
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

Mars was hot then cold then hot again. Could life have really survived there?
By Robert Lea published
Scientists may have figured out how Mars hung onto its surface liquid water in its ancient history via alternating periods of hot and cold. But what would the impact have been on habitability?

Twisted magnetic fields in space sculpt the jets of black holes and baby stars
By Robert Lea published
By studying the fastest jet ever seen erupting from an infant star, astronomers have discovered that the mechanism that launches these jets also launch supermassive black hole jets.

NASA X-ray telescope Chandra discovers black holes 'blow' on their food to cool it down
By Robert Lea published
Observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope and the VLT have revealed jets blasting from supermassive black holes cause gas to cool and fall toward them in a cosmic feeding process.

Astronomers discover 196-foot asteroid with 1-in-83 chance of hitting Earth in 2032
By Robert Lea published
A 196-foot-wide asteroid has a 1-in-83 chance of striking Earth in 2032. An expert tells Space.com where this asteroid could impact our planet and what level of destruction it could cause.

A cosmic 'CT scan' shows the universe is far more complex than expected
By Robert Lea published
A "cosmic CT scan" performed by scientists using two very different cosmic surveys has revealed the cosmos is less clumpy and more complicated than we thought.

Supermassive black holes in 'little red dot' galaxies are 1,000 times larger than they should be, and astronomers don't know why
By Robert Lea published
"Little red dot" galaxies discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope in the early cosmos appear to be ruled by supermassive black holes that are 1,000 times too massive.

To decode dark energy, the Rubin Observatory will find millions of exploding vampire stars
By Robert Lea published
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is set to detect millions of exploding vampire stellar remnants called "white dwarfs," shedding light on dark energy.

The 1st monster black hole ever imaged has messy eating habits
By Robert Lea published
A new analysis of M87*, the first black hole imaged by humanity, has revealed turbulence in the matter around it, which this supermassive black hole feasts upon.

3 years of James Webb Space Telescope data on alien worlds now available online
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has revolutionized astronomy in just three years. A new project celebrates its impact on the study of exoplanets, worlds beyond the solar system.

Astronomers watch monster black hole spit out a light-year-long jet
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have witnessed a monster supermassive black hole erupting with a light-year-long jet traveling at one-third the speed of light.

Gravitational waves offer a 'cosmic DNA test' for black holes
By Robert Lea published
The size and spin of black holes can reveal how and where they were born, and gravitational waves offer a way to decode this information like a cosmic DNA test.

Fastest disintegrating world ever seen 'spills its guts' for NASA's exoplanet hunter
By Robert Lea published
NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter has found the fastest-disintegrating planet ever. Losing a moons-worth of matter every million years, it is a prime target for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Feeding supermassive black holes may have ended the cosmic 'dark ages' billions of years ago
By Robert Lea published
NASA's Chandra and NuSTAR telescopes have teamed up to study a supermassive black hole-powered quasar that could have played a key role in ending the cosmic dark ages.

When is the winter solstice and what happens?
By Robert Lea last updated
Reference Winter Solstice has long marked a time of rebirth, behind it are fascinating astronomical events.

James Webb Space Telescope sees little red dots feeding black holes: 'This is how you solve a universe-breaking problem'
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope's ancient "little red dot" galaxies have been seen as a sign of "broken cosmology." Feeding supermassive black holes may have come to the rescue.

Goodnight, Gaia! ESA spacecraft shuts down after 12 years of Milky Way mapping
By Robert Lea published
Goodnight Gaia. The European Space Agency star-tracking satellite ceased operations on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, after 12 years of mapping the Milky Way.

Strange multi-planet system proves not all hot Jupiter exoplanets are lonely giants
By Robert Lea published
Hot Jupiters may not be the lonely giants scientists once thought they were.

Feeding supermassive black holes are more common than thought across the universe
By Robert Lea published
Feeding supermassive black holes are more common in the cosmos than previously suspected. What could possibly hide such ravenous cosmic titans?

James Webb Space Telescope discovers one of the earliest 'truly gargantuan' supernovas ever seen
By Robert Lea published
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted one of the earliest and most distant supernovas, marking the death of a stellar monster 20 times the mass of the sun.

Dark matter may have caused a baffling break in this star stream
By Robert Lea published
A strange break in a stream of stars in the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter, but only if the dark matter is hot and self-interacting.

'Daredevil' white dwarf star could be closest-known object to a weird black hole
By Robert Lea published
The weird outbursts of a distant supermassive black hole may be caused by a death-defying white dwarf walking a cosmic tight rope around it.

8 of the greatest mysteries in the universe
By Robert Lea last updated
Dark energy, supermassive black holes, JuMBOs … Oh my!

Star escapes ravenous supermassive black hole, leaving behind its stellar partner
By Robert Lea published
Scientists want to know if a tidal disruption event that exploded twice is the result of a star abandoning its binary partner, allowing it to be devoured by a supermassive black hole.

The fastest-spinning 'vampire star' we know of is shrinking. Soon, it will explode
By Robert Lea published
The fastest-spinning white dwarf ever discovered is a shrinking cosmic vampire feasting on a stellar companion. A feeding process is pushing the dead star toward an imminent supernova explosion.
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