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 sideways Earth glimmers in this photo taken from the International Space Station](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uvwS2jb52ULuEJzxN9b9z8-320-80.jpeg)
The world turns sideways in trippy, glowing Earth photo from the International Space Station
By Brandon Specktor published
ISS astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured a trippy new photo of orange 'airglow' streaming past the sideways Earth.
![The center of the Milky Way, as seen by NASA's Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PYEW5zFPa9Pqk5CZBvgfeY-320-80.jpeg)
Strange, repeating radio signal near the center of the Milky Way has scientists stumped
By Brandon Specktor published
Scientists detected a repeating radio signal near the center of the Milky Way, and it's unlike anything else they've ever studied.
![Antarctica's Twaites Glacier, climate change, ice melt](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SsxvaYBNVXpM9AxDaea9TC-320-80.jpeg)
Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is fighting an invisible battle against the inner Earth, new study finds
By Brandon Specktor published
Researchers studied geothermal heat flow below West Antarctica, and found that the infamous Thwaites Glacier is being disproportionately cooked from below.
![Two aircraft reported seeing a bright green UFO over Canada in July 2021.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rnoTxDUeAgYaneevNArQ26-320-80.jpeg)
Two planes report 'bright green UFO' swooping through the clouds over Canada
By Brandon Specktor published
Two aircrafts flying over Canada reported a "bright green UFO" that disappeared into the clouds on July 30.
![EU satellite imagery shows an extreme heatwave in Greece and Turkey in early August. A new report found July 2021 to be the hottest month on Earth in recorded history.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qDyFr7PTXb49AachXPeU3T-320-80.jpeg)
July 2021 was officially the hottest month ever
By Brandon Specktor published
July 2021 was the single hottest month in history, according to a new NOAA report.
![The Hubble Space Telescope is back online!](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4rZDATYYWdqW4FtgK5mzJX-320-80.jpg)
Hubble telescope revived after a grueling month of darkness. Here's what went wrong.
By Brandon Specktor published
After more than a month in safe mode, the Hubble Space Telescope is back online. A wonky power regulator circuit may be to blame.
![This bright star's distinct teardrop shape suggests that it is being tugged by a powerful, invisible companion](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dCiUB8oVbm2ghUtQkFxft3-320-80.jpg)
Rare 'teardrop' star and its invisible partner are doomed to explode in a massive supernova
By Brandon Specktor published
Astronomers detected a rare teardrop-shaped star that is being ripped apart by an invisible white dwarf, pushing the pair toward an inevitable supernova explosion.
![A map showing sea surface height anomalies in 2021, with ares in red and orange representing sea levels 10 to 15 cm higher than normal.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eCUrdCCLfY3kFUXnu2Teaf-320-80.jpeg)
A 'wobble' in the moon's orbit could result in record flooding in the 2030s, new study finds
By Brandon Specktor published
Coastal flooding could quadruple in the US in the 2030s, a new study of the lunar cycle and sea level rise finds.
![The floor is lava; June 2021 was the hottest June in North American history.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QLZFNm9LNv4AnA2tY6Y4rg-320-80.jpeg)
June 2021 smashed heat records in North America
By Brandon Specktor published
Satellite data finds that June 2021 was the hottest June ever recorded in North America.
![An artist's impression of the early universe, around the time of the elusive hypernova explosion.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s6MjBiYYtrAFDVo2irMW4D-320-80.jpeg)
Rare 'hypernova' explosion detected on fringes of the Milky Way for the first time
By Brandon Specktor published
Researchers found evidence of an elusive magneto-rotational hypernova explosion for the first time ever.
![Voyager Nasa Solar System Heliosheath](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/j2kT4XDmKyrUDnr8QFPTKn-320-80.jpeg)
The edge of the solar system is a blob, 3D map reveals
By Brandon Specktor published
Scientists used solar wind to make the first 3D map of the heliosphere, which protects Earth from deadly cosmic radiation.
