Brandon Specktor
Brandon has been a senior writer at Live Science since 2017, and was formerly a staff writer and editor at Reader's Digest magazine. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. He enjoys writing most about space, geoscience and the mysteries of the universe.
Latest articles by Brandon Specktor
![The newly discovered asteroid 2023 DW flies close by Earth on Feb. 14, 2046.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g4pqkRhNuPLBAyn7BDio5L-320-80.jpg)
Newly discovered asteroid the size of a swimming pool has a 1-in-600 chance of colliding with Earth, NASA says
By Brandon Specktor published
The newly discovered asteroid 2023 DW could collide with Earth in February 2046, although the odds of an impact are low.
![A cracked hillside on Mars looks just like the face of a teddy bear](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KtpYtMuPktQhtb84ALHKUL-320-80.jpg)
NASA spies Martian rocks that look just like a teddy bear
By Brandon Specktor published
A broken hill, an ancient crater and the human tendency to find faces everywhere may explain the teddy bear on Mars.
![A color rendition of NGC 6302, the Butterfly Nebula, created from black-and-white exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2019 and 2020.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VypBRGKUCsZ3rFnZXhJToB-320-80.jpg)
Spectacular Butterfly Nebula offers a glimpse of our sun's final fate
By Brandon Specktor published
New time-lapse images of the beautiful Butterfly Nebula come closer to explaining its spectacular strangeness.
![The Pentagon, home to the U.S. Department of Defense, is being flooded with UFO reports.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SVSDWoZHADcqGkZCfNuGQA-320-80.jpg)
US military reports 'several hundred' UFO sightings in 2022, Pentagon officials claim
By Brandon Specktor published
UFO reports from U.S. military personnel are flooding the government's new All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
![edge of space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ERmDKo5vA9xM2wmUKeK5v7-320-80.jpg)
The Edge of Space Just Crept 12 Miles Closer to Earth
By Brandon Specktor last updated
Where does the sky end and space begin? According to a new study, the edge of space is a lot closer than you think.
![A composite image showing the 58 galaxies clustered together in the "zone of avoidance" behind the Milky Way.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hTzoQacDxxp2SLE57qsEc4-320-80.jpg)
Scientists discover massive 'extragalactic structure' behind the Milky Way
By Brandon Specktor published
An uncharted region of space known as the "zone of avoidance" lurks behind the Milky Way's center – and astronomers just found an enormous, multi-galaxy structure there.
![A government employee photographed a UFO that hovered for 15 minutes near Holloman Air Development Center in New Mexico, on Dec.16, 1957.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6QCaGWS3KQcLEwaJCMAmiK-320-80.jpg)
Most UFOs are 'Chinese surveillance' drones and 'airborne clutter,' Pentagon officials reveal
By Brandon Specktor published
The U.S. government has officially started to explain some of the most infamous UFO encounters of the last decade, with China and weather balloons as top offenders.
![The night sky over Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020. A recent report claims there may be UFOs lurking in the skies of Kyiv, but the country's national science agency thinks otherwise.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/48gzvqjeu9yWcRrPutwLrW-320-80.jpeg)
There aren't actually UFOs over Ukraine, experts say
By Brandon Specktor last updated
A recent report about pitch-black "phantom" UFOs in the skies over Ukraine has been discredited by Ukrainian scientists and by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb.
![A satellite view of the partial solar eclipse seen on Oct. 25, 2022.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7n3G8Cv65DxdoD9QAM2i7Z-320-80.jpeg)
Watch a 'ring of fire' eclipse play out from space in epic new Hinode satellite footage
By Brandon Specktor last updated
A partial solar eclipse on Oct. 25 looked like an epic ring of fire when viewed by the Hinode satellite, new footage reveals.
![An illustration of two black holes merging.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YVfGmNdKp6FKVPpxP5LhBU-320-80.jpg)
One of the most extreme black hole collisions in the universe just proved Einstein right
By Brandon Specktor published
A monster merger between two black holes sent ripples through time and space, and may prove Einstein right about a gravitational phenomenon called precession.
![debris flying from bright impact site](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/i9jEh4bBvgBYdeG8sVTLnU-320-80.jpg)
Could an asteroid destroy Earth?
By Brandon Specktor published
When large asteroids hit the Earth, they trigger mass extinctions and climate chaos. But could an asteroid destroy the planet entirely?
![orange meshlike material broken by a dark spot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g7ftwBFvfHWACUGZ4UQJUM-320-80.jpg)
Why are sunspots black?
