The icy moons of the outer Solar System, with their hidden underground oceans, entice us with their great potential for alien life. My new article for @physicsworld.bsky.social explores what makes these moons so exciting and the spacecraft armada heading to them. physicsworld.com/a/exploring-...

It's been a difficult year professionally, but I'd like to thank everyone at @physicsworld.bsky.social, @reaktionbooks.bsky.social, @europlanetmedia.bsky.social, The Sky at Night magazine, Supercluster.com and the team at Space.com for their support and continuing to value my work. Happy new year!

Space.com asked for my top stories of the year, and with an interstellar comet, potential biosignatures, new nearby exoplanets, dark energy surprises, black-hole stars, @lsstuk.bsky.social coming online & more, 2025 was a wild year in space! What were your top stories? www.space.com/astronomy/th...

Here's a festive story: was the Star of Bethlehem a comet that came as close to the Earth as the Moon? Mark Matney of NASA thinks that's one possible explanation that fits all the observational properties of the star, and I describe his work in my latest article: www.space.com/astronomy/co...

This was a really intriguing story for me to write. Are transients on the Palomar plates UFOs or something more mundane? I favour the mundane, but that unusual statistic of a 1/3 of transients disappearing in Earth's shadow needs verification & explanation first. www.supercluster.com/editorial/th...

My book Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact, published by Reaktion Books, explores the intersection between the alien worlds of science fiction and real exoplanets. Featuring interviews with scientists and sf authors, it's aimed at readers of popular science and science fiction.

I write about more discoveries in the samples returned to Earth from the asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx, including, excitingly, ribose, which means that all the ingredients of RNA have now been found on Bennu. Could RNA have come to Earth from space? physicsworld.com/a/components...

Is there a protocol that scientists can follow should they discover evidence of extraterrestrial life? Indeed there is! What's more, it's getting an update next year. I talk to one of its chief architects in my latest SETI-related article for @supercluster.com www.supercluster.com/editorial/ne...

New by me: it's not quite forked lightning, but lightning of sorts has been detected on Mars for the first time, as small electrical discharges during dust devils, in the windy fronts of dust storms and even from the rover itself when it becomes charged by dust www.space.com/astronomy/ma...

Could bizarre particles formed in the instant after the Big Bang have formed even weirder 'cannibal stars' and 'boson stars' that collapsed into primordial black holes? And could those black holes contribute to dark matter today? My latest for Physics World physicsworld.com/a/did-cannib...

New, by me: researchers in China have found that some caves on Mars could have been formed by water and be the perfect location, shielded from the radiation- and dust-shrouded surface, to hunt for ancient biosignatures: www.space.com/astronomy/ma...

I delve into the world of quantum physics, and write about a new paper that proposes how matter can become quantum entangled via classical gravitational fields, even if quantum gravity doesn't exist: www.space.com/astronomy/do...

I'm absolutely honoured to see Amazing Worlds reviewed in Locus! "Examining how the cutting-edge science of exoplanets has enriched or superseded science fiction’s most beloved planetary conventions ... his twin passions for the cosmos of what is and of what might be kept me enthralled throughout."

New, by me: complex organic molecules, which are among the most basic building blocks of life, have been found as ice encrusting dust around a protostar in the Large Magellanic Cloud, evidence that the chemistry for life is present at the earliest stages of star-birth: www.space.com/astronomy/ja...

Worried about 3I/ATLAS? Don't be – it is just a comet, and like cats, comets have tails and do as they please. Here's my guide to 3I/ATLAS (written before perihelion) and how to debunk some of the more extravagant claims about this cosmic cat on the loose: supercluster.com/editorial/do...

What will we lose when the ISS is de-orbited in 2030? The way that science was done on the station, through process, cooperation and peer-review, might not be replicated when commercial stations are launched to fill the void left by the ISS. My latest: www.space.com/space-explor...

