Nola Taylor Tillman

Nola Taylor Tillman

Contributing Writer

Nola Taylor Tillman is a contributing writer for Space.com. She loves all things space and astronomy-related, and always wants to learn more. She has a Bachelor's degree in English and Astrophysics from Agnes Scott College and served as an intern at Sky & Telescope magazine. She loves to speak to groups on astronomy-related subjects. She lives with her husband in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow her on Bluesky at @astrowriter.social.bluesky

Latest articles by Nola Taylor Tillman

How was the moon formed?

How was the moon formed?

By Nola Taylor Tillman, Scott Dutfield published

Reference There are three theories as to how Earth's satellite could have been created.

Reference
Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus biography: Facts & discoveries

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Nicolaus Copernicus proposed his theory that the planets revolved around the sun in the 1500s, when most people believed that Earth was the center of the universe.

Solar System
This artistic visualization shows Earth today (right) vs Earth 4.5 billion years ago (left).

How did Earth form?

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Earth and other planets could have formed according to two different theories.

Earth
Planet Nibiru, or Planet X

Nibiru: The Nonexistent Planet

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Nibiru has been linked to NASA, and is also sometimes referred to or confused with Planet X, another supposed world for which there is no evidence.

Exoplanets
Astronomer Carl Sagan pictured in 1981

Carl Sagan: Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot & famous quotes

By Nola Taylor Tillman, Jessica Leggett published

Reference Carl Sagan was a scientist and educator best known for his TV series Cosmos, the Pale Blue Dot image of Earth and quotes about life and Earth.

Reference
A 'Blue Marble' image of Earth.

How old is Earth?

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Scientists have calculated that Earth is 4.54 billion years old, with an error range of 50 million years.

Earth
Data gathered by the European Southern Observatory shows a cloud in the Ophiuchus star-forming region.

Multiple supernovas may have implanted our solar system with the seeds of planets

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Multiple exploding stars may have seeded the solar system with material required to form planets.

Solar System
An artist's depiction of NASA's InSight lander on Mars.

Marsquakes reveal Red Planet has surprisingly large core, thin crust

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

The first detected quakes on Mars suggest that the Red Planet has a larger core, potentially thinner crust and slightly different composition than scientists had thought.

Mars
Five gorgeous galaxies provide insights into how stars are born. each individual image is a combination of observations made at different wavelengths of light. The golden glows mainly correspond to clouds of ionized hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas to mark the presence of newborn stars. Bluish background regions reveal the distribution of slightly older stars.

Cosmic fireworks in nearby galaxies shine light on star formation

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

The brilliant fireworks of 90 nearby galaxies shine new light on how stars are born.

Galaxies
The moon completes a full rotation in a little more than 27 days.

Does the moon rotate?

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Yes, the moon rotates on its axis. The moon's rate of rotation nearly matches its orbital period, which keep the same side facing Earth.

The moon
The Sun: Our Perfectly Average Middle Aged Star

How was the sun formed?

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Material from the solar system's creation clumped together to form our closest star.

The Sun
An artistic impression of the Draco C1 symbiotic binary star system showing material flowing off the red giant star onto its white dwarf companion.

'Symbiotic stars' caught snacking on each other outside the Milky Way

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Stars snacking on their companions outside the Milky Way have been precisely mapped and measured for the first time.

Stars
Maps of the water content in the atmosphere of Mars suggest the Red Planet once had an ocean that covered 20 percent of its surface, a fifth of the planet. Most of that water was lost to space.

Big dust storms may have driven off much of Mars' water

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Martian dust storms have helped to strip water from the red planet.

Mars
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured this image of the asteroid Bennu using its MapCam imager on Dec. 12, 2018

Boulders on asteroid Bennu shed new light on the space rock's history

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

The near-Earth asteroid Bennu continues to reveal its secrets to NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.

Asteroids
An artist's concept showing a super-Venus on the left and Earth on the right.

Venus, once billed as Earth's twin, is a hothouse (and a tantalizing target in the search for life)

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

As Earth's twin, Venus offers much in the search for life and habitable worlds.

Venus
An artist's image of the last seconds in the prehistoric village of Abu Hureyra, where a fireball from the sky likely destroyed the village.

Death from above? Fireball may have destroyed ancient Syrian village

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

An ancient Syrian village was destroyed by a fireball from the sky, scientists suspect.

Comets
This Cassini image reveals the northern hemisphere of Saturn as it nears its summer solstice.

The rings of Saturn are 'ringing' like a bell

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Saturn’s ringing rings are revealing insights about the planet’s interior.

Saturn
The closed dome of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

Inside the world's largest sun-spotting telescope

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

In January 2020, Space.com had the chance to get up close and personal with the Daniel K. Inoye Solar Telescope, the world’s largest solar telescope.

The Sun
An artist's illustration of water plumes erupting from the icy ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa.

Weird mystery of watery plumes on Europa may hint at 'stealth particles'

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Plumes from Jupiter’s moon Europa could provide insights about the interior of the moon, but their deposits remain hidden.

Jupiter
An Earth-like world created by the Twitterbot. This planet is mainly covered with snow, with small pockets of ocean exposed.

You can build your own Earth 2.0 with the awesome website 'Earth-like'

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

You can now build your own "Earth-like" planet to see just how different it is from our own world.

Exoplanets
An artist's depiction of neutron stars preparing to collide.

Scientists calculate age of massive neutron star crash that helped form our solar system

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

The neutron-star merger that showered the solar system with its precious metals was fairly close and fairly recent.

Stars
NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Saturn's hazy moon Titan in January 2013, when it was about 895,000 miles (1.44 million kilometers) from the big moon.

Future space telescopes may probe Titan-like exoplanets

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Planets like Saturn's moon Titan, one of the most potentially habitable places in the solar system, could reveal their secrets to future telescopes.

Exoplanets
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. The spacecraft will serve as a vital relay for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity's landing on Aug. 5, 2012. [Related: <a href=http://www.space.com/16385-curiosity-rover-mars-science-laboratory.html>Mars Rover Curiosity Landing Coverage</a>]

Is the end near for Mars Odyssey? Trump's proposed 2021 budget could doom long-lived mission

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

The proposed 2021 budget could cancel Odyssey by default due to timing challenges.

Mars
An artist's interpretation of the water-rich atmosphere of K2-18b.

This gas-giant exoplanet has water-rich clouds. Here's why it thrills astronomers.

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Three teams of astronomers have been fascinated by an alien world known as K2-18b. But what's all the fuss about?

Exoplanets
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule on Jan. 1, 2019 as shown in this artist's illustration. It's the furthest planetary flyby in history.

Asteroids, Comets, Black Holes — Oh My! The Year 2019 in Astronomy

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

A black hole was photographed, the farthest flyby was completed, and a beloved rover was proclaimed dead. Follow us through the highs and lows of 2019 space science.

Solar System
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