Charles Q. Choi
Charles Q. Choi is a contributing writer for Space.com and Live Science. He covers all things human origins and astronomy as well as physics, animals and general science topics. Charles has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. Charles has visited every continent on Earth, drinking rancid yak butter tea in Lhasa, snorkeling with sea lions in the Galapagos and even climbing an iceberg in Antarctica. Visit him at http://www.sciwriter.us
Latest articles by Charles Q. Choi
How did Earth get its water? Moon rocks suggest it might have been here all along.
By Charles Q. Choi published
The water that Earth has may have been here since the planet formed, and not delivered later by collisions with icy comets, a new study finds.
Fusion experiment smashes record for generating energy, takes us a step closer to a new source of power
By Charles Q. Choi published
The Joint European Torus fusion experiment in the U.K. has set a new record for generating energy.
'Zombie' star caught snacking on dead planet's remains
By Charles Q. Choi published
Distant X-rays may be the most direct evidence yet of the remains of a disintegrated planet colliding with the corpse of a star, a new study finds.
Supernova deaths of white dwarf stars may explode like a nuclear bomb
By Charles Q. Choi last updated
When a white dwarf star explodes as a supernova, it may be detonating like a nuclear weapon on Earth, a new study finds.
Rogue black hole spotted on its own for the first time
By Charles Q. Choi published
Astronomers may have for the first time detected and measured the mass of an isolated stellar-mass black hole, a new study finds.
Meteorite hunters rejoice: Antarctica probably harbors 300,000 undiscovered space rocks
By Charles Q. Choi published
And scientists now have a better idea of where to find them.
Hubble telescope spots a black hole fostering baby stars in a dwarf galaxy
By Charles Q. Choi published
Black holes can not only rip stars apart, but they can also trigger star formation, as scientists have now seen in a nearby dwarf galaxy.
Chilly, damp Mars may have hosted an ancient ocean
By Charles Q. Choi published
Three billion years ago, the dusty planet we know today was a very different world.
Infamous Mars meteorite contains organic molecules, but they aren't proof of life
By Charles Q. Choi published
Giant galactic bubble is driving star formation, new study finds
By Charles Q. Choi published
Earth is surrounded by a vast bubble about 1,000 light-years wide whose borders drive the formation of all nearby young stars, a new study finds.
Mars and Earth likely formed from collisions of moon-sized rocks
By Charles Q. Choi published
Earth and Mars must have formed from collisions between giant moon-sized rocks rather than from clumping together of a huge amount of tiny pebbles, a new study found.
Astronomers spy record-breaking eruption on young sunlike star
By Charles Q. Choi published
Astronomers may have, for the first time, detected a sunlike star erupting with a giant outburst 10 times larger than anything similar ever seen from our sun.
Are volcanoes erupting on Venus?
By Charles Q. Choi published
A volcanic peak standing more than a mile high on Venus may still be active, new findings show.
Strange 'eggshell' exoplanets may have ultra-smooth surfaces
By Charles Q. Choi published
Strange, newly theorized "eggshell planets" may possess super-thin outer layers with ultra-smooth surfaces unlike those seen on any world to date, a new study reports.
Promising new electric iodine thruster passes key test in orbit
By Charles Q. Choi published
A new electric thruster that blasts out iodine just passed a key test in orbit, a milestone that could help lead to smaller, cheaper and higher-performance spacecraft engines.
With DART asteroid mission, NASA makes its 1st foray into planetary defense
By Charles Q. Choi published
The first operation to ever collide a spacecraft with an asteroid is set to launch Wednesday (Nov. 24) and will see whether humans can deflect a potentially disastrous cosmic impact.
Hypervelocity dust impacts cause plasma explosions on Parker Solar Probe
By Charles Q. Choi published
The fastest spacecraft ever flown, NASA's Parker Solar Probe, regularly experiences high-speed collisions with dust particles that create explosions of plasma, a new study finds.
Microbes could help future Mars explorers make rocket fuel and oxygen on the Red Planet
By Charles Q. Choi last updated
Future Mars astronauts could make rocket fuel on the Red Planet using air, water and sunlight, a new study finds. The technology could fuel the astronauts' flights back to Earth.
Mysterious radio signal from Proxima Centauri was definitely not aliens
By Charles Q. Choi published
Potential evidence of extraterrestrial radio signals from Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth, were likely just interference from human technology, researchers say.
An alien planet lost its atmosphere to a giant impact
By Charles Q. Choi published
Astronomers may have for the first time detected evidence that a distant planet had its atmosphere partially blown away by a giant impact, a new study finds.
Hidden exoplanets may trigger auroras on distant stars
By Charles Q. Choi published
Mysterious radio signals may blast out from auroras on distant stars triggered by hidden planets, a new study finds.
Catastrophic floods shaped Mars more than previously thought, scientists suggest
By Charles Q. Choi published
Catastrophic floods from overflowing lakes on early Mars may have carved out many of the Red Planet's valleys, a new study finds.
Dense 'hot spots' on a young star reveal what Earth's sun may have looked in its infancy
By Charles Q. Choi published
Astronomers may have captured the best view yet of matter colliding with the surface of a young star, findings that may shed light on what the sun looked like in its youth.
Star-smash supernova? New type of stellar explosion possibly seen
By Charles Q. Choi last updated
Astronomers have uncovered evidence of explosions triggered by dead stars ramming into live stars, possible proof of a new type of supernova, a new study finds.
'Radio colors' from mysterious deep-space flashes reveal lone stellar corpse as source
By Charles Q. Choi published
Mysterious repeating pulses of radio waves may come from a hitherto unknown kind of extraordinarily powerful cosmic magnet, and not pairs of stars as previously suggested, a new study finds.