How compact can neutron stars, which are the ultra-dense relics of stars that have gone supernova, get? I look at a new paper that uncovers a mathematical relation governing neutron star compactness, even if we don't understand the physics going on inside neutron stars www.space.com/astronomy/st...

By me: Europa Clipper could be about to intercept ions stripped by the solar wind from the ion tail of comet 3I/ATLAS – but will scientists even be able to make the measurements? If they can, it will be the first ever detection of particles from an interstellar comet. www.space.com/astronomy/co...

The 30th anniversary of the discovery of the first exoplanet to be found around a Sun-like star was earlier this month. I spoke to the astronomer who made that historic first discovery, Didier Queloz, plus Caltech's Aurora Kesseli, in my new article for Supercluster supercluster.com/editorial/30...

Back in the 1970s, Princeton physicist Gerard K O'Neill proposed that by now millions of us would be living in huge cities in space. So what happened? For my latest article I take a look at O'Neill's dreams of a 'High Frontier', with a nod, as always, to Babylon 5. www.space.com/astronomy/ea...

In this week celebrating the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the first exoplanet around a Sun-like star, I take a look at what the future holds and how we can expect, at the very least, to double the current count of over 6,000 words by the end of this decade www.space.com/astronomy/ex...

Meanwhile, on my Substack page, I've selected some of my favourite exoplanets – check them out here! storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/exoplanets...

As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations I've written about how the discovery of 51 Peg b transformed astronomy, with contributions from Amanda Hendrix (Director of the Planetary Science Institute) and Don Pollacco who is leading the forthcoming PLATO mission. www.space.com/astronomy/ex...

Happy exoplanet day! Today is the 30th anniversary of the reveal of the first known exoplanet around a Sun-like star. Discovered in 1995 and published in Nature on 6 October that year, 51 Pegasi b is what we now call a hot jupiter, but back then scientists were bewildered by this new type of planet!

With the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the first known exoplanet around a Sun-like star coming up next week, my book Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science fact is a great primer on all things exoplanets, and how we interpret them through science fiction.

Brilliant to see Amazing Worlds reviewed in the new issue of Locus: "Amazing Worlds' well-earned sense of wonder, tempered by critical insight, elevates it above catalog of planetary trivia ... Cooper breathes fresh life both into the fiction and the facts." subscribers.locusmag.com/content/buy-...

How does the recent discovery of potential biosignatures on Mars by the Perseverance rover compare to other claims of evidence for life, on Mars and beyond? I find out in my latest article, discussing methane plumes, Martian meteorites, and gases on Venus and K2-18b: www.space.com/space-explor...

Some more promotion for Amazing Worlds, appearing on WICN public radio in the US; thanks to Mark Lynch for inviting me on. I did a little flub at the end though, crediting the stellar classification system to Henrietta Swan Leavitt when it was actually Annie Jump Cannon wicn.org/podcast/keit...

I star in the latest Physics World podcast, discussing my book Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact and chatting about exoplanets in general. A special thanks to Hamish for hosting the podcast. Apologies for the horrendous picture of me: physicsworld.com/a/imagining-...

New article on my Substack: is technological alien life rare? A new calculation, based on the prevalence of planets with plate tectonics and just the right amount of CO2 and oxygen suggests they might be – but there are reasons for optimism. storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/rare-earth...

Great review of my book Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact in American Scientist: "An engaging survey of exoplanetary science ... Cooper demonstrates how entwined imagination and ingenuity are at the forefront of astronomical understanding." www.americanscientist.org/article/cros...

Another of the press releases that I wrote for Europlanet & EPSC-DPS2025 and possibly my favourite given its subject matter: how plate tectonics and the right amounts of CO2 and oxygen are crucial for technological life to evolve – and such life could be very rare: www.europlanet.org/epsc-dps2025...

Another of my press releases from EPSC-DPS2025 and it's truly remarkable: how interstellar objects similar to 3I/ATLAS could be captured by protoplanetary discs around young stars and become the seeds of giant planets! Look out for more on this on my Substack soon! www.europlanet.org/epsc-dps2025...

