NEW: Sometimes stories are about major scientific breakthroughs, about the origin of life, the end of worlds—dramatic epiphanies about the cosmos. And sometimes a flaming asteroid photobombs an erupting volcano. Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/s...

NEW: Sometimes stories are about major scientific breakthroughs, about the origin of life, the end of worlds—dramatic epiphanies about the cosmos. And sometimes a flaming asteroid photobombs an erupting volcano. Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/s...

NEW: NASA just made a flurry of announcements about its plan to build a Moon base. They also revealed that they will take not just one, but TWO futuristic rovers to the lunar surface. And last summer, for NatGeo, I got to take them both for a test drive. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: Can we mine asteroids to transform the world economy? The thrillseekers at @astroforge.bsky.social think so—and this year, their do-or-die mission to chase down an asteroid will launch. Will they triumph? For PopMech, I visited their HQ to find out. www.popularmechanics.com/space/a70295...

NEW: NASA wants to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon—and it's not as crazy as it sounds. But how can they build, launch, land and operate one without a grim accident? For @sciam.bsky.social, I asked leading nuclear experts how NASA might just pull it off. www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

so should we put a nuclear reactor up on the moon or www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...

NEW: NASA wants to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon—and it's not as crazy as it sounds. But how can they build, launch, land and operate one without a grim accident? For @sciam.bsky.social, I asked leading nuclear experts how NASA might just pull it off. www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

aww the Waymos just wanted to hang out and plot stuff 🥰

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Earth’s quantum computers run on helium-3, but only kilograms of this rare isotope are made worldwide each year. The moon, however, may offer a helium-3 motherlode. Is a lunar ‘gold rush’ in store? By @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-...

NEW: We take weather forecasts – there’s an 80% chance of rain tomorrow – for granted. Will we ever be able to say the same for volcanic eruptions? Maybe—if we can pin down their secret physics. Here’s my debut column (!) for @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/will-we-ever...

Qualia essays go where curiosity leads. This week, @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social explores why forecasting volcanic eruptions is such a big ask. “They’re baroque geologic beasts with hidden, labyrinthine plumbing.” Read the latest column: www.quantamagazine.org/will-we-ever...

Congratulations, @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social! 🎉 Read the award-winning story: spklr.io/6007EzB2S

Fun bit of news: my @sciam.bsky.social Juno/Jupes feature, "A Planet Revealed", won the @aas.org 2026 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism award! Thanks aplenty to my glorious editor @clarakm.bsky.social for shaping it, and always letting me write big space-y tales. :)

Yo! Question for my American or US-based seismologists. Can anyone explain this to mean? (I’ve been told that an active fault in specific regions are those that slipped during the Holocene, in the past ~11,000 years. So what’s this all about?)

NEW: Good news, everyone. You know those weird rings around Uranus? Astronomers have worked out where two of them have come from. You can stop panicking now. It’s not you. It’s Mu. (And Nu.) Me @sciencenews.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/uran...

NEW: Magma is a furious mixture of molten rock, crystals and gases. It normally makes lots of noise—but, in 2022, a huge volume of magma snuck up on an island in the Azores without making a sound. Yep: magma has a stealth mode. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-vo...

NEW: Magma is a furious mixture of molten rock, crystals and gases. It normally makes lots of noise—but, in 2022, a huge volume of magma snuck up on an island in the Azores without making a sound. Yep: magma has a stealth mode. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-vo...

NEW: Some of the cosmos’s biggest stars are missing. Red supergiants should be exploding all over the sky, but we can’t seem to find them. Are they hidden by something? Are they blinking out of existence? JWST might have some clues. Me for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: In March, fireball after fireball coursed through the skies of North America and Europe—a time lacking in major meteor showers. So where the heck are all these space rocks coming from? I investigated this meteor mystery in my latest for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/s...

NEW: In a surprise announcement, NASA said it will launch the first nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft to Mars in 2028. If it works, it could win them the race to the Red Planet. Here’s an inside look on how it’ll work, @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/14/1...

NEW: After today's magnitude 7.7 quake off the Pacific coast of Japan, the country has issued a 'megaquake advisory', suggesting there's a 10x greater risk of a magnitude 8.0+ quake in the coming days. I break down what this means for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/risk...

NEW: After today's magnitude 7.7 quake off the Pacific coast of Japan, the country has issued a 'megaquake advisory', suggesting there's a 10x greater risk of a magnitude 8.0+ quake in the coming days. I break down what this means for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/risk...

Seismologists! I have a couple of very brief questions to ask you about today’s earthquake offshore from Japan. If you’re around take a quick call, let me know. www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

NEW: In a surprise announcement, NASA said it will launch the first nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft to Mars in 2028. If it works, it could win them the race to the Red Planet. Here’s an inside look on how it’ll work, @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/14/1...

