Ian O'Neill
SPACE.com
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Past articles by Ian:
Could This Bold New Technique Boost Gravitational-Wave Detection?
Scientists could use the quantum properties of light to remove a source of noise from laser interferometers, thereby probing previously unreachable sources of gravitational waves, a new study suggests. → Read More
Wow! 1st Interstellar Asteroid Is a Spinning Space Cigar
The interstellar asteroid that zoomed past Earth last month is even stranger than we imagined. → Read More
Relive New Horizons Probe's Historic Discoveries with Epic NASA Video
When it flew past enigmatic Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft had only just begun its voyage of exploration, and a new video from NASA's ScienceCasts series takes viewers through the probe's many discoveries since that encounter. → Read More
Could the Hunt for Hubble's Constant Overturn the Standard Model of Cosmology?
Two methods that scientists use to measure the expansion of the universe produce different answers, and astronomers aren't quite sure what's going on. → Read More
How Gravitational Waves Led Astronomers to Neutron Star Gold
The origin of the universe's heaviest elements has mystified scientists, but after Monday's (Oct. 16) historic announcement of the detection of gravitational waves produced by two colliding neutron stars, astronomers have struck gold — literally. → Read More
Interstellar Ice Acts Like a Liquid in Ultraviolet Light
When exposed to ultraviolet light, interstellar ice may act more like a liquid than a solid, a new study has found. → Read More
How Gravity Assists Work: Asteroid Probe's 'Interplanetary Billiards' Flyby Explained
If OSIRIS-REx is going to an asteroid, why did NASA bring the probe back to Earth after it had already traveled 600 million miles through interplanetary space? → Read More
Habitable Titan? Cassini, Huygens Revealed Wonders of Saturn's Biggest Moon
In one of its first missions, Cassini dropped its partner Huygens probe onto the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. We recap the close relationship between Titan and the Cassini probe. → Read More
There Is Boron on Mars — Another Sign the Red Planet Could Have Hosted Life
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has discovered boron in Gale Crater — new evidence that the Red Planet may have been able to support life on its surface in the ancient past. → Read More
Galactic Winds Halted Ancient Star Birth, But May Have Started It Elsewhere
Galactic winds that bowled through ancient galaxies and strangled star formation may have also created reservoirs of gas where star formation could continue. → Read More
See the Best-Ever Imagery of a Star Beyond the Sun (Photos, Video)
A new photo of the red "supergiant" Antares is the best ever captured of a star other than the sun, researchers said. → Read More
How Eclipses Reveal Information About Alien Worlds, Light-Years Away
Researchers use "eclipses" of celestial bodies crossing in front of one another to do crucial science and learn about distant objects. → Read More
Cassini Probes Last Saturn Mysteries 1 Month from Demise
The end is nigh for NASA's trailblazing Cassini mission to Saturn as the veteran spacecraft enters its final month in orbit. The probe will burn up like an artificial meteor in the gas giant's upper atmosphere on Sept. 15. → Read More
Hubble Telescope Sees Merging 'David and Goliath' Galaxy Pair (Photos, Video)
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close look at the fascinating gravitational effects caused by a diminutive dwarf galaxy as it orbits its massive neighbor. The galactic pair will eventually merge, with the dwarf being eaten. → Read More
Surprise! Orion Nebula Cluster Had 3 Ages of Star Formation
The Orion Nebula is one of the most heavily studied astronomical targets in the night sky, but that doesn't mean it has stopped surprising astronomers. In fact, new work suggests that its many young stars formed in three distinct waves. → Read More
Unhackable Data: In a First, Secure Quantum Communications Is Tested Via Microsatellite
The SOCRATES microsatellite securely transmitted data to a receiver on Earth using a process called Quantum Key Distribution, marking the first time the technique has used between the ground and space. → Read More
Cool! 'Star Wars'-Like Tech Warps Light into 360-Degree 3D Images
When Alexander Lippert first saw Princess Leia's holographic image projected by R2-D2 to deliver her famous message to Obi-Wan ("Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope") in "Star Wars: A New Hope," a childhood fascination began. → Read More
Newborn Star Gorges on a 'Space Hamburger,' Belching Spinning Jets
Astronomers have observed the eating habits of a protostar — and like any youngster, it has an affinity for fast food. → Read More
Baby Star's 'Crying' Solves a Stellar Mystery
New work shows spiraling outflows of gas swirling from a newborn star. → Read More
How a total solar eclipse helped prove Einstein right
It's the 98th anniversary of the experiment that helped confirm Einstein's groundbreaking theory of general relativity → Read More