022

Land on exoplanets a key to possible life

A new study from the University of Toronto in Canada shows how the location and amount of land on exoplanets affect both their climate and habitability.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 18, 2022

Clouds of sand on distant worlds

Scientists in Ontario, Canada, published a new study about how clouds of sand (silicates) can form in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and gas giant exoplanets.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 17, 2022

Mars rover measures key life ingredient

For the 1st time, scientists measured the amount of organic carbon in rocks on Mars. NASA's Curiosity rover analyzed samples taken from ancient mudstones.

Paul Scott Anderson

Eleanor Imster

July 14, 2022

Habitable water worlds don’t have to be Earth-like

A new study from researchers in Europe shows how habitable water worlds don't need to be just like Earth. The results may help expand the search for alien life.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 10, 2022

Cloudspotting on Mars: You can help

NASA is inviting you to help with its new project: Cloudspotting on Mars. The agency is trying to find out why Mars lost most of its once-thick atmosphere.

Paul Scott Anderson

July 6, 2022

Charon’s red cap created by “atmospheric surges”

An odd reddish polar cap on Pluto's moon Charon has puzzled scientists since 1st seen in 2015. Now researchers may have solved the mystery of Charon's red cap.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 29, 2022

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.