Harry Baker
Harry is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Exeter (Penryn campus) and after graduating started his own blog site "Marine Madness," which he continues to run with other ocean enthusiasts. He is also interested in evolution, climate change, robots, space exploration, environmental conservation and anything that's been fossilized. When not at work he can be found watching sci-fi films, playing old Pokemon games or running (probably slower than he'd like).
Latest articles by Harry Baker
![a silhouetted forest of black trees lines the bottom as smoke billows upward into an all-engulfing orange haze. The silhouette of a helicopter carrying a water pouch hangs in the air.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wpRjjRrofZ7CJR5f8e8feD-320-80.jpg)
Experts are certain 2023 will be 'the warmest year in recorded history'
By Harry Baker published
After the warmest autumn ever, researchers are confident 2023 will be the hottest year on record before it has even finished.
![a rocket launches below a full moon with a halo around it](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2V3iVV2KzVUBVTnzKNJ7tN-320-80.jpg)
Ethereal halo of light around full moon spotted during recent SpaceX rocket launch
By Harry Baker published
An eerily-perfect ring of light was spotted around the full moon in Florida during the recent launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, creating a stunning new photo.
![an image of the sun with a massive black hole on its surface](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/np5UVntoYHJe5i3ZsLvBWD-320-80.jpg)
Gigantic 'hole' in the sun wider than 60 Earths is spewing superfast solar wind right at us
By Harry Baker published
A monstrous dark patch, known as a coronal hole, recently appeared near the sun's equator. The temporary gap enables unusually fast solar wind to race toward Earth.
![Psychadelic false-color image of a glacier](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KyyJMTCAEN2kwRpf2tt43i-320-80.jpg)
Satellite map of North America's largest glacier shows 'hidden lagoon' and other secrets
By Harry Baker published
NASA has revealed a new false-color image of Alaska's Malaspina Glacier that highlights several recent findings about the massive ice mass.
![A large red streak shines across the night sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/B6CtCsxXtcKPfSBqWxowmM-320-80.jpg)
SpaceX rockets keep tearing blood-red 'atmospheric holes' in the sky, and scientists are concerned
By Harry Baker published
Experts are concerned that these blood-red light shows could be causing unknown problems for astronomy and communication.
![A diagram of Earth's interior with water leaking toward the core](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iXPs5RizRfCBYpv8RokwGG-320-80.jpg)
Water leaking into Earth's core may have birthed a mysterious layer that churns out crystals
By Harry Baker published
A new series of experiments has shown that the mysterious "E-prime layer," which surrounds Earth's outer core, is created by water that leaks deep into our planet's interior.
![A close up image of the sunspots](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7CqoXbRoGEKBcSgxAk2CNT-320-80.jpg)
'Sunspot archipelago' 15 times wider than Earth could soon bombard us with solar storms
By Harry Baker published
The "archipelago" of dark patches is rapidly unleashing solar storms, and Earth may soon be in the firing line.
![a white dot with a green cloud around it in space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/A3EhNtuC7LM86VEDq3k5VM-320-80.jpg)
City-size 'devil comet' headed for Earth loses its iconic horns and turns green after latest volcanic eruption
By Harry Baker published
The latest eruption of the cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which will make its closest approach to Earth next year, shows that the icy object may have lost its iconic devil horns for good.
![a volcano belches out a huge column of smoke, as seen from overhead](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aVEGyXJRLykmo5QKrp5UvC-320-80.jpg)
Satellites watch Russia's tallest volcano spew 1,000-mile-long plume of smoke (photos)
By Harry Baker published
Russia's Klyuchevskoy volcano, which is the tallest volcano in Europe and Asia, violently erupted on Nov. 1 and left behind a trail of smoke and ash that was photographed by NASA satellites.
![A blurry image of a comet that appears to have two horns](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8z7JJQXJi2Zb3NVrds7LrW-320-80.jpg)
Volcanic 'devil comet' resprouts its horns after erupting again
By Harry Baker published
The massive volcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which grows giant horns when it erupts, has exploded for a third time in five months as it continues to race toward the sun.
![Illustration of tractor beam in space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fe2Y8yetffkf2MD72ck2mG-320-80.jpg)
Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space junk problem
By Harry Baker published
Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.
![Multicolor auroras shining in the sky above a lake](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Cxsruyffe77H3fctshpTyF-320-80.jpg)
Solar storm causes 'impossible,' pumpkin-colored auroras to fill the sky
By Harry Baker published
A striking new image shows bright orange auroras dancing in the night sky above Canada. But auroras should never be this color, so what's going on?
![A skull shaped feature on the floor of a caldera](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qwoqjkaz7d2KsfY4M5KeDH-320-80.jpg)
Astronaut captures image of a glowering 'skull' lurking in a giant volcanic pit in the Sahara
By Harry Baker published
NASA has released a new image of an eerie, cranium-shaped caldera in the Sahara Desert, which looks like it is staring right at the orbiting camera.
