Stephanie Pappas
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
![Illustration of a flat Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/b925WhTxGt6Za827NuXDPE-320-80.jpg)
8 Times Flat-Earthers Tried to Challenge Science (and Failed) in 2017
By Stephanie Pappas published
It was a good year for a very bad conspiracy theory.
![Alien spaceships](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/duoArYVYkQXsJSyzwVxLWE-320-80.jpg)
Humans Would Be Cool with Finding Aliens
By Stephanie Pappas published
The evidence suggests the discovery of aliens would not cause panic.
![Illustration of a flat Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kmwJGPUcYkqVEDchNDfLJj-320-80.jpg)
What in the World? Flat-Earthers Gather at First Conference
By Stephanie Pappas published
A conference aimed at disputing the idea that the world is round just wrapped up in North Carolina. Here's what they talked about.
![area 51](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dEHZx8vsWJcyCBtyGfmruc-320-80.jpg)
15 Far-Out Facts About Area 51
By Stephanie Pappas published
Area 51. The name conjures an aura of secrecy, mystery, and of course, extraterrestrial happenings. Here's a look at some of the strangest facts about the spot.
![Coal-fired power plant](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iKJ2bYYRjmeg865SsXkaLa-320-80.jpg)
Humans to Blame for Climate Change, Government Report Says
By Stephanie Pappas published
Humans are causing the globe to heat up, with dire consequences, according to a climate report from the Trump administration.
![The ozone hole over Antarctica shrunk to its smallest maximum-extent in September 2017. Here, in this false-color view of the monthly-averaged total ozone the blue and purple indicate areas with the least ozone, while yellows and reds mean the most ozone.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fPSiXR9pgEtUsEJvfZxWDB-320-80.jpg)
Good News on Warming: Ozone Hole Is Smallest Since 1988
By Stephanie Pappas published
A warm Antarctic stratosphere kept the ozone hole small in 2017.
![illustration of a void found within the Great Pyramid of Giza.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z3uWRTVKAuVUMfVX5hLrob-320-80.jpg)
Secret Chamber? Cosmic Rays Reveal Possible Void Inside Great Pyramid
By Stephanie Pappas published
But does this empty space mean anything?
![Alien baby](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/83YVvowdG4MWvgCPXhgkAk-320-80.jpg)
What Darwin Can Tell Us About Aliens
By Stephanie Pappas published
Aliens may have something in common with life on Earth.
![A total solar eclipse seen on Aug. 21, 2017, from Wyoming.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mWFEaFuKo2CwVeBqmiyiPk-320-80.jpg)
Bible May Record Oldest Known Solar Eclipse
By Stephanie Pappas published
A possible reference to a solar eclipse in the Bible could help pinpoint the reign of Ramesses the Great.
![A view of the Dotson ice shelf, courtesy of the ESA satellite Sentinel-1. New research finds an under-ice canyon stretching the length of the shelf.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t9uLXG3dPaD6NDKj4Ns7Q-320-80.jpg)
Satellite Finds Hidden Upside-Down Canyon on Underside of Antarctic Ice
By Stephanie Pappas published
These upside-down canyons could contribute to the melt and collapse of Antarctica's floating expanses of ice.
![null](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YoP3TWpwcmw8acgGDPUuek-320-80.jpg)
Apocalypse Now? Doomsday Predictions Are Just Recycled Bogus Theories
By Stephanie Pappas published
![Granite that's 3.2 billion years old sits next to sedimentary rocks that date back 3 billion years at White Mfolozi Inlier, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2nEVzkoxoysFwsKDPvgoHB-320-80.jpg)
Plate Tectonics May Have Begun a Billion Years After Earth's Birth
By Stephanie Pappas published
The differentiation of oceanic and continental crust could date back 3.5 billion years.
