Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Does Jupiter’s moon Europa have geysers? If so, what’s their source?

If watery plumes do burst from Europa's surface, they might originate not in the moon's underground ocean, but instead in pockets of brine trapped in the moon's crust. If that's so, it could be a source of frustration for those who want to probe Europa's ocean for possible life.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 19, 2020

Clues to Mars life in Earth’s Atacama Desert

Researchers in the U.S. and Spain have discovered a plethora of previously unknown microbes living in wet clay layers below Chile's arid Atacama Desert. The finding will help future rovers search for life on Mars.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 17, 2020

Meet the hell planet with a magma ocean and rocky rain

Exoplanet K2-141b is fiery hot world that circles so close to its star that 1 side of the planet features a deep ocean of molten lava. Meanwhile, the other side is freezing cold.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 11, 2020

Ancient life signs under dinosaur-killing Chicxulub crater

Researchers have found evidence for an ancient microbial ecosystem in a hydrothermal system beneath Mexico's Chicxulub Crater, thought to be the site of the impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 7, 2020

How Jupiter’s moon Io gets its hellish atmosphere

Hot, active volcanoes produce almost half of Jupiter's moon Io's sulfur atmosphere, according to new observations using the ALMA telescope. The rest comes from cold sulfur deposits that freeze on the surface, then sublimate in sunlight.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 5, 2020

Life-hunting Perseverance rover is halfway to Mars

NASA announced that its Perseverance rover mission - which will search for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars - has now passed the halfway mark in its journey to the planet.

Paul Scott Anderson

November 2, 2020

Electric! Astronomers find sprites in Jupiter’s atmosphere

Scientists with NASA's Juno mission say they have detected sprites or elves - electrical phenomena above thunderstorms on Earth - in the clouds of Jupiter for the first time. Unlike the red-colored earthly ones however, the Jovian ones are blue.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 31, 2020

Super-Earth and sub-Neptune found orbiting a red dwarf star

Astronomers using a telescope in Mexico have found two more exoplanets - a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune - orbiting a red dwarf star 120 light-years from Earth.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 26, 2020

Betelgeuse is smaller, closer, and won’t explode any time soon

According to new research, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse - which began to dim dramatically in brightness in late 2019 - might not explode for another 100,000 years. The star is also smaller and closer to us than first thought.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 23, 2020

Super-Earth exoplanets often have giant ‘Jupiter’ bodyguards

Planetary systems with both super-Earths and Jupiter-type planets may be common, according to a new study. As in our own solar system, the giant planets would act as "bodyguards" protecting the smaller planets from asteroid impacts.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 22, 2020

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.