Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Have the first proteins been found in meteorites?

Researchers say they've discovered the first complete proteins inside 2 meteorites. It's tantalizing, since proteins play a key role in the cells of living creatures. But will the results hold up to scrutiny?

Paul Scott Anderson

March 17, 2020

What if super-puff planets have rings?

All 4 of the gas giant planets in our solar system - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune - are known to have rings. Could many of the so-called super-puff or cotton candy exoplanets have rings instead of super low densities?

Paul Scott Anderson

March 16, 2020

Could K2-18b be habitable after all?

A new study by researchers at Cambridge University suggests that the giant exoplanet K2-18b - a mini-Neptune - may be more potentially habitable than previously thought.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 3, 2020

NASA issues a Venus rover design challenge

NASA has issued a public challenge where you can help design a critical sensor that would be needed for a future rover on Venus.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 1, 2020

Cosmic rays and Titan’s organic molecules

A new study from researchers in Tokyo helps explain how cosmic rays affect prebiotic organic chemistry in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 25, 2020

Using radio waves to discover and study exoplanets

A new study from researchers in the Netherlands shows how scientists can detect exoplanets orbiting red dwarf stars, and learn about their environments, from the radio waves generated by auroras on those worlds.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 24, 2020

Water in the shadows of boulders on Mars?

A new study from the Planetary Research Institute suggests that briny water could temporarily form on Mars' surface in the shadows of boulders for just a few days each Martian year.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 16, 2020

Mysterious fast radio burst repeats in 16-day rhythm

For the first time, a fast radio burst has been found to be repeating, in a regular 16-day cycle. The baffling detection from the CHIME radio telescope deepens the mystery of these bizarre intergalactic objects.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 13, 2020

Sand dunes can ‘communicate’ with each other

For the first time, a new experiment from the University of Cambridge has shown how sand dunes "communicate" and interact with each other as they move.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 11, 2020

Why Neptune and Uranus are different

We think of Uranus and Neptune almost as twins. In some ways, they are very similar. But a new study by researchers at PlanetS explains why, in some aspects, they are also radically different.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 9, 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.