Ben Turner
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like weird animals and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
Latest articles by Ben Turner
Shock wave from sun has opened up a crack in Earth's magnetic field, and it could trigger a geomagnetic storm
By Ben Turner published
A mysterious shock wave in a gust of solar wind has sent a barrage of high-speed material smashing into Earth's magnetic field, opening up a crack in the magnetosphere.
Nuclear fusion reactor 'breakthrough' is significant, but light-years away from being useful
By Ben Turner published
Useful, cost-effective nuclear fusion remains a distant dream, despite a small step in the right direction from the government's NIF reactor.
'Quantum time flip' makes light move simultaneously forward and backward in time
By Ben Turner published
The time-flipped photon can't be used to restage "Back to the Future," but it could help us figure out some of the universe's most mysterious phenomena.
Solar storm from 'canyon-like' hole in the sun could hit Earth as soon as Thursday (Dec. 1)
By Ben Turner published
The hole could beam solar material outwards at speeds up to 1.8 million mph (2.9 million kph)
2 minerals never seen before on Earth found inside 17-ton meteorite
By Ben Turner published
The minerals were found inside a slice of the El Ali meteorite, which was discovered in Somalia in 2020.
Lab-grown black hole may prove Stephen Hawking's most challenging theory right
By Ben Turner published
By using a chain of atoms to simulate a black hole's event horizon, researchers have shown that Hawking radiation may exist just as the late physicist described.
Dozens of earthquakes swarm Hawaii as the world's largest volcano erupts
By Ben Turner published
The eruption is so far not threatening downhill communities or affecting flights
What was the US military's secret space plane doing on its record-breaking mission?
By Ben Turner published
The uncrewed X-37B space plane touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Station on Nov. 12 having spent a record 908 days in orbit
Should we really be worried about China's uncontrolled rocket booster reentries?
By Ben Turner published
The rocket had been circling the Earth since Halloween
'Doubly charming' tetraquark is the longest-lived exotic-matter particle ever found
By Ben Turner last updated
Studying the particle could provide physicists with vital insight into the rules that govern how all matter is formed.
1st 'atom tornado' created from swirling vortex of helium atoms
By Ben Turner last updated
Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood.
A skyscraper-sized 'potentially hazardous' asteroid will zip through Earth's orbit on Halloween
By Ben Turner published
A newly discovered, "potentially hazardous" asteroid almost the size of the world's tallest skyscraper is set to tumble past Earth just in time for Halloween, according to NASA.
'Invisible' earthquake caused mysterious 2021 tsunami, scientists find
By Ben Turner last updated
Scientists argue that we need to build better monitoring systems to spot earthquakes of this type.
Mysterious 'ancient heart' of the Milky Way discovered using Gaia probe
By Ben Turner published
Scientists found the ancient core using data from the Gaia spacecraft
James Webb Space Telescope reveals the 'bones' of a distant galaxy in stunning new image
By Ben Turner published
The new image will be compared to an older one captured by Hubble to help scientists learn more about the structure and composition of spiral galaxies
Astronomers detect a bright-blue bridge of stars, and it's about to blow
By Ben Turner last updated
Astrophysicists think a newly discovered region of the Milky Way could provide hints about the evolution of our galaxy and its potentially violent past.
Scientists blast atoms with Fibonacci laser to make an 'extra' dimension of time
By Ben Turner published
The new phase was made by firing lasers at 10 ytterbium ions inside a quantum computer.
A 'potentially hazardous' blue-whale-size asteroid will zip through Earth's orbit on Friday
By Ben Turner published
A "potentially hazardous" asteroid the size of a blue whale is set to zip past Earth on Friday (Aug. 12).
Solar storm from hole in the sun will hit Earth on Wednesday (Aug. 3)
By Ben Turner published
Holes in the sun can beam out solar material at 500 miles per second.
Strange 'alien' holes discovered on the ocean floor
By Ben Turner published
Explorers have discovered a series of mysterious, "perfectly aligned" holes punched into the seafloor roughly 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) beneath the ocean.
A 25-ton Chinese rocket booster will crash to Earth today. What's the risk?
By Ben Turner last updated
The core stage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket is set to tumble uncontrollably back to Earth today in a reentry that China is tracking closely.
Earth's crust is dripping 'like honey' into its interior under the Andes
By Ben Turner published
Earth's crust is dripping "like honey" into our planet's hot interior beneath the Andes mountains, scientists have discovered.
China's 'alien' signal almost certainly came from humans, project researcher says
By Ben Turner published
Despite the false alarm, SETI researchers are still pretty sure we're not alone in the universe.