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Expert Voices

SPACE.com invites experts in space exploration, science & technology to provide insightful commentary and informed perspective on news, current events, innovations, big ideas and ongoing research. Expert Voices includes Op-Ed analysis and opinion as well as interesting observations from the field and space exploration efforts around the world.

Related Topics: Expert Voices - Don Lincoln, Expert Voices - Leroy Chiao, Expert Voices - Paul Sutter, Expert Voices - Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Expert Voices - The Kavli Foundation 

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The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors, gets a close-up in this image from the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Cosmic Rays Are Starting to Tear a Milky Way Satellite Galaxy Apart

By Paul Sutter

Researchers recently released simulations of the Large Magellanic Cloud — a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way — and found that cosmic rays from a starburst event are starting to rip it apart.

An artist's conception of WASP-18b, a giant exoplanet that orbits very close to its star.

A Real-Life Deluminator for Spotting Exoplanets by Reflected Starlight

By Supriya Chakrabarti

For the last decade or more, Muggles around the world have been busy designing and perfecting a similar device called a coronagraph.

In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon.

Planetary Confusion — Why Astronomers Keep Changing What It Means to Be A Planet

By Christopher Palma

It all goes back to the origin of the word "planet."

A NASA illustration shows a neutron star surrounded by a disk of matter.

The Most Energetic Flashes of Light in the Universe Produce Deadly Nuclear Reactions

By Paul Sutter

Gamma-ray bursts are even worse than we thought.

Two black holes merge, generating gravitational waves.

Giant Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy May Have a Friend

By Smadar Naoz

A second supermassive black hole may be lurking at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

There are many moons in the galaxy but only ours is called the moon.

Curious Kids: Why is the Moon Called the Moon?

By Toby Brown

Other planets' moons have great names, ours is just what it is.

Artist's illustration on NASA's 2020 Mars rover on the Red Planet.

Life on Mars? Europe Commits to Groundbreaking Mission to Bring Back Rocks to Earth

By Gareth Dorrian, Ian Whittaker

It will be one of the most daunting, complicated and, potentially, scientifically rewarding missions ever undertaken to the red planet.

Cerberus Fossae, with steep slopes having active landslides.

Mars: We May Have Solved the Mystery of How Its Landslides Form

By Giulia Magnarini, Tom Mitchell

Some landslides on Mars seem to defy an important law of physics.

Abstract image of quantum computer.

Quantum Supremacy Is Unlikely, Scientist Says

By Subhash Kak

Google claims quantum supremacy – IBM says not so fast. One researcher explains why he doesn't see quantum computers outpacing classical computers any time soon ... and maybe not ever.

The Tesla Cybertruck was rolled out in November.

Love It or Hate It, Tesla Cybertruck Is Revolutionary

By Michael D. Mehta

The so-called Cybertruck is an angular, stainless steel, all-electric pickup truck that quickly became polarizing. Here's why it's revolutionary.

Illustration of gravity and the fabric of space-time.

What If Space-Time Were 'Chunky'? It Would Forever Change the Nature of Reality.

By Paul Sutter

An ambitious new fleet of spacecraft could reveal whether space-time is smooth or chunky, and in doing so the ultimate nature of reality.

SpaceCom's executive director James Causey speaks at the SpaceCom Conference and Exposition in Houston on Nov. 26, 2018.

Every Company Is a Space Company, Some Just Don't Know it Yet! (Op-Ed)

By James Causey

The best long-term investment for companies and the world? The space business.

Quantum bubbles and multiverses.

Objective Reality Doesn't Exist, Quantum Experiment Shows

By Alessandro Fedrizzi, Massimiliano Proietti

A quantum experiment raises deeply philosophical questions about the fundamental nature of reality.

Dr. Burbidge is presented with the "Woman of the Year' award in 1976, while professor at UC San Diego.

Margaret Burbidge at 100: The Trailblazing Astronomer Who Wouldn't Take 'No Women' for an Answer

By Andreea Font

Apart from her groundbreaking work on the origin of elements, Burbidge is interested in galaxies, extremely distant and luminous cosmic objects and more.

Astronaut Alan L. Bean, Apollo 12, walks on the Moon's surface. Commander Charles Conrad Jr. is reflected in Bean's helmet visor.

Apollo 12: How a Passionate Scientist's Keen Eye Led to the First Pinpoint Moon Landing 50 Years Ago

By Timothy Swindle

When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, it was a giant leap for mankind and a huge success for American engineering, but there was one aspect of the mission that hadn’t really gone as planned.

The muck that's been accumulating at the bottom of this lake for 20,000 years is like a climate time capsule.

New Evidence That An Extraterrestrial Collision 12,800 Years Ago Triggered An Abrupt Climate Change for Earth

By Christopher R. Moore

What kicked off the Earth’s rapid cooling 12,800 years ago?

The atmosphere of Mars is thin and very dry.

Climate Explained: Why Mars is Cold Despite an Atmosphere of Mostly Carbon Dioxide

By Paulo de Souza

If tiny concentrations of carbon dioxide can hold enough heat to create a global warming impact on Earth, why is Mars cold? Its atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.

This artist's impression shows a view of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system.

NASA's TESS Spacecraft is Finding Hundreds of Exoplanets — And is Poised to Find Thousands More

By Daniel Apai, Benjamin Rackham

Over 99% of these alien worlds remain undiscovered — but this is about to change.

A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from background stars.

Is a New Particle Changing the Fate of the Universe?

By Paul Sutter

A brand-new particle has possibly emerged and is altering the future destiny of our entire cosmos, a physicist says.

Wind and flames rip through an area near Geyserville, California, during the Kincade Fire on Oct. 24, 2019.

California Wildfires Signal the Arrival of a Planetary Fire Age

By Stephen Pyne

The Earth may be entering an era in which natural and human-generated fire together are reshaping the planet.