Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Summer rainfall at Titan’s north pole

For the first time, researchers have found evidence in data sent back by Cassini for methane/ethane rainfall near Titan's north pole, signaling the start of the summer season on Saturn's largest moon.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 25, 2019

Plants sprout – and die – on moon

For the 1st time ever, plants were sprouted on the moon - but didn't survive long - as part of a biosphere experiment on China's Chang'e-4 lander.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 22, 2019

What made this giant spinning ice circle?

Crop circles step aside! A giant ice disk has been found on the Presumpscot River in Maine. The fascinating phenomenon is attracting thousands of onlookers, including ducks.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 21, 2019

Giant streaks discovered in Venus’ atmosphere

New observations of Venus' atmosphere by the Japanese orbiter Akatsuki - combined with supercomputer simulations - have revealed giant symmetrical streaks never seen before.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 17, 2019

A 2nd repeating radio burst from the depths of space

Of the more than 60 Fast Radio Bursts found so far, only one has ever been seen to repeat from the same source ... until now.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 14, 2019

Citizen scientists discover rare exoplanet

Last week, citizen scientists with Zooniverse's Exoplanet Exoplorers announced K2-288Bb - a type of exoplanet considered rare so far. The finding might shed new light on how planets form.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 13, 2019

Europe is testing self-driving Mars rovers

Rovers on Mars today are amazing, but slow, and still mostly controlled by humans back on Earth. Europe is testing new self-driving software to help future Mars rovers travel faster and farther each day.

Paul Scott Anderson

January 11, 2019

New Juno images of Io’s fiery volcanoes

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active world in our solar system. The Juno spacecraft - now orbiting Jupiter - has now gazed across a distance to acquire new images and insights about the "fires of Io."

Paul Scott Anderson

January 6, 2019

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

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.