Robert Lea
Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.
Latest articles by Robert Lea
![A craggy silver and blue sphere against a black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qnft8kRfeGWWLgaygo4fb9-320-80.jpg)
Mystery of dwarf planet Ceres' origin may finally be solved, thanks to retired NASA spacecraft
By Robert Lea published
Was Ceres born in the main asteroid belt, or did it migrate there from the outer solar system? The answer is buried in data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
![two glowing yellow and orange disks one significantly smaller than the other](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ExL7xX4WHkXNf95BsMXPVA-320-80.jpg)
These 2 monster black holes may be the closest pair ever discovered (video)
By Robert Lea published
The tag team of NASA space telescopes Hubble and Chandra has demonstrated that two is definitely better than one when it comes to pairings of supermassive black holes and hunting for them.
![Many bright orange yellow and red splotches centered at the heart of a yellow grid](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wNzXvLhKa8aGAUpcv9w8cg-320-80.png)
Rare Milky Way star cluster is packed with red supergiants 1 million times brighter than the sun
By Robert Lea published
Many red supergiant monster stars lurk in a Milky Way cluster astronomers have discovered with the Gaia space telescope. The cluster, Barbá 2, could help understand why some stars become black holes.
![A red and blue "warp" behind a white tubular spacecraft](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hacFiBV242RzbD9kX9i8GP-320-80.png)
What happens when your warp drive fails? Scientists have the answer
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have "boldly gone" where no one has gone before, discovering what would happen if a faster-than-light warp drive like the one used in Star Trek were to fail.
![Two overlapping groups of orange and red concentric circles](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6845AZoHLoaX3axjAeAKP3-320-80.png)
Gravitational waves hint at a 'supercool' secret about the Big Bang
By Robert Lea published
If the gravitational wave background detected last year came from a "supercool" phase transition around the time of the Big Bang, they hint at new physics.
![A orange swirl at the heart of a purple cloud of gas](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/w82E6sV75TLosxfbwDCHW8-320-80.png)
What happens if you throw a star at a black hole? Things get messy (video)
By Robert Lea published
Supermassive black holes that shred and devour stars throw them up like a "bad curry" and cover themselves in the wreckage, sick new simulations reveal.
![A highly shadowed blue and white sphere](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SxvwTTRjmHHLdGW8sZTtun-320-80.png)
Jupiter-bound JUICE probe slingshots by Earth on way to Venus (photos)
By Robert Lea published
JUICE flew by Earth on Tuesday (Aug. 20), just a day after it zoomed past the moon. The spacecraft took also snapped some images of home before heading off to Venus.
![A striped orange sphere next to a smaller red sphere and a bright glowing orange sphere](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ExjUGLXKYdU9rJvmkM9dQL-320-80.png)
Giant exoplanet the size of 2 Jupiters has a hidden companion disturbing its orbit
By Robert Lea published
Using the NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft TESS, astronomers have discovered a hot Jupiter dancing with a hidden super-Earth companion.
![An orange disk with black hole at its center and two bright purple eruptions extend from it](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3bwF9DnJMqAMH4ABDPCmE-320-80.png)
How do supermassive black holes 'starve' their galaxies to halt star formation?
By Robert Lea published
The "deaths" of galaxies are caused by their central supermassive black holes, and the "smoking gun" evidence of this connection takes an unexpected form.
![A protoplanetary disk of gas and dust around a young star dark grooves are being carved out by gas and ice giant planets as they form](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/v8xnDzKGiNbV5YSAH7nxpV-320-80.png)
Have astronomers found the 'secret recipe' for rapid planet growth?
By Robert Lea published
Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus may dominate the solar system, but their formation remains mysterious. A new model could account for these planets' rapid and efficient births.
![Two blue orbs smashing together surrounded by a hazy reddish gas.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/amyhv7rBFvvEsPS5JApj3M-320-80.jpg)
What happens to the wreckage created when extreme dead stars clash?
By Robert Lea published
Neutron stars are the universe's most extreme stars, composed of matter so dense a teaspoon of it would weigh as much as Mt. Everest. So, when they collide, it's quite the event.
