Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Oxygen and life: a cautionary tale

On Earth, oxygen is a signature byproduct of life. But what if astronomers found oxygen in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant sun? Would that prove life exists there? Not necessarily, says a new study.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 3, 2019

Has Mars’ methane gone missing?

The 1st results from ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter mission at Mars have been released and - surprise - no atmospheric methane. That's even though methane on Mars has been observed multiple times before. Where is it?

Paul Scott Anderson

January 2, 2019

Spacecraft spies ice-filled Mars crater

The Mars Express orbiter has taken some stunning photos of Korolev Crater, an ice-filled crater near the Martian north pole. It looks from a distance like a snowy winter landscape on Earth.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 28, 2018

What does Ceres’ carbon mean?

Earlier this month, scientists announced that dwarf planet Ceres has more carbon-rich organics than previously thought, both on and below its surface. Here's why that's exciting.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 27, 2018

The case of the vanishing exoplanet

Astronomers have found an exoplanet - the 2nd of its kind now - that is gradually "evaporating" as its hydrogen atmosphere leaks away into space.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 23, 2018

1st image from inside sun’s atmosphere

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has now swept within the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere.. No other spacecraft has ever come this close to the sun's surface! And, it's going to get closer.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 18, 2018

Exoplanet’s helium atmosphere is inflated like a balloon

Astronomers have discovered that a Neptune-sized exoplanet - HAT-P-11b - has an even larger helium atmosphere than first thought. The atmosphere is literally inflated like a massive balloon.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 16, 2018

Ancient water found on asteroid Bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission arrived at asteroid Bennu on December 3 and has already made a significant discovery about this small world.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 13, 2018

WASP-69b, the exoplanet with a tail

Astronomers have discovered a Jupiter-sized planet - 163 light-years away - that seems to think it's a comet. It has a prominent "tail" of helium gas.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 9, 2018

Over 100 new exoplanets from Kepler and Gaia

At least 18 of the new planets are less than 2 times larger than the Earth, and are likely to have rocky compositions with atmospheres comparable to Earth's.

Paul Scott Anderson

December 7, 2018

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.