Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Space.com sister site Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Latest articles by Stephanie Pappas

By Stephanie Pappas Published
A circular shape on the seafloor visible on Google Earth is raising cries of "UFO," but chances are … it's not aliens.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
One of Earth's two mysterious mantle blobs is much higher than the other, raising questions about its impact on Earth's surface.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet is officially the largest ever observed, according to new measurements.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
Storms in the U.S. and Uruguay set new records for longest lightning bolt and longest-duration lightning flash.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The International Space Station will plunge into the sea in January 2031, NASA has announced.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
A new animation of Earth shows vegetation taking up and releasing carbon in sync with the seasons.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The U.S. government will officially investigate UFOs with a new office based in the Pentagon.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The mysterious presence of mantle materials more than 1,000 miles (1,609 km) from where they originated may be explained by a 'window' 62 miles (100 kilometers) below the Earth's surface.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The artificial intelligence (AI) program DeepMind has gotten closer to proving a math conjecture that's bedeviled mathematicians for decades.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
After speeding up during 2020, the Earth's spin had settled down. A negative leap second may still be needed in the next decade.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
A polynya, or rift, opened in the Arctic's oldest, thickest ice in May 2020, new research finds.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The melting of Earth's polar ice is warping the planet's crust. Here's how that's linked to climate change.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The winning photographs for the 13th annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards have been announced, and the sun is the star of the show.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
Here's a look at stunning astronomy images from the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
A six-year search of space beyond the orbit of Neptune has netted 461 newly discovered objects, including four that could shed light on Planet Nine.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
A new freely downloadable universe simulation reveals the structure of galaxies and galactic clusters over more than 13 billion years of history.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The Greenland ice sheet, nearly 2 miles thick in places, hides a landscape of canyons, mountains, fjords and gem-like lakes.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
A small rock arch in Gale Crater is a whimsical example of the textures of Mars.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
A fireball streaked across North Texas last night, leading to several hundred witness reports of a bright flash and sonic boom.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
A meteorite found nestled in a horseshoe imprint in England was formed in the early days of the solar system and may contain the building blocks of life.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
NASA scientists have mapped the dynamic, ever-shifting lakes beneath Antarctica in more detail than ever before.

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The best astronomy photos of 2021 invite the eye upward and outward, bringing stunning views such as auroras above Earth and visions of a stellar nursery

By Stephanie Pappas Published
The planet has been losing 33,000 square miles (87,000 square kilometers) of ice coverage each year since 1979.
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