It's been 40 years this month since Carl Sagan's epic science fiction novel, Contact, was published. I explore its themes of SETI, politics, religion and, indeed, contact, plus its legacy and how well it stands up today in my new article for Supercluster www.supercluster.com/editorial/40...

The final frontier: in my new article I explore David Kipping's 'TARS' concept for launching an interstellar mission using a spinning slingshot accelerated by solar wind pressure, which could fling a tiny spacecraft towards nearby stars at up to 1,000km/s www.space.com/technology/s...

'Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact would make a great primer for anyone looking to brush up on knowledge of this or that aspect of exoplanet discovery . . .' 📌 buff.ly/06ViiAH 📚 buff.ly/LseCNlM

I've been privileged to be working with Europlanet to write press releases for the EPSC–DPS 2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki this week. The first PR puts the spotlight on Saturn's moon Enceladus, questioning the origin of organic molecules in Enceladus' water plumes www.europlanet.org/epsc-dps2025...

New on my Substack: the magic of planet-forming discs, and how images of these planetary construction sites are incredibly profound in what they teach us about how Earth and the rest of the Solar System formed. storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/secrets-of...

Keith Cooper's new book Amazing Worlds looks at the interplay of science fiction and exoplanet research. It's a crisp, well-informed survey rich in SF both classic and new, mingling with latest exoplanet data. My review is available here. www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/08/29/a...

Paul Gilster at the brilliant Centauri Dreams has reviewed my book Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact – thanks Paul! You can check out the the review here: www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/08/29/a...

I've written about some cool stuff recently but this has to be among the coolest: dark matter that gets trapped inside planets and turns into a black hole! Incredibly, sometimes the planet might survive! Though it does depend on which model of dark matter is correct. physicsworld.com/a/exoplanets...

How did life's chemical building blocks survive the journey from an interstellar molecular cloud into a planet-forming disc and ultimately find themselves on planets such as Earth? My latest Substack article delves into this mystery: storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/how-the-bu...

Continuing the barrage of posts about dark matter, I interviewed Stefano Profumo, professor of theoretical physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, about his two new hypotheses about the nature of dark matter – dark baryon black holes and cosmic horizons! www.space.com/astronomy/da...

The long-awaited third and final part of my Physics World series about dark matter versus MOND is now up – as scientists clash, what does the future hold for searches for dark matter, and what does MOND need to do to be taken more seriously? physicsworld.com/a/mond-versu...

Exclusive, by me: a mystery object, enormously powerful yet only visible at mm-wavelengths in a nearby galaxy, is bewildering astronomers who've found it doesn't fit any known category. Called 'Punctum' after the Latin for 'dot', is this a brand new type of phenomenon? www.space.com/astronomy/sc...

My new article examines the rise of insidious paper mills, but just to be absolutely clear: it's NOT about genuine research or scientists being paid off; it's about criminal gangs taking money from researchers to churn out low-quality papers in exchange for authorship www.space.com/astronomy/is...

My latest article is astrobiology focused, reporting on a new paper that describes how cosmic rays impacting icy moons, planets and rogue worlds in space could provide the energy that microbial life buried underground needs when there's no sunlight available. www.space.com/science/alie...

My regular Substack post is a little late, so here’s a bonus post that’s something a little bit different – how an obscure science-fiction pamphlet beautifully illustrates the relationship between sf and the scientific theories of its era: storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/how-scienc...

This is how a supermassive black hole is made – my new Substack article focusing on the Infinity Galaxy: a collision between two galaxies that has spawned a new supermassive black hole, potential solving a cosmological mystery in the process storiesfromthecosmicfrontier.substack.com/p/this-is-ho...

A recent article of mine looked at new technology that can extract water from the lunar regolith and then use the regolith as a catalyst with CO2 to produce oxygen and methane, for use on a future Moon base. How does this new technique fare with other proposed methods? www.space.com/astronomy/mo...