Jonathan O'Callaghan

Jonathan O'Callaghan

Contributing Writer

Latest Articles

Two Weeks In, the Webb Space Telescope Is Reshaping Astronomy

July 25, 2022

In the days after the mega-telescope started delivering data, astronomers reported new discoveries about galaxies, stars, exoplanets and even Jupiter.

Black Hole Image Reveals the Beast Inside the Milky Way’s Heart

May 12, 2022

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope released a historic image of a supermassive black hole in another galaxy. The follow-up — an image of Sagittarius A* — shows it shimmering at the center of our own.

Secrets of the Moon’s Permanent Shadows Are Coming to Light

April 28, 2022

Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds.

A Solution to the Faint-Sun Paradox Reveals a Narrow Window for Life

January 27, 2022

We might have a past faint sun to owe for life’s existence. This has consequences for the possibility of life outside Earth.

Researchers Revise Recipe for Building a Rocky Planet Like Earth

November 3, 2021

Over the past decade, researchers have completely rewritten the story of how gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn form. They’re now debating whether the same process might hold for Earth.

A Hint of Dark Matter Sends Physicists Looking to the Skies

October 19, 2021

After a search of neutron stars finds preliminary evidence for hypothetical dark matter particles called axions, astrophysicists are devising new ways to spot them.

Neither Star nor Planet: A Strange Brown Dwarf Puzzles Astronomers

August 4, 2021

Brown dwarfs such as “The Accident” are illuminating the murky borderlands that separate planets from stars.

Brighter Than a Billion Billion Suns: Gamma-Ray Bursts Continue to Surprise

June 30, 2021

These ultrabright flashes have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them.

Squishy Neutron Star Setback Dampens Hopes of Exotic Matter

May 26, 2021

Groundbreaking results show that neutron stars of different masses may have the same size — upending astrophysical models.

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