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
Jupiter's violent moon Io has been the solar system's most volcanic body for around 4.5 billion years
By Robert Lea published
Jupiter's moon Io is the solar system's most volcanic body thanks to a gravitational tug of war that rages below its surface. But now scientists know the violent moon has always been this way.
Saturn's 'Death Star' moon Mimas may have gotten huge buried ocean from ringed planet's powerful pull
By Robert Lea published
"We may be seeing Mimas at a particularly interesting time."
James Webb Space Telescope's 'shocking' discovery may hint at hidden exomoon around 'failed star'
By Robert Lea published
JWST's surprise discovery of methane emissions and likely aurorae over a distant brown dwarf could indicate this "failed star" is orbited by an active moon.
Record breaker! Milky Way's most monstrous stellar-mass black hole is sleeping giant lurking close to Earth (Video)
By Robert Lea last updated
Astronomers have discovered the most massive stellar-born black hole ever seen in the Milky Way, and it lies relatively close to Earth.
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.
Monster black hole seen feeding on nearby matter just 1 billion years after Big Bang (photos)
By Robert Lea published
The robotic telescopes of the Virtual Telescope Project have observed a quasar powered by a supermassive black hole 3 billion times as massive as the sun at the very edge of the universe
Dark energy could be getting weaker, suggesting the universe will end in a 'Big Crunch'
By Robert Lea published
The first year of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) data seems to show that dark energy is weakening over time, possibly the biggest cosmological discovery for 25 years.
These 3 stars are losing weight fast — thanks to stellar winds way stronger than the sun's
By Robert Lea published
"Our estimated mass-loss rates can be used as a benchmark for stellar wind models and expand our limited observational evidence for the winds of sun-like stars."
Do black holes hide the secrets of their ancestors?
By Robert Lea published
Some black holes are so massive they were likely created as smaller black holes that merged. Maybe we can use such black hole "children" to learn about the black hole "ancestors."
Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects
By Robert Lea published
Don't rule out primordial black holes as dark matter suspects just yet! Particle-sized black holes may resist evaporation, surviving long enough to account for the universe's most mysterious stuff.
One of the universe's most 'extreme' dead stars just sprang back to life unexpectedly
By Robert Lea published
The closest extreme magnetic dead star or magnetar to Earth suddenly burst back to life to give astronomers a sight of unexpected and unexplained phenomena that are unlike anything seen before.
Scientists identify origin of the 'BOAT' — the brightest cosmic blast of all time
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have discovered that the BOAT, the most powerful gamma-ray burst ever detected, came from the supernova death of a massive star 2.4 million light-years away.
Achoo! Baby star 'sneezes' tell astronomers a lot about their development
By Robert Lea published
Achoo! Baby stars "sneeze" to rid themselves of excess energy during their formation process, astronomers using the ALMA telescope array have found.
Why Peter Higgs leaves a massive legacy in the field of physics
By Robert Lea last updated
On April 8, 2024, Peter Higgs passed away. Pioneering the discovery of the Higgs boson, the mark the theoretical physicist has left on physics is immense.
What happened when the moon 'turned itself inside out' billions of years ago?
By Robert Lea published
The moon underwent a reversal around 4.2 billion years ago, flipping itself "inside out" after a giant impact to create the picture of the faithful lunar companion that we see today.
Higgs boson: The 'God Particle' explained
By Robert Lea last updated
Reference The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle discovered on July 4, 2012, by researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located at CERN, Switzerland.
We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating — scientists are working on a fix
By Robert Lea published
In November 2023, the first spacecraft to journey to interstellar space, Voyager 1, started spouting gibberish. Now, NASA knows why. The team is working on a fix.
These solar eclipse 2024 photos from our readers are absolutely amazing (images, video)
By Robert Lea published
The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is over, meaning we can now marvel at the incredible videos and images taken during the event.
Which places on Earth witness the most solar eclipses?
By Robert Lea published
In the buildup to the April 8 total solar eclipse, researchers set about discovering how often cities experience eclipses and where, if anywhere, on Earth witnesses the most of these events.
The 5 stages of the 2024 total solar eclipse explained for April 8
By Robert Lea published
The biggest natural astronomical event of 2024, April 8's total solar eclipse, is almost here. Here is how the event will path out on the path of totality it sweeps across.
The April 8 solar eclipse will bring weird sights, sounds and feelings
By Robert Lea published
As the skies darken during the total solar eclipse on Monday (April 8), onlookers in the path of totality will experience a wave of strange phenomena that could confuse and delight them.
This hellish exoplanet's skies rain iron and create a rainbow-like effect
By Robert Lea published
The CHEOPS mission has seen tantalizing hints of the rainbow-like glory effect over WASP-76b, an extreme world where iron rains heavily on one side of the planet.
Like the 90s, binary stars are back in style
By Robert Lea published
For many years, binary star research has been as neglected as an old Tamagotchi. But now, the Gaia space telescope is leading a resurgence in interest in binary star systems.