Joanna Thompson

Articles by: Joanna Thompson

An astronaut walking on the moon

Who owns the moon?

By Joanna Thompson published

Does anyone have sovereignty over the moon? And can anyone buy it?

Strong geomagnetic aurora borealis (northern lights) north of Fairbanks in Alaska.

Do extraterrestrial auroras occur on other planets?

By Joanna Thompson published

Auroras don't just exist on Earth. Here's what we know about auroras on other planets in the solar system.

A UFO hovers over a forest

How would we give aliens directions to Earth?

By Joanna Thompson published

Giving aliens directions to Earth might be tricky, but scientists have some ideas for how to do it.

Earth's inner core is made primarily of iron.

'New hidden world' discovered in Earth's inner core

By Joanna Thompson published

The inner core of our planet is actually a mishmash of hard, mushy and liquid metal.

Elaborate stone patterns created by ice needles.

Thousands of tiny 'ice needles' may explain mysterious stone patterns on Earth … and Mars

By Joanna Thompson published

Tiny natural ice structures help arrange stones into spectacular landscapes.

Abstract representation of cold atoms

Scientists just broke the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in a lab

By Joanna Thompson published

They did it by sending rubidium atoms into free fall

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