Posts by

Paul Scott Anderson

Hayabusa 2 arrives at asteroid Ryugu

Japan's Hayabusa 2 is now just 12 miles (20 km) from Ryugu's surface. The spacecraft will now begin studying the asteroid to find the best locations for its lander and 3 small rovers.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 28, 2018

Astronomers see a black hole eating a star

Astronomers now have the 1st direct image of a black hole ripping apart a star. The star-stuff goes into a disk surrounding the hole, and it's also ejected back to space in powerful jets.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 19, 2018

Life at Alpha Centauri? Maybe, NASA says

Could life exist on planets in the star system closest to ours, Alpha Centauri? Dangerous X-ray radiation makes it unlikely for the single exoplanet found so far. But new data suggest better odds for any new planets yet to be discovered.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 17, 2018

The strange case for life in other universes

More about the mind-boggling new studies suggesting that there could be many parallel universes beyond our own, where life is able to flourish.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 12, 2018

Let NASA take you on a virtual trip to exoplanets

Exoplanets are worlds orbiting distant stars. Until recently, they existed only in the realm of imagination and probability. Now we know thousands! NASA's Exoplanet Travel Bureau lets you explore them.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 7, 2018

Dunes on Pluto? Yes, but made of methane ice

The discovery of methane dunes on Pluto is an indication of another way in which this planet mimics Earth, but in a way that is utterly unique and alien.

Paul Scott Anderson

June 5, 2018

Planet-hunter Kepler keeps going as fuel dwindles

Kepler has discovered thousands of exoplanets, and soon will run out of fuel. Now it's begun its 18th observing campaign, with a focus on objects including the famous nearby Beehive star cluster and infamous asteroid Apophis.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 30, 2018

Does Planet Nine exist? Astronomers point to new evidence

A new study concludes that a large, as-yet-unknown Planet Nine - an estimated 4 times the size of Earth and 10 times its mass - is influencing the behavior of an oddball object in the outer solar system.

Paul Scott Anderson

May 27, 2018

A tiny helicopter for Mars 2020

"After the Wright Brothers proved 117 years ago that powered, sustained, and controlled flight was possible here on Earth, another group of American pioneers may prove the same can be done on another world."

Paul Scott Anderson

May 22, 2018

Spacecraft sees Jupiter as never before

Check out the massive cyclones at Jupiter's north and south poles, on display in stunning new images from the Juno spacecraft.

Paul Scott Anderson

March 18, 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.