
Robert Lea
Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.
Latest articles by Robert Lea

That’s no moon! Scientists doubt proposed detection of the 1st exomoons
By Robert Lea published
Scientists aren't sure whether humanity really detected moons outside the solar system.

'Dark force' theory could solve 2 open cosmic mysteries
By Robert Lea published
A new theory suggests the universe's most mysterious and dominant form of matter could exert a "dark force."

Scientists study violent 'superflares' on stars thousands of times brighter than the sun
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have used solar flares from the sun to determine the physics driving powerful and violent 'superflares' on massive stellar bodies that are up to 10,000 times brighter than our star.

An 'extragalactic' intruder may lurk among stars orbiting the Milky Way's black hole
By Robert Lea published
Potentially, the 1st "extragalactic" star found at the heart of our galaxy S0–6 appears to have taken a 10 billion-year-long journey to reach the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.

Satellites watch as Japan's new volcanic island continues to grow (image)
By Robert Lea published
The ESA satellite Copernicus Sentinel-2 caught an image of the new volcanic island "Niijima" on Nov. 27, showing the island off the coast of Japan forged in fire in Oct. is still rising from the sea.

Our universe's most extreme stars sometimes 'glitch' — we may now know why
By Robert Lea published
A unified approach of quantum physics and astrophysics may have brought scientists closer to understanding the "glitches" experienced by ultradense dead stars called neutron stars.

James Webb Space Telescope bites cosmic burger to create 1st ice map of planet-forming disk
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken a bite out of a cosmic burger to create a 2D inventory of different forms of ice surrounding a planet-birthing disk.

'Wavy space-time' may explain why gravity won't play by quantum rules
By Robert Lea published
A novel theory of 'wavy space-time' suggests that the division between our best descriptions of the universe on its smallest and largest scales may be because gravity does not play by quantum rules.

Gravitational waves rippling from black hole merger could help test general relativity
By Robert Lea published
"I never thought I would ever see such a measurement in my lifetime."

What are radio galaxies?
By Robert Lea published
Reference A radio galaxy is a type of galaxy with giant regions of radio emissions that reach far beyond its visible structure. We explore them in more detail here.

How Perseverance rover captured its youngest samples from Mars' Dream Lake (video)
By Robert Lea published
A new NASA video explains how the Perseverance Rover may have collected its youngest rock sample yet from the Red Planet's Jezero Crater.

X-ray telescope catches 'spider pulsars' devouring stars like cosmic black widows (image)
By Robert Lea published
NASA's Chandra X-ray Space Telescope has spotted a "clutter" of rapidly spinning neutron stars called spider pulsars that are devouring surrounding stars.

A cosmic 'fossil record' could be hidden among orphaned stars
By Robert Lea published
The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers track stars ripped from their galaxies, revealing a cosmic fossil record to track the evolution of galactic clusters.

Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?
By Robert Lea last updated
Reference As the Artemis program aims to return humanity to the moon and beyond, the Artemis Accords lay out a framework for nations collaborating in this effort.

The elusive origins of long gamma-ray bursts may finally be revealed
By Robert Lea published
New research helps resolve the mystery surrounding strange long gamma-ray bursts, suggesting these blasts of high-energy radiation emerge from collisions of neutron stars that birth black holes.

Strange 'blob' circling Milky Way's central black hole is shooting powerful radiation at Earth every 76 minutes
By Robert Lea published
Regular high-energy pulses of gamma-ray radiation emerging from around the Milky Way's central black hole may be coming from a blob of matter whipping around at 30% the speed of light.

Near-Earth asteroids: Hunting and tracking upcoming encounters
By Robert Lea published
Reference Here we explore whether there are any upcoming asteroid encounters and how NASA and other space agencies actively monitor near-Earth asteroids that have the potential to hit our planet.

Axiom Space's 3rd private mission will conduct pioneering microgravity experiments on ISS
By Robert Lea published
Set to launch to the ISS in Jan. 2024, the commercial mission Axiom-3 will continue to push the frontiers of science by conducting an array of experiments in microgravity.

This 'forbidden' exoplanet is way too massive for its star
By Robert Lea published
"This discovery really drives home the point of just how little we know about the universe. We wouldn’t expect a planet this heavy around such a low-mass star to exist."

How to see and track the Tiangong Chinese space station
By Robert Lea published
Reference Since 2021, China's Tiangong space station has orbited Earth, offering amateur astronomers a chance to glimpse it.

Nuclear-powered Dragonfly mission to Saturn moon Titan delayed until 2028, NASA says
By Robert Lea published
"The Dragonfly team has successfully overcome a number of technical and programmatic challenges in this daring endeavor to gather new science on Titan."

300 gamma-ray-blasting neutron stars found in massive haul — and some are 'spider pulsars'
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have discovered around 300 new gamma-ray-blasting pulsars, including several "spider pulsars" that devour the companion stars like black widows.

China releases 1st images of complete Tiangong space station (photos)
By Robert Lea published
The crew of China's Shenzhou 16 mission captured incredible images of the Tiangong Space Station as they departed on their way back to Earth.