
Meghan Bartels
Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at @meghanbartels.
Latest articles by Meghan Bartels

Arizona wildfire reaches some of famed Kitt Peak's telescopes
By Meghan Bartels published
A large wildfire in Arizona is seriously threatening a key site for astronomy.

NASA is joining the hunt for 'unidentified aerial phenomena'
By Meghan Bartels last updated
NASA has arranged for a team of scientists to spend nine months evaluating unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs.

James Webb Space Telescope hit by micrometeoroid just months into flight
By Meghan Bartels published
NASA's next-generation space observatory has sustained its first noticeable micrometeoroid impact less than six months after launch, but the agency isn't too concerned.

NASA's Mars MAVEN spacecraft spent 3 months on the brink of disaster
By Meghan Bartels published
In February, one of NASA's Mars spacecraft slipped into a safe mode that nearly ended the mission.

Voyager 1 glitch? Strange signals from venerable probe has NASA baffled
By Meghan Bartels last updated
Spending 45 years traversing the solar system really does a number on a spacecraft.

Milky Way vs M87: Event Horizon Telescope photos show 2 very different monster black holes
By Meghan Bartels published
Three years after the first-ever image of a black hole, scientists have done it again — this time, closer to home, and of a very different invisible behemoth.

In 'Horizons,' a discarded global view of science shines
By Meghan Bartels published
What if everything we're taught about the history of astronomy and physics is wrong?

The first solar eclipse of 2022 has begun and here's the first views!
By Meghan Bartels published
It's the moment skywatchers have been waiting for: The year's first solar eclipse has begun.

Japan's asteroid samples faced surprise challenges on Earth: A pandemic, traffic jams and airport security
By Meghan Bartels published
Collecting rocks from an asteroid is rocket science; getting them to the lab is another story.

Here's where planetary science is going in the next decade
By Meghan Bartels published
The solar system is overflowing with fascinating destinations, but NASA can only operate so many missions.

Pew, pew! Scientists detect record-breaking 'megamaser' 5 billion light-years away
By Meghan Bartels published
In just one night of observing, scientists detected a new record-breaker, the most distant megamaser known to date.

Name of James Webb Space Telescope not yet a closed case, NASA officials say
By Meghan Bartels published
NASA isn't done evaluating the career of telescope namesake James Webb, officials said after controversy surrounding the flagship observatory's name has continued since last summer.

What if the same spacecraft studied mysterious icy bodies and the cosmos as well?
By Meghan Bartels published
Staring out into space is a time-tested technique for making long journeys pass more quickly, but not one often applied at the scale of the solar system.

New James Webb Space Telescope photo showcases single star in key mission milestone
By Meghan Bartels published
The next great observatory is sharpening its vision and can now boast a clear view of a single star.

Scientists hail 'the decade of Venus' with 3 new missions on the way
By Meghan Bartels published
As planetary scientists resumed meeting in person, Venus experts had something special to celebrate.

Around a monster black hole, smaller black holes collide in strange ways
By Meghan Bartels published
Take three black holes and throw them into the disk surrounding a supermassive black hole and things get really weird, really fast.

Stunning image shows galactic dance of stars swirling around a supermassive black hole
By Meghan Bartels published
Young stars surround a supermassive black hole in a stunning new image captured by an instrument designed to search for dark energy.

Fowl play: Turkey turmoil at NASA center in California
By Meghan Bartels published
A flock of wild turkeys has gotten a little too interested in space exploration, so a NASA facility is helping the hefty birds explore a nice reserve instead.

When the next interstellar object comes, James Webb Space Telescope will be there to study it
By Meghan Bartels published
The next time a space rock races through the solar system from beyond, humans will be a little more prepared to unlock its secrets.

Scientists spot 10,000th medium near-Earth asteroid in planetary defense milestone
By Meghan Bartels published
Scientists watching the skies for asteroids that may threaten Earth have hit a new milestone, spotting the 10,000th sizable space rock that circles the sun near Earth's orbit.

Incredibly rare stellar merger may have created strange stars
By Meghan Bartels published
Two particularly strange stars may have formed in a lucky collision, according to new research.

Want to use the James Webb Space Telescope? Here's how scientists book time with the giant observatory.
By Meghan Bartels published
The hottest commodity in astronomy these days is time — specifically, time using NASA's brand-new, ultra-powerful observatory.

Behold the 1st images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope!
By Meghan Bartels published
The team behind NASA's James Webb Space Telescope released some of the first images from the much-anticipated observatory on Friday (Feb. 11).
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