Keith Cooper
Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of "The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.
Latest articles by Keith Cooper
What is Intuitive Machines and how is it aiming for the moon?
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Heading to the lunar south pole and other regions, Intuitive Machines' trio of missions are part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services program.
Gamma rays: Everything you need to know about these powerful packets of energy
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Gamma rays are high-energy photons produced by some of the most violent events in the universe. We explore this powerful radiation in more detail here.
James Webb Space Telescope's 1st year in space has blown astronomers away
By Keith Cooper published
The first 12 months of the JWST's mission have exceeded all expectations, with some incredible new discoveries that are just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come.
8 ways the James Webb Space Telescope is already revolutionizing astronomy
By Keith Cooper published
One year after its launch, the flagship space telescope is already making discoveries that are transforming our knowledge of the universe, both near and far.
Strange arrangement of Milky Way's groupie galaxies may undermine dark matter
By Keith Cooper published
Scientists may have explained the mysterious distribution of small satellite galaxies around our Milky Way that has long puzzled astronomers, but not everyone is in agreement.
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover records 1st-ever audio of Red Planet dust devil
By Keith Cooper published
Perseverance has captured the sound of dust grains impacting the NASA rover, and the recording could be key to understanding how dust is transported around Mars.
Neutrons: Facts about the influential subatomic particles
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Neutral particles lurking in atomic nuclei, neutrons are responsible for nuclear reactions and for creating precious elements.
Protons: The essential building blocks of atoms
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Protons are ubiquitous in the universe. They are found in the nuclei of all atoms and play a crucial role in how stars shine.
X-ray view shows how supermassive black holes speed up particles in jets
By Keith Cooper published
Observations with NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer spacecraft have shed light on how particles are accelerated to nearly the speed of light in a blazar's jet.
Mars' water may have come from ancient asteroid impacts
By Keith Cooper published
Isotopic evidence points to carbonaceous chondrite asteroids bringing enough water to Mars that it could have formed a global ocean some 1,000 feet deep.
Vast volcanic eruptions may have turned Venus from paradise into hell
By Keith Cooper published
Though hot and suffocating today, Venus may have once been a temperate world before massive volcanism changed it forever.
Mars orbiter notches 1st sighting of simultaneous auroras with different causes
By Keith Cooper published
NASA's MAVEN mission spotted two different types of auroras glowing in ultraviolet light as charged particles riding the solar storm streamed into the Martian atmosphere.
Missing planets twice Earth's size may point to migrating worlds
By Keith Cooper published
New supercomputer simulations help explain why exoplanets about twice the size of Earth are rare.
James Webb Space Telescope could search for 'laughing gas' to find alien life
By Keith Cooper published
An alternative biosignature on alien planets could be the same chemical that makes laughing gas.
Remnants of oldest known solar system discovered just 90 light-years from Earth
By Keith Cooper published
The oldest dead star found to have a planetary system, dating back 10.7 billion years, has been discovered covered in the rubble of destroyed worlds.
NASA X-ray observatory reveals how black holes swallow stars and spit out matter
By Keith Cooper published
The X-ray binary system Cygnus X-1 is chomping on matter stolen from a companion star.
Large Hadron Collider finds new way to measure mass of a quark
By Keith Cooper last updated
The LHC's ALICE experiment detected a 'dead cone' in the aftermath of a proton-proton collision, paving the way for the direct measurement of the mass of a quark.
Quarks: What are they?
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Quarks are elementary particles that are the building blocks of all visible matter in the universe. Explore them in more detail here.
Mars moon mystery: Strange structures found inside 'fearful' Phobos
By Keith Cooper published
Europe's Mars Express spacecraft has peered deep into the subsurface of the Martian moon Phobos, finding unknown structures that could reveal the moon's origin.
NASA has a life-detecting instrument ready to fly to Europa or Enceladus
By Keith Cooper published
OWLS, the Ocean Worlds Life Surveyor, would autonomously search for life on the icy moons of the outer solar system.
Atoms: What are they and how do they build the elements?
By Keith Cooper published
Reference Atoms are the basis of all the elements in the universe, the building blocks of all visible matter, and the secret to nuclear power.
Join the hunt for elusive spooky sprites in the sky with this 'Spritacular' project
By Keith Cooper published
A new crowdsourcing science project called "Spritacular" is asking skywatchers to use their digital cameras to try to capture images of unusual electrical discharges above thunderstorms.
Powerful new Earth-monitoring satellite JPSS-2 to study weather's 'butterfly effect'
By Keith Cooper published
The JPSS-2 satellite will seek to better understand the "butterfly effect" of how atmospheric conditions in one part of the world can cause a hurricane in another part.