Carolyn Collins Petersen
Evidence of a Megatsunami on Mars
Things were pretty wet back on Mars about three and a half billion years ago. You wouldn't know that by…
Ground Telescopes can Adapt to Satellite Megaconstellations if They get Accurate Telemetry Data
The growing population of communication satellites such as Starlink and OneWeb is posing challenges for Earth-based astronomy facilities. Since such…
With a Small Network of Satellites Around Mars, Rovers Could Navigate Autonomously
When it comes to "on the ground" exploration of Mars, rovers make pretty good advance scouts. From Pathfinder to Perseverance,…
Mauna Loa is Erupting for the First Time in 40 Years. Here’s What it Looks Like From Space.
A sleeping giant of a volcano woke up this past week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa, which…
BlueWalker 3 is a Cellphone Tower in Space and One of the Brightest Objects Ever Launched. Astronomers Aren’t Happy.
It seems our nighttime skies are hosting another new communications network. In recent years, we've seen Starlink trains of satellites…
The Second-Closest Supermassive Black Hole Might be in a Nearby Dwarf Galaxy
There's a little galaxy in the Milky Way's cosmic neighborhood called Leo 1. It's a dwarf spheroidal that lies less…
JWST Detects Signs of Active Chemistry and Clouds in the Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-39 b
NASA's JWST data just keeps on delivering amazing discoveries. Back in July, it observed the exoplanet WASP-39 b and found…
The Milky Way’s Stellar Halo Isn’t a Sphere After All
Our galaxy's stellar halo is giving astronomers some new food for thought. It turns out everyone thought the halo was…
Hubble Sees a Dense Cloud of Gas and Dust That’s About to Become a Star
The process of star birth begins in a shroud of gas and dust. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) excels in showing…
Perseverance has Found a Nice Patch of Sandstone on Mars
NASA's rolling geology robot shared a great image of sandstone that it found on Mars in Jezero Crater. It's in…