![Robert Lea](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FrPVWMGMDcv5rjJzExQQ4f.jpg)
Robert Lea
Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.
Latest articles by Robert Lea
![A pinkish spherical blast is seen with a yellow laser-like streak strewn diagonally through the center. In the background, is it patchy and green.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BicUFipRZaXPZq72eUFgw9-320-80.png)
Scientists identify origin of the 'BOAT' — the brightest cosmic blast of all time
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have discovered that the BOAT, the most powerful gamma-ray burst ever detected, came from the supernova death of a massive star 2.4 million light-years away.
![Light blue, nearly transparent, lines are seen almost tangled on the left side of the image. They go through the dark part of a horizontal disk on the screen. To the right of this disk there's a bit of glowing orange light.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7eXJaghqVTh5wFZbro2o5-320-80.png)
Achoo! Baby star 'sneezes' tell astronomers a lot about their development
By Robert Lea published
Achoo! Baby stars "sneeze" to rid themselves of excess energy during their formation process, astronomers using the ALMA telescope array have found.
![A man in a suit stands in front of an image of the Large Hadron Collider, which has lots of mechanical parts centered around a yellow middle device.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xui4ck5jwW6A9Z5R2vAMW3-320-80.jpg)
Why Peter Higgs leaves a massive legacy in the field of physics
By Robert Lea last updated
On April 8, 2024, Peter Higgs passed away. Pioneering the discovery of the Higgs boson, the mark the theoretical physicist has left on physics is immense.
![A normal looking moon on the left. On the right is a diagram of the moon sliced in half.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XmfNHMkYpU9gwqqfqKKF57-320-80.png)
What happened when the moon 'turned itself inside out' billions of years ago?
By Robert Lea published
The moon underwent a reversal around 4.2 billion years ago, flipping itself "inside out" after a giant impact to create the picture of the faithful lunar companion that we see today.
![Artists illustration showing two particles colliding.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wkF2qVLnyuwHu3YMbBMXLE-320-80.jpg)
Higgs boson: The 'God Particle' explained
By Robert Lea last updated
Reference The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle discovered on July 4, 2012, by researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located at CERN, Switzerland.
![A spacecraft with a white disk and a long metal bar against a purplish background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oD7zudV5zGuM79JfZoSLdL-320-80.png)
We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating — scientists are working on a fix
By Robert Lea published
In November 2023, the first spacecraft to journey to interstellar space, Voyager 1, started spouting gibberish. Now, NASA knows why. The team is working on a fix.
![The total solar eclispe on April 8 as seen over Stowe, Vermont](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5XsDxiTxZeJ3hpNZQwzQqD-320-80.png)
These solar eclipse 2024 photos from our readers are absolutely amazing (images, video)
By Robert Lea published
The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is over, meaning we can now marvel at the incredible videos and images taken during the event.
![A total solar eclipse is seen on Aug. 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UKzs8JJGHkt5hbfzHPfSqZ-320-80.jpg)
Which places on Earth witness the most solar eclipses?
By Robert Lea published
In the buildup to the April 8 total solar eclipse, researchers set about discovering how often cities experience eclipses and where, if anywhere, on Earth witnesses the most of these events.
![April 8's total solar eclipse is inextricably linked to one in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada on March 7, 1970, seen here..](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XyfWux8mcPbyjcm42YL99c-320-80.jpg)
The 5 stages of the 2024 total solar eclipse explained for April 8
By Robert Lea published
The biggest natural astronomical event of 2024, April 8's total solar eclipse, is almost here. Here is how the event will path out on the path of totality it sweeps across.
![a solar eclipse, showing the darkened solar disk with two bright points of light shining on the edge.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yS2SBMFDWQApfEDMEMJapM-320-80.png)
The April 8 solar eclipse will bring weird sights, sounds and feelings
By Robert Lea published
As the skies darken during the total solar eclipse on Monday (April 8), onlookers in the path of totality will experience a wave of strange phenomena that could confuse and delight them.
![An illustration of WASP-76b and the rainbow like glory effect in its atmosphere](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QuLMTyuN9o2jYMSc6guoF6-320-80.png)
This hellish exoplanet's skies rain iron and create a rainbow-like effect
By Robert Lea published
The CHEOPS mission has seen tantalizing hints of the rainbow-like glory effect over WASP-76b, an extreme world where iron rains heavily on one side of the planet.
![An illustration of a space telescope with a metallic disk around it. In the background, in space, there is a bright blue star and a bright orange star next to it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ePfzSa6wZYprGNhzpGSxZ-320-80.png)
Like the 90s, binary stars are back in style
By Robert Lea published
For many years, binary star research has been as neglected as an old Tamagotchi. But now, the Gaia space telescope is leading a resurgence in interest in binary star systems.