By Brandon Specktor published
Why are sunspots black? According to astronomers, it may be a big, cosmic optical illusion.
![rippled swirl of stars against black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RTwnvRzp5x2jLHqYTKsFx8-320-80.png)
The Milky Way is 'rippling' like a pond, and scientists may finally know why
By Brandon Specktor published
New research suggests that a strange 'ripple' is causing the Milky Way's stars to vibrate out of step, and an ancient collision with Sagittarius may be to blame.
![colorful swirl in space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qdqNf568MxzEQrQoe5J6nj-320-80.jpg)
Can the James Webb Space Telescope really see the past?
By Brandon Specktor published
Astronomers are using the James Webb Space Telescope to look back in time. How is this possible? It's just the nature of light, according to NASA.
![U.S. Navy pilot video image of an unidentified aerial phenomenon](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tSYaBe2x7K4mJhUide3eoW-320-80.jpeg)
Classified UFO videos would 'harm national security' if released, Navy says
By Brandon Specktor published
The U.S. Navy admitted that it has unreleased videos of UFO encounters but refused to share them due to 'national security concerns.'
![The night sky over Kyiv, Ukraine in 2020.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Tn3MadHXajCkhsRpbH3QDX-320-80.jpg)
'Cosmic' and 'phantom' UFOs are all over Ukraine's skies, government report claims
By Brandon Specktor published
Dozens of 'phantom' and 'cosmic' UFOs have been detected in the skies over Ukraine, a new government report claims.
![sun spewing material](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KeNunXqcsYrD9FDZYMfMsk-320-80.jpg)
Could a solar storm ever destroy Earth?
By Brandon Specktor published
Could a solar storm ever destroy Earth? According to scientists, there's no evidence that any solar weather has ever harmed a human.
![Overhead footage of the massive sinkhole, located in a rural area in Chile.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bG7sD7LW2jdxwR4qEVQQUo-320-80.jpg)
Enormous sinkhole wide enough to swallow the White House opens in Chile
By Brandon Specktor published
A massive sinkhole measuring more than 100 feet across has opened on mining land in Chile, according to the government's geology mining service.
![Three sequential photos of a 'gigantic jet' lightning bolt blasting out of the top of a cloud over Oklahoma.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C58tBtC77bHxVRUckAZbfZ-320-80.jpg)
'Gigantic jet' that shot into space may be the most powerful lightning bolt ever detected
By Brandon Specktor published
Scientists detected the most powerful gigantic jet lightning bolt — a lightning bolt that shoots up out of a cloud into the ionosphere — ever.
![The night sky light phenomenon called STEVE lights up a sky filled with stars over a lake.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/igGio8o24sqNASb3qQEyVU-320-80.jpg)
'STEVE' descends on North America after surprise solar storm
By Brandon Specktor published
A surprise solar storm bashed Earth on Aug. 7 and 8, triggering an appearance of the mysterious glowing phenomenon called STEVE.
![artist's depiction](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QhSfFfpAE4wLJxcEDbuEii-320-80.jpg)
Surprise! Asteroid wider than 2 football fields barrels past Earth
By Brandon Specktor published
NASA astronomers discovered that a large asteroid would zoom past Earth on Aug. 4, missing our planet by millions of miles.
![An asteroid's rendering of a near-Earth asteroid.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YBBMVvFhxVr6DsAxjLiMw8-320-80.jpg)
Two skyscraper-size asteroids are barreling toward Earth this weekend
By Brandon Specktor published
Two asteroids, 2016 CZ31 and 2013 CU83, are headed toward Earth for back-to-back flybys this weekend.
![deep-field image full of galaxies](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/j7CxbdY6oFKJtMKuHj9ou4-320-80.jpg)
James Webb Space Telescope's 'jewel-filled' photo is stunning. But what are we even looking at here?
By Brandon Specktor published
On July 12, NASA revealed the deepest image of the universe ever taken, courtesy of the James Webb Space Telescope. But what's really happening in this historic image?
![A supercomputer simulation shows massive stars forming (red) in a cloud of ancient gas.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AtjMY9jfmYafqhDx84863d-320-80.jpeg)
The oldest, brightest black holes in the universe were born from violent gas attacks, new study suggests
By Brandon Specktor published
Researchers found that streams of cold gas could create 'seeds' of quasars — ultraluminous supermassive black holes — in the early universe, solving a decades-old mystery.
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