Carolyn Collins Petersen
Gamma-ray Bursts Don’t Always Signal the Birth of a Black Hole, Sometimes It’s Just a New Neutron Star
Way out in the universe, a long time ago, a proto-magnetar was born. The birth was heralded by a gamma-ray…
Divers Have Found a Piece of the Space Shuttle Challenger Off the Coast of Florida
Nearly 37 years ago the world watched in stunned horror as an explosion destroyed the space shuttle Challenger. The accident…
Hubble saw the Same Supernova at Three Different Times Thanks to Gravitational Lensing
As cosmic events go, supernova explosions epitomize the saying, "Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse." They're the…
Hydrothermal Vents Under the Arctic Ice are Perfect Places to Practice Exploring Europa
Someday on Europa, there'll be a robotic explorer diving beneath its icy surface to find volcanoes. Yes, even though it's…
Can Plants be Adapted to Thrive in Space?
Humans in space have to eat. In the early days of space exploration, they got to eat paste and drink…
In a New Hubble Image, Dark Matter Anchors the Giant Galaxy Cluster Abell 611
Dark matter. It's secret. It's dark because it doesn't give off any light. We can't see it, taste it, touch…
Good News! The Ozone Hole is Continuing to Shrink
Most of us don't think about ozone as we go about our daily lives. Yet, this pale blue gas plays…
Mars Express Got so Close to Phobos That it Needed to be Reprogrammed to Keep the Moon in Focus
Let's talk about Phobos. We know it's a moon of Mars and it orbits the planet once every 7.4 hours.…
Too Many Supernovae Can Slow Star Formation in a Galaxy
Interstellar winds are powerful agents of change. For one thing, they can interrupt or shut down the process of star…
InSight Felt the Ground Shake From a Meteorite Impact on Mars
The Mars InSight lander might be nearing the end of its life on the Red Planet, but its scientific data…