Abha Jain

Abha Jain

Live Science contributor

Abha Jain is a freelance science writer. She did a masters degree in biology, specializing in neuroscience, from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, and is almost through with a bachelor's degree in archaeology from the University of Leicester, UK. She's also a self-taught space enthusiast, and so loves writing about topics in astronomy, archaeology and neuroscience.

Latest articles by Abha Jain

An image of Jupiter mostly shielded in shadow
An interstellar visitor may have changed the course of 4 solar system planets, study suggests

By Abha Jain Published

An object eight times the mass of Jupiter may have swooped around the sun, coming superclose to Mars' present-day orbit before shoving four of the solar system's planets onto a different course.

Solar System
An illustration of a comet.
'Crumb trails' of meteoroids could reveal potentially dangerous comets years before they reach Earth

By Abha Jain Published

Potentially dangerous comets could be spotted many years in advance by following the meteoroid trails they leave near Earth, new research shows.

Comets
This high-resolution view of the asteroid Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by the NASA DART probe's Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image.
Weird, 'watermelon shape' asteroids like Dimorphos and Selam may finally have an explanation

By Abha Jain Published

New research finds why some asteroids have weird, watermelon-shaped moons trapped in orbit around them, contrary to what typical asteroid formation theories predict.

Asteroids
a deep, dark crater stands out on a reddish-orange planet
Mars is more prone to devastating asteroid impacts than we thought, new study hints

By Abha Jain Published

Potentially hazardous asteroids pose a risk to Mars missions, but they can also yield insight into the history of the Red Planet and the early solar system, new research suggests.

Mars
Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Lost photos suggest Mars' mysterious moon Phobos may be a trapped comet in disguise

By Abha Jain Published

Previously unpublished photos of Mars' moon Phobos hint that the mysterious satellite may actually be a trapped comet — or perhaps just a piece of one, along with its twin moon Deimos.

Mars
Thousands of asteroids surround us, as shown by their orbits, but our planet may have a way of tackling them.
Earth's intense gravity may rip space rocks apart, reducing the risk of 'planet killer' asteroids

By Abha Jain Published

Earth and other terrestrial planets probably use their gravitational forces to tear apart asteroids ― but this creates more streams of smaller asteroids.

Solar System
An artist's depiction of an intruder star disrupting an infant planetary system.
A 'runaway star' could save Earth from extinction a billion years from now. Here's how.

By Abha Jain Published

Earth will become too hot to handle in a billion years. There's a (very) remote chance a passing star could save us by knocking our planet back into the habitable zone.

Stars