![A little girl stands next to a sperm whale that died after becoming stranded on a beach between Old Hunstanton and Holme on Feb. 5, 2016, in Hunstanton, England. The whale was the 29th to have died after beaching in Europe over a two-week period.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SLnTtDhfaWnfvMBaKPV3X5-320-80.jpg)
Solar Flares May Explain Mass Whale Stranding
By Stephanie Pappas published
Solar storms in 2016 may have scrambled the magnetic field sperm whales use to navigate.
![A massive, X9.3-class solar flare blasted from the sun at 8:02 a.m. EDT (1202 GMT).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5QBRUvagguj4KRukCULciX-320-80.jpg)
Storm Warning: Solar Outburst Could Scramble Earth's Communications
By Stephanie Pappas published
A solar flare and potential coronal mass ejection could black out some communications.
![As the moon began to eclipse the sun on Aug. 21, 2017, a few sunspots were visible on the solar surface.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8nvYMJa3W6SBaQx2C2zRd7-320-80.jpeg)
Totally Active: Eclipse Photos Reveal Sunspots, Solar Flares
By Stephanie Pappas published
Shots of the solar eclipse reveal an active sun.
![WARR Hyperloop, a student team from Germany, won Elon Musk's second Hyperloop competition.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mXQoFX8vqU9ESpmtg6JJxQ-320-80.jpeg)
Pod Traveling at 201 MPH Wins Elon Musk's Hyperloop Competition
By Stephanie Pappas published
A test at a SpaceX facility nets a German team top prize.
![An instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of a curl of moist air licking the coast of Portugal on July 16, 2017.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YELJGsuB2qBnFBpDGqbL8b-320-80.jpg)
Cyclone 'Licks' Portugal Coast in Gorgeous Space Image
By Stephanie Pappas published
A curling tongue of clouds reaches out to taste the Iberian Peninsula in a new satellite image.
!["Star Wars" microscopic midi-chlorians were born on the fictional Wellspring of Life.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FKQNenKNPqFw8v7KzKbqTW-320-80.jpg)
Mitochondria or Midi-Chlorians? 'Star Wars' Hoax Paper Published in 4 Journals
By Stephanie Pappas published
A ridiculous hoax paper mixing up mitochondria with 'Star Wars' midi-chlorians gets published in four predatory journals.
![An instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image on July 12, 2017, revealing the giant iceberg that just calved from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oMPzzroWmyRAWbjVVHsJJY-320-80.jpg)
See the New Trillion-Ton Antarctic Iceberg in Image from Space
By Stephanie Pappas published
A new view from space shows Antarctica's newest bouncing baby iceberg. And it's huge.
![A true-color image taken by an instrument aboard the Landsat-8 satellite shows a plume of sediment and a puff of steam coming from the Bogoslof Volcano in Alaska.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3sDXqVYKMoQAEDaHa5dmXk-320-80.jpg)
Pretty Volcanic Plume Seen in Space Image
By Stephanie Pappas published
A seaborne sediment plume turns the Bering Sea green.
![An astronaut onboard the International Space Station captured this image of the central Meidob Volcanic Field in western Sudan on Jan. 1, 2017.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8wsJfSV78EEHXuPGr5vzwF-320-80.jpg)
Baby Volcanic Domes Pop Out in Space Image
By Stephanie Pappas published
It's hard to believe this image was taken over Earth.
![Shiprock, a stunning rock formation in New Mexico, stands out even from space. This image was taken April 12, 2017, by an instrument aboard NASA's Landsat 8 satellite.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hyPhJTgMine4JeUkkNU64f-320-80.jpg)
Towering Rock Once Hidden Beneath Earth Seen from Space
By Stephanie Pappas published
The last vestiges of an ancient volcano are visible from orbit.
![The crimson glow in Tanzania's Lake Natron, shown here in an image captured from the Landsat 8 satellite on Marck 6, 2017, is caused by salt-loving microbes called haloarchaea.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kzDgHKA8PKjkDoDUzeo9FG-320-80.jpg)
'Stone Animal' Lake Seen from Space in All Its Crimson Glory
By Stephanie Pappas published
Lake Natron's bizarre chemistry leads to beautiful colors.