Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Goldilocks stars: Just right for habitable planets

Which stars are the most likely to have habitable planets? A new study suggest that K stars - between the dimmest M-type red dwarfs and sunlike stars - might provide the sweet spot for life.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 17, 2019

These bacteria eat and breathe electricity

For the first time, scientists made a successful in situ collection of bacteria living in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park and using an unconventional source - electricity - for food and energy.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 16, 2019

Dinosaurs thrived before fatal asteroid impact

Scientists have debated whether the dinosaurs were already in decline before a massive asteroid impact finished them off 66 million years ago. New research shows they were thriving in their final days.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 12, 2019

There may be 50 billion free-floating planets in our galaxy

There are at least 200 billion stars in our galaxy, and perhaps even a greater number of planets. Now a new study suggests there could be an additional 50 billion rogue planets, not orbiting any stars.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 10, 2019

Clouds for some Earth-sized TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets

The red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 - about 40 light-years away - has 7 Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting it. A new study puts limits on how many of those worlds have hazy or cloudy atmospheres.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 7, 2019

An ancient white dwarf star with rings

"This white dwarf is so old that whatever process is feeding material into its rings must operate on billion-year timescales," said one of the scientists involved in the discovery.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 4, 2019

Planet 9 hypothesis gets a boost

A large, unknown Planet 9 in our solar system continues to elude astronomers. But a new review article in Physics Reports explains why some scientists still think they'll find it.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 3, 2019

Hubble solves puzzle of Neptune mystery moon

Meet Hippocamp, the smallest known moon of the planet Neptune. Scientists have puzzled over its origin, and over why we see it orbiting where we do. Now, new Hubble data has shed light on these mysteries.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 2, 2019

Ceres had meltwater reservoirs for millions of years

Life on Ceres, largest body in the asteroid belt? Maybe, at one time. New research points to ancient subsurface reservoirs of salty meltwater that might have lasted millions of years and let life's chemistry begin.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 28, 2019

Green dragon aurora over Iceland

Do you see the dragon in this green aurora that appeared over Iceland earlier this month? It's an example of what's called pareidolia.

Paul Scott Anderson

February 27, 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.