Scott Alan Johnston
Machine Learning Algorithms Can Find Anomalous Needles in Cosmic Haystacks
The face of astronomy is changing. Though narrow-field point-and-shoot astronomy still matters (JWST anyone?), large wide-field surveys promise to be…
A Collection of New Images Reveal X-Rays Across the Universe
One of the miracles of modern astronomy is the ability to ‘see’ wavelengths of light that human eyes can’t. Last…
A Bizarre Pulsar Switches Between Two Brightness Modes. Astronomers Finally Figured Out Why.
Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These rotating dead stars shoot twin jets of radiation from their poles, usually…
IceCube-Gen2: 8 Cubic Kilometers of Ice, 5 Times the Sensitivity
The IceCube Neutrino Detector is an observatory unlike any other. Using sensors embedded inside a square kilometer chuck of Antarctic…
Two Stars Orbiting Each Other So Closely They Could Fit Inside the Sun
Astronomers have discovered a pair of star-like objects orbiting each other extremely quickly, with an entire ‘year’ lasting just 1.9…
NASA Plans to Unleash a Wolf Pack of Rovers Onto the Lunar Surface in 2024
What’s better than one lunar rover? Three lunar rovers! In 2024, NASA plans to send a team of suitcase-sized wheeled…
China is Working on a New Crew Spacecraft to Carry Up to 7 Passengers
China’s next-generation crew capsule was given an updated timeline this week. According to Yang Liwei, deputy chief designer of China's…
NASA's VIPER Rover's First Moments on the Moon Might Be its Most Terrifying
NASA is building its first-ever robotic lunar rover. Named VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), the rover is set for…
NASA Locks Four Volunteers Into a One-Year Mission in a Simulated Mars Habitat
On June 25, 2023, a crew of four volunteers entered a simulated Martian habitat, from which they will not emerge…
Early Black Holes Were Bigger Than We Thought
Every large galaxy in the nearby universe contains a supermassive black hole at its core. The mass of those black…