![Earth's solid inner core may be growing in a 'lopsided' pattern, new research suggests.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DRR8SLRKncU7vMJfBKriMa-320-80.jpeg)
Earth's core is growing 'lopsided' and scientists don't know why
By Brandon Specktor published
New seismic models show that Earth's inner core may be growing faster in the east than in the west, creating a 'lopsided' pattern at the center of our planet.
![A new image of the Necklace Nebula created by the combination of several exposures from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MWAKy56SfsxBXsUEa66RAN-320-80.jpg)
Distant star drowns its partner in gas, forming gorgeous 'Necklace Nebula'
By Brandon Specktor published
NASA shared an image of the stunning Necklace Nebula, created by two stars locked in a dance of mutually assured destruction.
![A bottle of Petrus 2000 wine, which spent 14 months in space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MeKhnHiiYsFe54itmTbj2c-320-80.jpeg)
First bottle of wine 'aged in space' is for sale at Christie’s
By Brandon Specktor published
A bottle of merlot that spent a year aboard the International Space Station is up for sale at Christie's auction house. It is expected to earn roughly $1 million
![An artist's conception of the early Earth, showing a surface bombarded by large impacts that result in the extrusion of magma onto the surface.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4PzcNXEKhkgD7UZ28R75iX-320-80.jpg)
Earth's crust is way, way older than we thought
By Brandon Specktor published
Earth's continents have been leaking nutrients into the ocean for at least 3.7 billion years, new research suggests.
![The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by rotating astronaut crews since November 2000.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WcE8TNJRCaoRrYmNeviELD-320-80.jpg)
Russia wants to build its own space station to replace the ISS, state officials say
By Brandon Specktor published
Russia is building modules for a new space station, which could potentially replace the International Space Station by the year 2025, officials said.
![NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the "spiders" at Mars' south pole on May 13, 2018.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4QZnLNUgjsFtBuzfJk8AnU-320-80.jpeg)
Spooky 'spiders on Mars' finally explained after two decades
By Brandon Specktor published
Enormous "spiders" cover the Martian south pole, and scientists finally have experimental evidence to show how they're created.
![The radio jellyfish is more than 1 million light-years wide.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f2bsrRezfQ7LUxacSfEQbE-320-80.png)
Astronomers see a ghostly 'radio jellyfish' rise from the dead in the southern sky
By Brandon Specktor published
Astronomers discovered a radio structure that looks like a gigantic jellyfish, though it only glows in certain wavelengths.
![The Hyades star cluster, located in the head of Taurus, is slowly being pulled apart by an invisible monster.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GwbSrQNgPtpVMcW46tQsNK-320-80.jpg)
A 'lump' of dark matter may be ripping apart Taurus' face
By Brandon Specktor published
The Hyades — the closest star cluster to our sun — is being stretched by an invisible 'lump,' researchers say.
![An animation showing how the moon's sodium "tail" appears from Earth. Only a few days after each new moon, when the moon moves between Earth and the sun, is the tail visible from Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/88ApbcVgGPVHpVnz5grQqn-320-80.gif)
The moon has a tail, and Earth wears it like a scarf once a month
By Brandon Specktor published
The tail is invisible to the naked eye but appears on all-sky cameras during every new moon.
![Artist's concept of a space hurricane, pouring plasma high over the North Pole.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gxUWFa58tKWaMcaQ9KAcek-320-80.jpg)
First-ever 'space hurricane' detected over the North Pole
By Brandon Specktor published
Astronomers detected the first-known 'space hurricane' raging over the North Pole for 8 hours in 2014, a new study found.
![Swirling hills in northern Russia have scientists perplexed.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o5ahDogT5PYmzMNVKCoujP-320-80.jpg)
Mysterious stripes spotted over Russia in satellite images — and NASA is perplexed
By Brandon Specktor published
Scientists can't agree on why these hills in the Russian Arctic ripple with stripes.
![An artist's concept of an electric Martian dust storm. New research shows that Martian storms may "crackle with electricity," but are probably incapable of generating long bolts of lightning.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rsuA5ZQkb6QT9Ei68WVroC-320-80.jpg)
Martian dust storms may spark electric purple glow
By Brandon Specktor published
Colliding dust particles on Mars probably produce static electricity, a new experiment reveals.
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