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
![A glowing orange sphere surrounded by purple mist next to a smaller orange sphere against a black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/E564YqaxCppMoogHDadS79-320-80.png)
Something 'kicked' this hypervelocity star racing through the Milky Way at 1.3 million miles per hour (video)
By Robert Lea published
A low-mass star races through the Milky Way at over a million miles per hour, a journey that began with either the supernova explosion of a vampire star or an encounter with black holes.
![A oval of yellow, green, blue, and purple dots with flashing white dots that appear and disappear](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HMG8ZU3uM9GezKcRH2p3gW-320-80.gif)
Astronomers get closer to solving the lingering mystery of fast radio bursts
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers using the CHIME telescope are looking at strange, one-off cosmic explosions with a new angle. This could bring us closer to solving the lingering mystery of fast radio bursts.
![An burnt orange background with one large dark square and three smaller dark squares all containing blue glows](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMEa4B39sjWPVudjXUz583-320-80.png)
NASA telescope spots 'cosmic fireworks' and faint echos from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole
By Robert Lea published
NASA's NuSTAR telescope found evidence of cosmic fireworks and X-ray echoes coming from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.
![The super star cluster Westerlund 1 as seen by Chandra](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/L8caKKpCSupRjiTsmPwMCR-320-80.png)
NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope captures closest super star cluster to Earth (image)
By Robert Lea published
NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope has imaged Westerlund 1, the largest and closest super star cluster to Earth, in stunning detail.
![A golden swirl with yellow light emerging from its center](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dvK43DPSoWcHT8X3PnFMEa-320-80.png)
Hubble Telescope maps high-speed 'burps' from nearby feeding supermassive black hole for 1st time
By Robert Lea published
Hubble has mapped the outflow "burps" of a nearby feeding supermassive black hole-powered quasar for the first time, measuring speeds of 6.5 million mph, around 8,500 times the speed of sound.
![Red and yellow dots against a black ground with some circled with blue rings](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/45Z6p3cRRGN3aW2Jr7cdNR-320-80.png)
'Supernova discovery machine' James Webb Space Telescope finds most distant star explosion on record
By Robert Lea published
The JWST has proven itself to be a "supernova discovery machine" by finding 80 exploding stars in the infant universe, including the most distant and earliest supernova ever seen.
![A blue, green and white sphere surrounded by orange swirls](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GvKNdYFNty78MjaRA8V86c-320-80.png)
An interstellar cloud may have caused an ice age on Earth. Here's how
By Robert Lea published
The sun protects our solar system's planets from the harsh environment of interstellar space; 2 million years ago, a dense cloud of matter could have curtailed this shielding.
![Concentric circles of orange and brown with a glowing yellow sphere it their center](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AzZDpD84E5ypjKnN2mVkUB-320-80.png)
James Webb Space Telescope spots asteroid collision in neighboring star system
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has seen signs of a violent asteroid collision in neighboring star system, Beta Pictoris. The observations could reveal the early stages of planet birth.
![A man in a blue sweatshirt amd technical equipment a white come with blue markings over a blue back ground](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VCeJafKhnZCyMhFDu7752A-320-80.png)
Take a video tour of Boeing’s Starliner with its 2 NASA astronauts
By Robert Lea published
In a new video, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams conduct a guided tour of Starliner, the Boeing craft that carried them to the International Space Station last week.
![A dark brown cone from two angles, the top and the side, showing a blue aura at its tip](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HdbzUNcKfxj8KiP6XzpZvE-320-80.png)
'We thought it was impossible:' Water frost on Mars discovered near Red Planet's equator
By Robert Lea published
Water frost has been found on huge volcanoes at the equator of Mars, a region where scientists thought frost was impossible.
![A bright white disk with an orange sphere at its center against a dark background and surrounded by white smoke](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4vbMuomVK89AWeUqz6BngD-320-80.png)
The Milky Way's last major act of galactic cannibalism was surprisingly recent
By Robert Lea published
Gaia discovers the Milky Way's last major act of galactic cannibalism was surprisingly recent, as the space telescope counts the "wrinkles" of our galaxy to retell its history."
![A black circle outlined with a white swirl in a sea of red, blue, yellow and green blobs](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9ivTukAWJ3xXmrDA6D5P4T-320-80.png)
'Supercharged rhino' black holes may have formed and died a second after the Big Bang
By Robert Lea published
Tiny 'supercharged' black holes born just after the Big Bang may have been brief companions to primordial black holes, dying before the universe was a second old.
