News Archive / Author: Paul Scott Anderson
Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos.” While in school he was known for his passion for space exploration and astronomy. Then, in 2005 he began to detail his passion for the skies in his own online journal. While interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science. In 2011, he started writing on a freelance basis, and currently writes for Examiner.com. He has also done supplementary writing for the well-known iOS app Exoplanet.
Articles By Paul Scott Anderson
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Three Mars orbiters observe comet Siding Spring’s effects on Martian atmosphere
November 8th, 2014For the first time ever, the effects of a comet making a close flyby of Mars have been observed by spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. The results of this event was announced at a media teleconference held on Friday, Nov. 7. As comet Siding Spring made its closest approach on Oct. 19, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution […]
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Titan’s seas and lakes sparkle in the sunlight in recent Cassini images
November 3rd, 2014Saturn’s moon Titan is a unique world, and the only place in the Solar System known to have seas and lakes (liquid methane/ethane) on its surface, other than Earth. And just like our home world, if you look at them at the right moment from space, you can see sunlight gleaming off of them, as […]
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Astronomers observe nearly 500 exocomets around nearby star
October 26th, 2014Comets have been in the news a lot recently, with the ongoing investigation of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft and the close flyby of Mars by comet Siding Spring this past week. But there is also another comet discovery – one much further out from our solar system. With the help of the HARPS instrument, on […]
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Lockheed Martin claims breakthrough in compact fusion reactors: good news for space exploration?
October 19th, 2014Lockheed Martin announced this week that it plans to have a working compact nuclear fusion reactor (CFR) in ten years. If successful, the smaller, more portable size of the reactors could make them ideal sources of power for various transportation vehicles on Earth such as planes and ships. They could even one day more efficiently power spacecraft […]
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‘We’re here!’: Curiosity rover arrives at Mount Sharp on Mars
September 13th, 2014After a long, and at times risky two-year journey, the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has reached the base of the lower slopes of Mount Sharp, the primary destination since its landing back in 2012. Mount Sharp is about the same height as Mount Rainier on Earth and sits in the middle of the expansive Gale […]
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MRO finds new evidence for dry ice formation of gullies on Mars
July 11th, 2014Some of the most interesting features on the surface of Mars are its gullies, often found on crater walls or other slopes, first seen from orbit back in 2000. They resemble gullies on Earth created by water, but the origin of located on Mars have become the subject of much debate. These gullies appear to […]
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What is this ‘Magic Island’ that appeared on Titan?
June 24th, 2014Titan is a complex world, reminiscent of our own planet in many ways, with mountains, seas, lakes, rivers and rain. Albeit the liquid on this super-cold moon is methane/ethane instead of water, but the visual similarities are striking. Just how geologically active Titan might be in other ways however isn’t really known yet, but a new […]
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Sploid feature highlights stunning imagery of NASA’s proposed real-life ‘Enterprise’ starship
June 12th, 2014Space Exploration Technologies just unveiled its new Dragon V2 crew-rated spacecraft, which was a big “wow” moment for a lot of people. But if these newly released conceptions are any idea, NASA may be planning on trying to upstage that, big time. The dreams of a Star Trek-like Enterprise starship which could travel to the stars have […]
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Advanced ‘SPHERE’ exoplanet Imager sees first light
June 6th, 2014Taking actual photographs of distant planets orbiting other stars is no easy task, and even in the best ones obtained so far, the planets still only look like tiny points of light. A new advancement in this area though promises to improve our view of these worlds.
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Orion service module back on track for 2017 launch
May 29th, 2014After some delays, the European-built service module for the new Orion crew-transport vehicle is now back on track and should be ready for a test launch of Orion in late 2017. “The preliminary design review for the service module has been successfully concluded and that is a key milestone in the consolidation of the schedule,” […]
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New meteor-impact crater on Mars is largest ever found
May 27th, 2014Newly-formed, fresh meteor craters have been found on the planet Mars before, but a new one seen by the cameras on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is the largest ever seen so far.
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ESA-provided components for Orion – may be produced by Lockheed-Martin
May 26th, 2014The Service Module that will be used on NASA’s next generation crewed spacecraft, Orion, which is designed to take astronauts back to destinations beyond low-Earth-orbit (LEO), may be getting some of its parts from Lockheed Martin Space Systems (LMCO) in Denver. This would be a departure from current plans where the European Space Agency (ESA) which is constructing the Service Module […]
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New technique could Help find exomoons orbiting distant planets
May 14th, 2014Exoplanets orbiting distant stars are now being discovered in the thousands, with a new discovery made almost every week now. But what about exomoons? In our own solar system, moons far outnumber planets, so it should be considered likely that many of those other planets out there would also have moons. The problem is size; […]
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NASA seeking concepts for mission to Europa
April 30th, 2014A mission to Europa has long been on many people’s must-do wish list, and now NASA is taking another step closer to making that a reality. NASA has formally issued a Request for Information (RFI) to various science and engineering communities for ideas on how to design a mission to this exciting moon of Jupiter, […]
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Has Cassini seen the birth of a new Saturnian moon?
April 19th, 2014Saturn has dozens of moons, ranging from the largest, Titan, which is larger than our own Moon, to small asteroid-sized objects. Now it seems that the Cassini spacecraft may have witnessed the formation of yet another moon, actually seeing the process as it is happening.
