Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Watch the Israeli moon landing April 11

Israel's Beresheet spacecraft will attempt the country's 1st-ever and 1st commercial landing on the moon on Thursday, April 11. The landing is expected between 19:00 and 20:00 UTC (2 to 3 p.m. CDT).

Paul Scott Anderson

April 10, 2019

Scientists close in on mysterious Mars methane

For the first time, an in-situ measurement of methane on Mars - made by NASA's Curiosity rover - has been independently confirmed from orbit, by ESA's Mars Express. Could it be a clue to Mars life?

Paul Scott Anderson

April 7, 2019

New evidence for life in a Martian meteorite?

The discovery of fossilized microbes in Martian meteorites has been claimed before. Now scientists in Hungary add a new study of the ALH-77005 meteorite, with some intriguing new evidence.

Paul Scott Anderson

April 7, 2019

Did deep groundwater cause these mysterious dark streaks on Mars?

Mars is a cold, dry desert, but a new study provides tantalizing evidence for liquid water deep below its surface. If it exists, this Mars groundwater might cause the weird dark streaks in Martian craters and canyons.

Paul Scott Anderson

April 3, 2019

See Mars via images from ExoMars orbiter

These images from ESA's ExoMars orbiter show Mars in all of its diverse geological wonder. Also, if you look carefully, you can spy NASA's newest Mars mission, the InSight lander!

Paul Scott Anderson

April 3, 2019

NASA and Google partner on Mars exploration

Devon Island in the Arctic is one of Earth's most Mars-like places. NASA is there, training scientists and testing technologies for future Mars exploration. Now Google has joined in, to bring Devon Island's Mars-like wonders to you.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 31, 2019

NASA proposes mission to Neptune moon Triton

Triton is Neptune's largest moon. It's a bizarre and geologically active world - a possible ocean moon - visited by Voyager 2 in 1989. Now, NASA has proposed a new mission called Trident to sweep past Triton again in 2038.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 28, 2019

Say hello to particle robots

Roboticists are fundamentally rethinking their craft. Particle robots don't look like biological creatures, but they're constructed like biological systems, vast in complexity and abilities, yet composed of simple parts. Are they a step toward the proverbial 'gray goo'?

Paul Scott Anderson

March 26, 2019

Scientists gather to contemplate The Great Silence

Are we alone? If advanced alien civilizations are out there, why haven't we heard from them? Scientists call this Fermi's Paradox - aka The Great Silence - and they gathered in Paris to discuss it.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 24, 2019

A jet stream in Europa’s ocean?

Jupiter's moon Europa likely has a subsurface ocean, possibly salty, with volcanic vents on its ocean floor. A new study suggests it might also have an oceanic jet stream, comparable to the Gulf Stream back here on Earth.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 19, 2019

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.