![a small, thin silver column sits on the face of a dime.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/a5Jh39tHwgbZNUaU72EDGj-320-80.jpeg)
World's smallest particle accelerator is 54 million times smaller than the Large Hadron Collider — and it works
By Harry Baker published
Scientists have created the world's first nanophotonic electron accelerator, which speeds negatively charged particles with mini laser pulses and is small enough to fit on a coin.
![Korean texts annotated with red lines](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8WKtDGTYNGtS8ASB4orPjJ-320-80.jpg)
Strange anomaly in sun's solar cycle discovered in centuries-old texts from Korea
By Harry Baker published
Aurora records in royal chronicles from Korea show that during the 'Maunder Minimum' between 1645 and 1715, the sun's solar cycles became several years shorter than they are today.
![A fuzzy image of a comet's coma shaped like a pair of horns](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2oRFY6R5juax9WLJhbqVCj-320-80.jpg)
City-size comet regrows 'horns' after massive volcanic eruption
By Harry Baker published
The cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons–Brooks, which will make its closest approach to Earth next year, has re-sprouted its distinctive "horns" after its second major eruption in four months.
![The Earth's layers arranged like a Russian nesting doll in outer space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YDCoFmCg9jYW7BDHoJm7t3-320-80.jpg)
Earth's solid inner core is 'surprisingly soft' thanks to hyperactive atoms jostling around
By Harry Baker published
Atoms within the enormous ball of iron in Earth's inner core may move around much more than previously thought, which could explain recent findings about the core's surprising softness.
![Video footage of an iceberg colliding with an island](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/u3oYjut9WJesHK43CXAqpV-320-80.gif)
Satellite time-lapse shows 45-mile long iceberg colliding with Clarence Island in Antarctica
By Harry Baker published
Hefty iceberg D-30A has collided with Clarence Island — an important refuge for breeding penguins in Antarctica. But luckily, the penguins weren't at home when the berg struck.
![A JWST image of two large bright galaxies ringed in orange light from a distant supernova](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/M9QDVMbd4hjzCj7ktSrQe-320-80.jpg)
Supernova in James Webb Space Telescope image could help solve one of the universe's biggest mysteries
By Harry Baker published
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a distant supernova that appears three times in the same photo. The new observations could help solve one of the universe's biggest inconsistencies.
![an animation of a comet as its tail is blown away](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PX3ghmDWRiuapnnwMAS7bL-320-80.gif)
See green comet Nishimura's tail get whipped away by powerful solar storm as it slingshots around the sun (video)
By Harry Baker published
After surviving its closest approach to the sun, Comet Nishimura was buffeted by a possible coronal mass ejection that briefly blew its tail away. The rare event was captured by a NASA spacecraft.
![In the field of one of JWST's largest-area surveys, COSMOS-Web, an Einstein ring was discovered around a compact, distant galaxy. It turns out to be the most distant gravitational lens ever discovered by a few billion light-years.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JCxsoVAh2S6BxpFnjccEif-320-80.jpg)
'Einstein ring' snapped by James Webb Space Telescope is most distant gravitationally lensed object ever seen
By Harry Baker published
The James Webb Space Telescope has snapped a stunning image of a perfectly formed Einstein ring, which is also the most distant gravitationally lensed object ever detected.
![a trail of smoke wisps far away in the sky, tracing upward to a rocket. it is nighttime](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sXG5TUeW6usbEC3znoUmU3-320-80.jpg)
US Space Force launch may have accidentally punched a hole in the upper atmosphere
By Harry Baker published
A rocket carrying a Space Force surveillance satellite may have created a hole in the ionosphere as it shot into space. The launch was carried out with just 27 hours' notice, which is a new record.
![A futuristic nuclear reactor made on glass and metal on the moon with Earth in the background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/k8m4resgxeoyjBZ6TjGFpU-320-80.jpg)
New poppy seed-sized fuel pellets could power nuclear reactors on the moon
By Harry Baker published
Scientists have developed a nuclear fuel source no larger than a seed, which NASA will test for use in future moon missions.
![A sunrise with a comet in the sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QHrpxi5qCbZ5YL9CcruKKR-320-80.jpg)
Green comet Nishimura survives its superheated slingshot around the sun. Will we get another chance to see it?
By Harry Baker published
Comet Nishimura, which was only discovered in August, has survived its closest approach to the sun and will brighten over the next week. But is it still visible from Earth?
![James Vaughan's rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope focuses on the observatory's giant mirror.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NtQuZn2zgLZwp4XW57QqnU-320-80.jpg)
James Webb Space Telescope could detect life on Earth from across the galaxy, new study suggests
By Harry Baker published
Researchers have shown that if the James Webb Space Telescope was pointed at Earth from a distant star, it could detect the signatures of intelligent life in our planet's atmosphere.