![A white orb is in the center. To the right, there's an orange glowing star leaving a trail of gas that ends up wrapping around the white orb, ultimately sticking into it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oUtDcMj7V7ejBUwwZuiSe8-320-80.png)
'Vampire stars' explode after eating too much — AI could help reveal why
By Robert Lea published
Type Ia supernovas erupt when white dwarf "dead stars" vampirically feast on a companion star. Researchers are turning to AI to better understand why.
![A half purple half blue glowing sphere](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x2UW4GcDveV9CrUiw5qT9f-320-80.png)
Scientists find slowest spinning 'radio neutron star' — it breaks all the dead-star rules
By Robert Lea published
Taking almost a full hour to rotate rather than fractions of a second, ASKAP J1935+2148 is the slowest spinning radio-blasting neutron star ever seen.
![A view of space with blue and pink hazes overlaying lots of stars and galaxies.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5oW8Pv5UtJyBLkTuwMF3So-320-80.png)
Massive 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster suggests dark matter smashes into itself
By Robert Lea published
El Gordo is a massive collection of colliding galaxies 7 billion light-years away. Its odd behavior could suggest dark matter interacts with itself.
![A glowing yellow orb in the center of the screen surrounded a disk of gassy material.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aU43fNmtLcHYzZCfHb5TYe-320-80.jpg)
Rocky, carbon-rich exoplanets more likely around tiny stars, James Webb Space Telescope reveals
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers using the JWST have discovered tiny stars may be better suited at birthing small, rocky planets with atmospheres dominated by carbon.
![Two spacecraft are seen in this simulation near the moon, connected to one another.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tGhyPeJLAZ4fDbtW6abu56-320-80.png)
Chang'e 6 probe's far-side moon samples enter return-to-Earth module in lunar orbit, China says
By Robert Lea published
The two spacecraft of the Chang'e 6 mission met and docked in orbit over the moon on Thursday (June 6) to transfer samples the moon's far side. They'll now be returned to Earth.
![A red world on the left ans a churning star on the right.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEtsunpc3J3VrXMPPHx7LL-320-80.png)
NASA exoplanet hunter finds 'weird' world surviving a star's relentless bombardment — it's named Phoenix
By Robert Lea published
NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter has discovered a weird world called Phoenix that has managed to hold on to its atmosphere despite being relentlessly bombarded with radiation from its red giant star.
![a cube-shaped spacecraft with four legs sits on a dusty, dark grey surface](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LEb2kLUkdpZay9QTj8srWS-320-80.png)
China's Chang'e 6 probe launches samples of far side of the moon to lunar orbit. Next stop? Earth (photos)
By Robert Lea published
China's Chang'e 6 moon mission returned stunning lunar surface images as it collected samples and sent them to orbit to begin their historic return to Earth for study.
![A splitscreen showing cat-eye-shaped nebular on the left and a blobby one on the right.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/443wne2roTdGcSVHwL8Dm9-320-80.png)
NASA 3D Instagram 'experience' brings nebulas into your home
By Robert Lea published
Ever wanted to see the wreckage of a supernova or explore distant clouds of gas and dust ejected by a dying star? A new NASA Instagram Experience brings celestial bodies to Earth.
![Two disks with bright centers are perpendicular to one another in the center of the image. A rogue planet appears to be zooming away from that scene, leaving behind a hazy trail.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xT37Xx4fWHsKAZ8jV8PA7H-320-80.png)
Rogue planets may originate from 'twisted Tatooine' double star systems
By Robert Lea published
"Twisted Tatooine" binary star systems could be a major player in ejecting rogue planets that go on to drift through the Milky Way without a stellar parent to heat or illuminate them.
![Bright craters pit the surface of the far side of the moon as seen by China's Chang'e 6 moon lander.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dxN2ACmRWogNKABrSYQJN4-320-80.jpg)
Watch China's Chang'e 6 probe land on far side of the moon in dramatic video
By Robert Lea published
China's Chang'e-6 has successfully touched down on the far side of the moon, and its dramatic approach to the mysterious lunar region was captured in a stunning video.
![A view of the moon in front of a bright, patchy, blue and yellow nebula.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LKmuwRfVWaGLoLc8CzBnk7-320-80.png)
The secrets of supernovas might be locked in moon dust
By Robert Lea published
Supernovas spread the building blocks for new stars and planets throughout the cosmos, and evidence of these stellar explosions could be extracted from moon dust.