Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

What made these weird straight lines on Dione?

Planetary scientists have discovered some very unusual long straight lines on the surface of Saturn's moon Dione. What created them?

Paul Scott Anderson

November 1, 2018

Why don’t Europa’s plumes have heat signatures?

Europa has been thought to have water vapor plumes similar to those on Saturn's moon Enceladus. But new research shows Europa's plumes differ significantly from those on Enceladus - or, perhaps - don't really exist at all.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 29, 2018

Old photos provide clues about a planet with giant rings

Photographic plates going back to 1890 are providing new clues as to whether a distant exoplanet has a giant ring system, more than 100 times wider than Saturn's.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 26, 2018

Astronomers spy 4 giant planets orbiting a very young star

Finding 4 giant planets orbiting another star isn't too unusual these days. But these massive planets are the largest known to orbit such a young star - CI Tau - only 2 million years old.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 23, 2018

Europa may have towering ice spikes on its surface

Penitentes - large pointed spikes of ice - are known on Earth and Pluto. Jupiter's moon Europa might have them, too, according to new research. If they're there, they could make a future landing on Europa tricky.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 20, 2018

Report calls for NASA to ramp up search for alien biosignatures

NASA is again being encouraged to expand its search for alien life - not just intelligent life - all forms of life, including microbes.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 18, 2018

New technology may help solve mystery of life’s origins

How did life on Earth begin? A new technology, called Planet Simulator, might finally help solve the mystery.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 14, 2018

Astronomers detect ghostly afterglow of cosmic explosion

For the 1st time, astronomers have detected the faint radio afterglow of a ghost explosion - a kind of cosmic sonic boom - possibly the result of a weird kind of gamma-ray burst.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 10, 2018

Construction begins on ESA’s Plato planet-hunter

The European Space Agency's next big planet-hunting mission - the Plato space telescope - will continue the search for rocky and potentially habitable worlds orbiting other stars.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 7, 2018

New dwarf planet nicknamed The Goblin

The Goblin is a very small dwarf planet, very far away. It might help astronomers in their search for a much bigger world - the long-sought Planet X.

Paul Scott Anderson

October 4, 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.