Mark Thompson

Science broadcaster and author. Mark is known for his tireless enthusiasm for making science accessible, through numerous tv, radio, podcast and theatre appearances, and books. He was a part of the award-nominated BBC Stargazing LIVE TV Show in the UK and his Spectacular Science theatre show has received 5 star reviews across UK theatres. In 2025 he is launching his new podcast Cosmic Commerce and is working on a new book 101 Facts You Didn't Know About Deep Space In 2018, Mark received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East Anglia.

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Recent Articles

How Rotten Eggs Solved an Exoplanet Mystery

February 16, 2026

The smell of rotten eggs has solved one of exoplanet science's most persistent mysteries. Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected hydrogen sulfide gas in the atmospheres of four massive Jupiter like planets orbiting the star HR 8799, marking the first time this molecule has been identified beyond our Solar System. The discovery settles a long standing debate about whether these enormous worlds are truly planets or failed stars called brown dwarfs because the sulfur had to come from solid matter accreted during planet formation, not gas!
The Little Moon with a Giant Electromagnetic Punch

February 16, 2026

Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus, famous for its water geysers, has been revealed as a giant electromagnetic powerhouse whose influence extends over half a million kilometres through the ringed planet's magnetosphere. Analysis of 13 years of Cassini data shows the 500 kilometre wide moon creates a lattice like structure of crisscrossing electromagnetic waves known as Alfvén wings, that bounce between Saturn's ionosphere and the plasma torus surrounding Enceladus's orbit, reaching distances 2,000 times the moon's own radius. It changes our understanding of how small icy moons can influence their giant planetary hosts, with implications for the moons of Jupiter and perhaps even distant exoplanetary systems.
Earth's Radiation Fingerprint

February 16, 2026

Scientists have discovered a revolutionary way to measure Earth's radiation budget by observing our planet from the Moon. A team of astronomers have revealed that lunar observations capture Earth as a complete disk, filtering out local weather noise and revealing planet scale radiation patterns dominated by spherical harmonic functions, effectively creating a unique "fingerprint" of Earth's outgoing radiation. This Moon based perspective solves fundamental limitations of satellite observations, which struggle to achieve both temporal continuity and spatial consistency, offering a new tool for understanding global climate change with unprecedented clarity.
Hunting Cosmic Ghosts from the Edge of Space

February 15, 2026

After five years of development and a nail biting launch from Antarctica, the PUEO experiment has completed a 23 day balloon flight at the edge of space, hunting for some of the most energetic particles in the universe. The instrument flew at 120,000 feet above Antarctica, using the entire continent as a detector to search for ultra high energy neutrinos, elusive particles that could reveal secrets about the universe’s most violent events. Now safely back on the ice with 50-60 terabytes of data, scientists are preparing to search through the results to see if they’ve caught these messengers from distant galaxies.
The Mystery of the Fading Star

February 15, 2026

Astronomers have solved the mystery of a star that dimmed dramatically for nearly 200 days, one of the longest stellar dimming events ever recorded. The culprit appears to be either a brown dwarf or a super Jupiter with an enormous ring system, creating a giant saucer like structure that blocked 97% of the star’s light as it passed in front. This rare alignment offers scientists a unique opportunity to study planetary scale ring systems far beyond our Solar System.
The Hidden Story of Young Martian Volcanoes

February 15, 2026

New research has revealed that Mars’ most recent volcanoes weren’t formed by simple, one off eruptions as scientists previously thought. Instead, these volcanic systems evolved over millions of years, fed by complex underground magma chambers that changed and developed over time. By studying surface features and mineral signatures from orbit, researchers have pieced together a far more intricate volcanic story than anyone expected.
How a Perfect Gravitational Wave Tests Einstein

February 14, 2026

On 14 January, 2025, two colliding black holes sent the clearest gravitational wave signal ever recorded rippling across the universe to Earth’s detectors. This remarkably crisp signal, designated GW250114, has allowed physicists to conduct the most stringent test yet of Einstein’s general relativity by measuring multiple “tones” from the collision. The wave passed the test with flying colours, but researchers remain optimistic that future detections might finally reveal where Einstein’s century old theory breaks down, potentially offering the first glimpses of quantum gravity.
The Galaxy Cluster That Grew Up Too Fast

February 14, 2026

Astronomers have discovered a massive galaxy cluster assembling itself just one billion years after the Big Bang, there’s just one problem… it shouldn’t exist! Current models suggest it shouldn’t have formed when it did, Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope working in tandem, scientists spotted JADES-ID1, a protocluster containing at least 66 galaxies wrapped in a vast cloud of million degree gas forming during what should have been the universe’s infancy.
How Wood Records the Sun’s Most Violent Outbursts

February 13, 2026

Ancient trees hold secrets about the most violent storms our Sun has ever unleashed, catastrophic bursts of radiation that dwarf anything modern civilisation has experienced. Scientists have discovered radioactive carbon signatures frozen in tree rings from solar storms so powerful they could cripple our satellite networks and power grids today.
A Laser Ruler for Sharper Black Hole Images