![An illustration shows a massive star cannibalising a smaller star around the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gWqK7mioY9pjAAdtaiyeTM-320-80.png)
Cannibal stars at the heart of the Milky Way stay young in a gruesome way
By Robert Lea published
To remain youthful in a cosmic demolition derby around supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, some cannibalistic stars gruesomely bathe in outer layers of their stellar victims.
![illustration showing a conical silver object against a gray and black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YrgCkSuM7ZqNkuBDBLGUTU-320-80.png)
Ambitious new dark matter-hunting experiment delivers 1st results
By Robert Lea published
The new BREAD experiment, which was designed to search the cosmos for mysterious dark matter, has returned its first results.
![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in its deployed form as seen in an artist's illustration.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z8sf5yaERm5hCoeAaikmSX-320-80.jpg)
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission — Live updates
By Robert Lea published
Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
![(Left) M82 as seen by Hubble. It's a blueish view. (Right) A close up of the galaxy's heart taken with the JWST, that's redder in tone.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pzF3A2UgK8wXwRhqhxGjKh-320-80.png)
James Webb Space Telescope gets to the heart of a smoking starburst galaxy (images)
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has dived into the smoking heart of the "Cigar Galaxy" to create an image of the starburst galaxy alight with intense star birth.
![A giant digital camera is seen with a person inspecting it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SF8Aqa5timZMTRehvbeZJf-320-80.png)
The world's largest digital camera is ready to investigate the dark universe
By Robert Lea published
The 3,200-megapixel LSST camera, build for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is completed. It will create "the greatest movie of all time" to crack the mystery of dark energy.
![blurry orange, concentric rings surround a central star in deep space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7fJa2go322cxRdJjWVbXPD-320-80.png)
James Webb Space Telescope spots hints of exomoons forming in infant star system
By Robert Lea published
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted hints of a third planet in the disk of gas and dust that surrounds an infant star, as well as signs of moon formation.
![An illustration shows a gas giant planet forming around an infant star](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BCiN3Rdfs3uK8pRD372hmC-320-80.png)
James Webb Space Telescope joins the hunt for newborn exoplanets
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has joined the hunt for infant exoplanets, spotting a newly forming world — but not the one we had expected to see.
![A hazy scene with orange and burgundy gaseous clouds. A burst of bright blue stars is concentrated toward the right. A single red star is seen in the center-top.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GU6NDG42G4Fa9z3Xai5j8M-320-80.png)
Hubble Space Telescope finds bucket of cosmic Easter eggs — 500 blue and red stars
By Robert Lea published
Observations for the ULLYSES program, the Hubble Telescope's largest operation yet, are now completed. Scientists are now diving into some cosmic Easter treats.
![artist's illustration of a black hole devouring a star, generating a pinkish swirl of gas and dust in deep space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FqJtbN6BPzufD5rkf5misk-320-80.png)
Why are some supermassive black hole jets so short? Astronomers may have cracked the case
By Robert Lea published
New observations provide an intriguing window into what happens when a slumbering black hole awakens to devour a star.
![A brown region with lots of little craters.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pRUNfZ3qdEKGSxtB2rZ9R8-320-80.png)
Giant Mars asteroid impact creates vast field of destruction with 2 billion craters
By Robert Lea published
An asteroid that slammed into Mars around 2.3 million years ago left one nine-mile wide crater and created 2 billion smaller craters.
![This image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A combines data from NASA's Chandra, James Webb, Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DjsEfBFyGLyd45sn8S5bVX-320-80.jpg)
Stardust particle locked in meteorite holds secrets of a star's explosive death
By Robert Lea published
A tiny grain of dust sealed within an ancient meteorite weaves together the story of the solar system's creation and reveals a much older tale of a rare star's explosive supernova death.
![A large black hole has a spinning disk around it. It also has a magnetic field represented as an orange cone on top and bottom of the black hole. A tiny black hole punches in and out through the disk as it orbits the larger one. Plum es from the large disk emerge when the tiny black hole travels. The plumes are especially strong in the magnetic fields](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/weAqJFtSyM4y3avKcggVcS-320-80.png)
Supermassive black hole’s mysterious hiccups' likely caused by neighboring black hole's 'punches'
By Robert Lea published
A black hole may be punching through the disk of gas and dust surrounding a supermassive black hole, causing its giant neighbor to "hiccup."
![An illustration of a white orb surrounded by warm-toned, bright hazes in a disk shape. There are jets protruding from the orb. On the left of the image, a giant yellow and red star is seen stealing some of that disk material.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LjZ4FtkRWyrQYMdEaqmuEk-320-80.png)
'Vampire' neutron star blasts are related to jets traveling at near-light speeds
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have measured for the first time the speed of jets launched by neutron star "vampires" as they feast on victim stars. The breakthrough connects these jets to thermonuclear blasts.