NEW: Should all go well, the crew of Artemis II will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean today. So: what’s next? In short: a moon base, built by astronauts and self-driving rovers, with robots scouting out benighted craters for hidden water. Me, for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

random fish in the Pacific Ocean: wow what a nice day I’ve had, nothing could possibly ruin this wonderful day for me, not even something crazy like a metal creature falling from the heavens and bonking me on the head humanity:

Now that's a beautiful sight

NEW: Should all go well, the crew of Artemis II will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean today. So: what’s next? In short: a moon base, built by astronauts and self-driving rovers, with robots scouting out benighted craters for hidden water. Me, for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: Artemis II's launch is exciting for many reasons. Here's a weird one: aboard the spacecraft are USB-sized "organ chips"—living pieces of the astronauts' bone marrow that will test how each of them reacts to dangerous cosmic radiation. 🤯 Me @supercluster.com www.supercluster.com/editorial/ar...

NEW: During the Artemis era, scientists are set to solve several major mysteries about both the Moon and Earth. That's the thing about the Moon: it's a silent library of ancient books written in volcanic ink. Now we get to read 'em. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

NEW: Have you noticed a little fluffy, smiling plushie floating around Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft? That’s Rise—something known as a zero-gravity indicator. And I think it might just be the mission’s heart and soul. Here’s why. Me @supercluster.com www.supercluster.com/editorial/wi...

SCIENCE FICTION MADE REAL holy shit, #artemis

Whoa 🤯 The Moon, in full eclipse, with the #Artemis II Orion spacecraft. Part of the Moon and spacecraft are lit by Earthshine, and both Saturn and Mars are visible to the lower right. Incredible. Details: images.nasa.gov/details/art0...

NEW: During the Artemis era, scientists are set to solve several major mysteries about both the Moon and Earth. That's the thing about the Moon: it's a silent library of ancient books written in volcanic ink. Now we get to read 'em. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: As the Artemis era unfolds, lunar scientists are hopeful renewed in situ exploration could blow the lid off three major moon mysteries. By the incomparable @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

In 1968, when Apollo 8 captured “Earthrise”, it made space exploration feel extraordinary. In 2026, “Earthset” has a different kind of power. If the Artemis program succeeds, this sort of image will feel *normal*. And that’s even more remarkable to me: space exploration becoming an everyday thing.

NEW: Artemis II's launch is exciting for many reasons. Here's a weird one: aboard the spacecraft are USB-sized "organ chips"—living pieces of the astronauts' bone marrow that will test how each of them reacts to dangerous cosmic radiation. 🤯 Me @supercluster.com www.supercluster.com/editorial/ar...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission will go boldly where no one has gone before—thanks to a fully functional toilet they'll take with them around the moon, a first for lunar spaceflight. Nice piece by @krcallaway.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/arte...

NEW: Jupiter is wreathed in storms, so it isn't surprising that it has epic lightning. What *is* shocking is that each bolt may be 10,000 times more powerful than Earth's own, meaning these bolts unleash a nuke's worth of energy every few seconds. 🤯 Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

NEW: Jupiter is wreathed in storms, so it isn't surprising that it has epic lightning. What *is* shocking is that each bolt may be 10,000 times more powerful than Earth's own, meaning these bolts unleash a nuke's worth of energy every few seconds. 🤯 Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

NEW: Volcanoes may look like standalone behemoths. But evidence is building that volcanoes can be “coupled”—by stealing magma from one another. And our story starts in 1912, when the apocalypse paid a visit to Alaska… Me @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/when-coupled...

NEW: Can we mine asteroids to transform the world economy? The thrillseekers at @astroforge.bsky.social think so—and this year, their do-or-die mission to chase down an asteroid will launch. Will they triumph? For PopMech, I visited their HQ to find out. www.popularmechanics.com/space/a70295...

Webb and Hubble join forces to share the most comprehensive view of Saturn to date 🪐 Hubble reveals subtle colour variations across the planet, while Webb senses clouds and chemicals at many different depths in the atmosphere 👉 https://esawebb.org/news/weic2606/ 🔭 🧪

NEW: ☄️ Q: What’s better than Hubble seeing a comet up close? A: Hubble seeing a comet just as it starts explosively fragmenting—because it offers astronomers a rare window into an icy sentinel’s frozen heart. (Plus, it looks cool as heck.) Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/s...

I loved working on this fascinating story about galaxies that seem to defy our understanding of dark matter, part of the April issue out today www.scientificamerican.com/article/gala...

Is there life on Mars? For decades, America was in pole position to find out with its multi-mission Mars Sample Return program. But MSR is now officially dead. And in the race to find alien life on Mars, it’s now China’s to lose. Me @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/26/1...

Hello there! I’m keen to chat to someone who knows something about these of zero-gravity indicators in spaceflight—you know, the cute plushie toys! Who might be good to speak to about that?

NEW: This past weekend, people in Koblenz, Germany, found themselves asking an unusual question: Is my house insured against meteorite damage? That newly aerated house is the latest building to fall victim to one of these rocky space vandals. Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/s...

NEW: This past weekend, people in Koblenz, Germany, found themselves asking an unusual question: Is my house insured against meteorite damage? That newly aerated house is the latest building to fall victim to one of these rocky space vandals. Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/s...

Do you live in Koblenz, Germany? Did you see the fireball? Maybe you happen to live in the house that got damaged by the meteorite fragment! If so, let me know here and get in touch via email for a story I’m reporting on: [email protected]