![A glowing blue sphere emitting a green pulse.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7ihZengGjMAeGzWwARxCJJ-320-80.png)
Highly magnetic dead star launches mysterious blast of energy
By Robert Lea published
Though magnetars and pulsars are two distinct types of neutron stars, astronomers have spotted a magnetar mimicking a pulsar after launching a mysterious blast of intense radiation.
![A fiery orange sphere against a black background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EbTsdyWPzdYjuf8otUYUhQ-320-80.png)
Newly found star 30 times the size of the sun has an unexpected chemical composition
By Robert Lea published
A newly discovered star 30 times as large as the sun has a baffling chemical composition that could provoke a revision to stellar evolution models.
![A bright blue sphere with blue loops linking its poles.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7SV7V2FBfnCJiu3j3PVT9k-320-80.png)
Recent star death leaves behind highly magnetic stellar corpse
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers are investigating a cosmic crime scene to determine why the death of a massive star left behind a highly magnetic "corpse."
![A swirl of orange turning into a pink disk with a hole at its center.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ziLUfcpZKdNodG7ttnHh3e-320-80.png)
Massive star's gory 'death by black hole' is the biggest and brightest event of its kind
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole violently shredding and devouring a star nine times as massive as the sun.
![Two orange swirls against a black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mVVgPwAMYPpsPtQzZN9rdA-320-80.png)
Small black holes could play 'hide-and-seek' with elusive supermassive black hole pairs
By Robert Lea published
Small pairs of binary black holes could be used to play hide-and-seek' with elusive supermassive black hole binaries via gravitational waves carry the "baritone singing" of these cosmic titans.
![A firey orange, yellow and black sphere next to a comparitively tiny brown sphere](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KBbQQnzzwR3My6e7UgT2z-320-80.png)
These nearby star systems could be good targets in the search for alien life (video)
By Robert Lea published
Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescope, scientists have investigated if nearby exoplanets could support life, or if their stars are blasting them with too much deadly high-energy radiation.
![The orbits of 156 823 asteroids seen by Gaia and released as part of its DR3 release](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/D2Wbrg6v9n7jyEkFQYuMRn-320-80.png)
Over 350 asteroids have hidden moons, Gaia space telescope finds
By Robert Lea published
By precisely tracking the orbit of over 156,000 asteroids, the ESA star-surveying satellite Gaia has potentially found over 350 previously undiscovered asteroid-moon binaries.
![A three colour image of the galaxy ESO 428-G14 as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/p7YNtFMa7tTjYQKgfHMvnY-320-80.png)
James Webb Space Telescope finds a shock near supermassive black hole (image)
By Robert Lea published
By examining a distant supermassive black hole, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found a shocking link between jets and dust around these cosmic titans.
![An illustration shows a neutron star pulsar blasting out fast radio burst](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7ihZengGjMAeGzWwARxCJJ-320-80.png)
Bubble-blowing dead stars could create 'most violent phenomena in the universe'
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have tracked mysterious, violent blasts of radiation called fast radio bursts to plasma-blowing, highly magnetic dead stars or magnetars.
![A glowing ornage sphere with dark brown patches. A white arrow shows its axis of rotation while three purple arrows show its direction of rotation](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/esP7ELWBzEX7i5f7uFyHCD-320-80.png)
Stellar oddball: Nearby star rotates unlike any other
By Robert Lea published
V889 Herculis is an oddball unlike any other star we've ever seen. The nearby sun-like star rotates in a strange way that defies prediction.
![A blazing orange and dark red sphere to the left of a darker orange and brown sphere trailed by a tail of white smoke](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qti3qafPZ5wKb8TQ445Z4D-320-80.png)
Planets of Milky Way's most common stars are less habitable than thought, dead NASA telescope reveals
By Robert Lea published
Planets orbiting red dwarf stars may have a harder time hanging on to the conditions needed for life to arise and survive than previously thought, data from NASA's dead space telescope GALEX reveals.
![Ten glowing light blue spheres against a black background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8MBTZNvjHggotaVBJahze4-320-80.png)
10 new dead star 'monsters' discovered at the heart of the Milky Way
By Robert Lea published
Ten neutron stars found lurking in the Milky Way include cosmic black widows killing stars with "webs" of viscous plasma and a speed demon that spins over 700 times per second.
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