News Archive / Author: Laurel Kornfeld
Laurel Kornfeld is an amateur astronomer and freelance writer from Highland Park, NJ, who enjoys writing about astronomy and planetary science. She studied journalism at Douglass College, Rutgers University, and earned a Graduate Certificate of Science from Swinburne University’s Astronomy Online program. Her writings have been published online in The Atlantic, Astronomy magazine’s guest blog section, the UK Space Conference, the 2009 IAU General Assembly newspaper, The Space Reporter, and newsletters of various astronomy clubs. She is a member of the Cranford, NJ-based Amateur Astronomers, Inc. Especially interested in the outer solar system, Laurel gave a brief presentation at the 2008 Great Planet Debate held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD.
Articles By Laurel Kornfeld
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New Horizons seeks help for Uranus and Neptune observations
August 21st, 2023NASA's New Horizons mission is seeking assistance from amateur astronomers in observations of ice giants Uranus and Neptune, which will be conducted in September.
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Opinion: New Horizons should remain a planetary mission
April 28th, 2023A little-known proposal is threatening the future of NASA’s New Horizons mission, and for reasons unknown, the space press has hardly reported on this development.
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New Horizons is still doing science in the Kuiper Belt
April 28th, 2023Now traveling far into the Kuiper Belt, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft continues to conduct science observations more than four years after flying by its second target, Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, in 2019.
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Scientist anticipates finding life beyond our solar system in 25 years
April 26th, 2023Several missions that could detect life beyond our solar system are currently in development, Swiss astrophysicist Sasha Quanz said at the recent opening of ETH Zurich's Centre for the Origin and Prevalence of Life.
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Scientists propose Ceres sample return mission
September 14th, 2022Planetary scientists have recommended NASA send a sample return mission to Ceres, the only dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
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Two super-Earth exoplanets to be among future Webb targets
July 13th, 2022Scientists have identified two relatively close super-Earth exoplanets to be studied by the now operational James Webb Space Telescope.
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Early solar system may have had a 5th giant planet
June 4th, 2022Billions of years ago, when the Sun was still a proto-star that had not yet ignited, the young solar system may have contained a fifth giant planet in addition to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
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Pluto’s ice volcanoes may still be active today
May 14th, 2022A new study of Pluto's surface returned by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 has confirmed the presence of ice volcanoes on the dwarf planet's surface.
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Ceres may have formed in the outer solar system
April 3rd, 2022Ceres is located in the asteroid belt, but its makeup and large water content suggest it formed in the outer solar system where other dwarf planets orbit.
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First exoplanet targets recommended for Webb observation
March 27th, 2022Now that the James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror has been aligned successfully, scientists are identifying the first exoplanets for observation.
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Study of Pluto’s subsurface ocean drives potential return mission
March 12th, 2022A $3 billion return mission to Pluto with an orbiter is being proposed to further study the subsurface oceans of both Pluto and its large moon Charon.
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Third planet found orbiting Proxima Centauri
February 22nd, 2022Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun, may host a third planet that has just 25% the mass of Earth, according to a new study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
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Liquid water may exist beneath Mars’ south polar ice cap
February 14th, 2022Bright reflections detected in 2018 by the Mars Express orbiter could indicate the presence of liquid water lakes beneath Mars south polar ice cap.
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Study makes case for geophysical planet definition
January 16th, 2022In an in-depth study of planet classification from the time of Galileo to the present, a group of planetary scientists criticize the 2006 International Astronomical Union planet definition as being rooted in folklore and astrology and argue for a geophysical definition that includes spherical moons as secondary or satellite planets.
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Sublimating nitrogen ice could be cause of polygons in Pluto’s Sputnik Planitia
January 12th, 2022The unusual polygonal features seen in Sputnik Planitia, the left side of Pluto's iconic heart feature known as Tombaugh Regio, could be caused by the sublimation of nitrogen ice, a team of scientists propose in a study published in the journal Nature.