January 30, 2026

Researchers at KAIST have developed a breakthrough technology that could dramatically improve our ability to image black holes and other distant objects. The team created an ultra precise reference signal system using optical frequency comb lasers to synchronise multiple radio telescopes with unprecedented accuracy. This laser based approach solves long standing problems with phase calibration that have plagued traditional electronic methods, particularly at higher observation frequencies.
The Star That Wasn't Dying After All

January 29, 2026

Astronomers have solved a bit of a mystery that had them questioning whether one of the most extreme stars ever observed was about to explode. WOH G64, a massive red supergiant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, began behaving so strangely that researchers suspected it had evolved into a rare yellow hypergiant on the brink of supernova. But new observations from the Southern African Large Telescope reveal the star is still very much a red supergiant, yet still exhibiting strange behaviour.
NASA Fires Up Nuclear Future for Deep Space Travel

January 29, 2026

NASA has completed its first major testing of nuclear reactor hardware for spacecraft propulsion in over 50 years, marking a crucial step toward faster, more capable deep space missions. Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center conducted more than 100 ‘cold flow’ tests on a full scale reactor engineering development unit throughout 2025, gathering vital data on how propellant flows through the system under various conditions.
Chile's Paranal Observatory Saved from Industrial Development

January 28, 2026

After months of protests led by Nobel laureate Reinhard Genzel, the American energy company AES Andes has abandoned plans to build a massive solar and wind facility just kilometres from one of the world's premier telescope sites. The decision preserves the pristine night skies above Chile's Paranal Observatory, where the European Southern Observatory operates some of humanity's most powerful eyes on the universe.
Solving the Century Old Puzzle of Our Galaxy's Neighborhood

January 28, 2026

Nearly a century after Edwin Hubble discovered the universe's expansion, astronomers have finally explained the nagging mystery of why most nearby galaxies rush away from us as if the Milky Way's gravity doesn't exist? The answer lies in a vast, flat sheet of dark matter stretching tens of millions of light years around us, with empty voids above and below that make the expansion appear smoother than it should.
Mercury May Not Be "Dead" After All

January 28, 2026

Researchers using machine learning have discovered hundreds of mysterious bright streaks on Mercury's surface that appear to be caused by gases escaping from the planet's interior. The finding suggests the Solar System's smallest planet isn't the static, geologically dead world we thought it was, Mercury might still be active today, continuously releasing material into space even billions of years after its formation.
Stellar Fireworks at the Heart of the Milky Way

January 27, 2026

Using the South Pole Telescope, astronomers have detected powerful stellar flares erupting from stars near the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Operating at millimetre wavelengths that can penetrate the dust obscuring our view of the core of the Galaxy, the telescope caught these dramatic magnetic energy releases in one of the most extreme environments in our Galaxy. The discovery opens a new observational window for studying stellar behaviour in regions previously hidden from view and provides insights into how stars survive and behave in the intense gravitational and radiation environment surrounding the Milky Way's central black hole.
The Monk Who Recognised Halley's Comet First

January 27, 2026

The comet bearing Edmond Halley's name may have been misnamed! New research from Leiden University reveals that an 11th Century English monk recognised the famous comet's periodicity centuries before the British astronomer. Eilmer of Malmesbury witnessed the comet's appearances in both 989 and 1066, linking the two observations and understanding they represented the same celestial visitor returning after decades, a realisation documented by the medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury but overlooked by scholars until now. The discovery challenges whether history's most famous comet should continue bearing Halley's name when a Benedictine monk beat him to the discovery by more than 600 years.
Mapping the Invisible

January 27, 2026

Dark matter remains invisible to our telescopes, yet its gravitational fingerprints pervade the universe. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have produced one of the most detailed dark maps ever created, revealing with unprecedented clarity how dark matter and ordinary matter have grown up together. The map shows that wherever galaxies cluster in their thousands, equally massive concentrations of dark matter occupy the same space, a close alignment that confirms dark matter's gravity has been shepherding regular matter into stars, galaxies, and ultimately the complex planets capable of supporting life.
Finding Water on Mars

January 26, 2026

Water exists across Mars in underground ice, soil moisture, and atmospheric vapour, yet most of it remains frustratingly beyond practical reach for future explorers. A new comparative study from the University of Strathclyde evaluates the technologies that could extract this vital resource from various Martian sources, assessing each method's energy demands, scalability, and suitability for the Red Planet's harsh conditions.
How Earthquake Detectors Track Space Junk

January 26, 2026

Thousands of pieces of abandoned spacecraft orbit Earth, and when gravity finally pulls them down, authorities rarely know exactly where they'll land. Now researchers at Johns Hopkins University have demonstrated a clever solution. Surprisingly they have found using earthquake detecting seismometers they can track falling space debris in real time by listening for the sonic booms it produces. The technique successfully traced a Chinese spacecraft module as it streaked across California at Mach 25-30, revealing its actual trajectory lay 25 miles north of predictions, a significant improvement that could help authorities quickly locate potentially toxic debris and protect people from contamination.