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
James Webb Space Telescope discovers some early universe galaxies grew up surprisingly fast
By Robert Lea published
"This means we will have to adjust our views on early galaxy evolution."
Ice-penetrating radar will help JUICE and other spacecraft find water beyond Earth
By Robert Lea published
When it arrives at Jupiter and the planet's moons in 2031, the JUICE spacecraft will use ice-penetrating radar to see beneath determine habitability.
NASA's Fermi space telescope finds a strange supernova with missing gamma rays
By Robert Lea published
NASA's Fermi Space Telescope has failed to see gamma rays from a nearby supernova that should be created when it generates the high-energy cosmic rays that bombard Earth in their trillions.
Stellar detectives find suspect for incredibly powerful 'superflares'
By Robert Lea published
Some stars erupt with 'superflares' 10,000 times as powerful as solar flares from the sun. A team of "stellar detectives" are on the case and may now know why some stars are so violent.
Across the universe, dark matter annihilation could be warming up dead stars
By Robert Lea published
Neutron stars could act as gravitational traps for dark matter, forcing these mysterious particles to collide, annihilate and warm up otherwise cold dead stars.
Buried in the Cat's Paw Nebula lies one of the largest space molecules ever seen
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have discovered one of the largest molecules ever seen in space in the Cat's Paw nebula. The discovery hints at how chemical complexity emerges as stars form.
The mystery of how strange cosmic objects called 'JuMBOs' went rogue
By Robert Lea published
Scientists may have discovered how JuMBOs, strangle binary objects found in Orion, may have gone rogue while staying gravitationally bound. The discovery may shake up theories of planet formation.
Japan's SLIM moon lander defies death to survive 3rd frigid lunar night (image)
By Robert Lea published
Japan's SLIM lunar lander has now survived three week-long nights on the moon, braving temperatures as low as minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit, despite not being designed to last one!
Giant gamma-ray flare from 'recently deceased' magnetar lights up Cigar Galaxy
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have discovered a flare erupting from a highly magnetic "dead star" outside the solar system for the first time. The magnetar flare lit up the entire Cigar Galaxy in gamma rays.
Earth got hammered by cosmic rays 41,000 years ago due to a weak magnetic field
By Robert Lea published
Earth's magnetic shield weakened around 41,000 years ago, resulting in increased bombardment of our atmosphere by energetic charged particles called cosmic rays.
Earth's weird 'quasi-moon' Kamo'oalewa is a fragment blasted out of big moon crater
By Robert Lea published
Scientists turned into cosmic crime scene investigators to reconstruct the impact that sent Earth's "quasi-moon" Kamo'oalewa rocketing from the lunar surface millions of years ago.
Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?
By Robert Lea last updated
Reference As the Artemis program aims to return humanity to the moon and beyond, the Artemis Accords lay out a framework for nations collaborating in this effort.
Cosmic fountain is polluting intergalactic space with 50 million suns' worth of material
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have mapped a 20,000-light-year-long fountain of gas blasting from a nearby galaxy and polluting intergalactic space at 450 times the top speed of a jet fighter.
Scientists use AI to reconstruct energetic flare blasted from Milky Way's supermassive black hole
By Robert Lea published
Combining AI and observations of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, scientists have reconstructed a 3D video of Sagittarius A* and its environment.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft finally phones home after 5 months of no contact
By Robert Lea published
On Saturday, April 5, Voyager 1 finally "phoned home" and updated its NASA operating team about its health. The interstellar explorer is back in touch after five months of sending back nonsense data.
Jupiter's violent moon Io has been the solar system's most volcanic body for around 4.5 billion years
By Robert Lea published
Jupiter's moon Io is the solar system's most volcanic body thanks to a gravitational tug of war that rages below its surface. But now scientists know the violent moon has always been this way.
Saturn's 'Death Star' moon Mimas may have gotten huge buried ocean from ringed planet's powerful pull
By Robert Lea published
"We may be seeing Mimas at a particularly interesting time."
James Webb Space Telescope's 'shocking' discovery may hint at hidden exomoon around 'failed star'
By Robert Lea published
JWST's surprise discovery of methane emissions and likely aurorae over a distant brown dwarf could indicate this "failed star" is orbited by an active moon.
Record breaker! Milky Way's most monstrous stellar-mass black hole is sleeping giant lurking close to Earth (Video)
By Robert Lea last updated
Astronomers have discovered the most massive stellar-born black hole ever seen in the Milky Way, and it lies relatively close to Earth.
Monster black hole seen feeding on nearby matter just 1 billion years after Big Bang (photos)
By Robert Lea published
The robotic telescopes of the Virtual Telescope Project have observed a quasar powered by a supermassive black hole 3 billion times as massive as the sun at the very edge of the universe
Dark energy could be getting weaker, suggesting the universe will end in a 'Big Crunch'
By Robert Lea published
The first year of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) data seems to show that dark energy is weakening over time, possibly the biggest cosmological discovery for 25 years.
These 3 stars are losing weight fast — thanks to stellar winds way stronger than the sun's
By Robert Lea published
"Our estimated mass-loss rates can be used as a benchmark for stellar wind models and expand our limited observational evidence for the winds of sun-like stars."
Do black holes hide the secrets of their ancestors?
By Robert Lea published
Some black holes are so massive they were likely created as smaller black holes that merged. Maybe we can use such black hole "children" to learn about the black hole "ancestors."
Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects
By Robert Lea published
Don't rule out primordial black holes as dark matter suspects just yet! Particle-sized black holes may resist evaporation, surviving long enough to account for the universe's most mysterious stuff.
One of the universe's most 'extreme' dead stars just sprang back to life unexpectedly
By Robert Lea published
The closest extreme magnetic dead star or magnetar to Earth suddenly burst back to life to give astronomers a sight of unexpected and unexplained phenomena that are unlike anything seen before.