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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission — Live updates
By Robert Lea published
Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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'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.