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Tom Metcalfe

Tom Metcalfe is a science journalist based in London, where he writes mainly about space, energy, archaeology, Earth, and the oceans. He has written for Scientific American, National Geographic, Live Science, NBC News, BBC News, and others.

Eye of Sauron Hints at Cosmic Mystery

A possible answer to a puzzle at the heart of a flaming jet

August 20, 2025

Rethinking the Big Bang

The largest map of the universe reveals giants at the birth of the universe

June 26, 2025

A Mars Moon Rises at Dawn

The image hints at a longstanding mystery

May 28, 2025

Why We Might Not Find Life on Titan

At most, its oceans may contain biomass equivalent to a small dog

April 25, 2025

Planet Nurseries Are Smaller Than We Thought

An explanation for the abundance of super-Earths

April 14, 2025

How Pebbles Form Planets

It starts with static electricity and dust swirling around young stars

March 31, 2025

Ballooning Around Venus

A scientist floats a new idea for exploring Earth’s twin

March 6, 2025

The Slingshot Effect of Gravity

The pull of the planets is still one of our best bets for space exploration

January 28, 2025

Bringing Mars Rocks to Earth

It’s a bigger challenge than we thought

January 16, 2025

Voyagers Ready to Go Dark

Earth's most distant space probes prepare for their inevitable long night.

December 3, 2024

How to Drill for Extraterrestrial Life on Europa

The formidable challenge of digging through miles of ice millions of miles away.

November 5, 2024

Will Plants Grow on the Moon?

Three Earth plants will soon make a new home on the lunar surface.

September 26, 2024