Conor Feehly
Conor Feehly is a New Zealand-based science writer. He has earned a master's in science communication from the University of Otago, Dunedin. His writing has appeared in Cosmos Magazine, Discover Magazine and ScienceAlert. His writing largely covers topics relating to neuroscience and psychology, although he also enjoys writing about a number of scientific subjects ranging from astrophysics to archaeology.
Latest articles by Conor Feehly
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8tu62ZroE8k5iYwNRrrr5G-320-80.png)
This red giant star has starspots larger than the entire sun
By Conor Feehly published
Astronomers modeled sunspot activity on a nearby red giant star to learn about its chaotic interior.
![A jet shoots from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's neck on Jan. 31, 2015.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AoBVVJdXWuQ6yrEvC4M2P5-320-80.jpg)
Comets probably delivered Earth its water billions of years ago, new study reveals
By Conor Feehly published
Scientists have gathered new evidence to suggest icy comets indeed brought water to Earth, long ago.
![Infrared WISE image of LBN 437, which is nicknamed the Gecko Nebula for its resemblance to a downturned lizard head with a pointed snout. This cloud of dust and gas is a region of star formation.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/j5QLnmfpzopqC8WmK7MDqm-320-80.jpg)
Behold! These gorgeous never-before-seen space images are from a NASA space telescope that should have died long ago
By Conor Feehly published
NEOWISE team members have unveiled six images from the spacecraft's archives to celebrate the late space telescope's long and productive scientific life.
![A composite image of Uranus (left) and Neptune based on Hubble Space Telescope observations.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pSVqQ43SdPbu86rUk69rh8-320-80.png)
Neptune and Uranus have a magnetic mystery — but the case may finally be cracked
By Conor Feehly published
We may know why Uranus and Neptune lack dipole magnetic fields, at last.
![a pink a purple rippley blob of gases in space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VmUvCb8LS8CW9SmA7axTzd-320-80.jpg)
Strange 'zebra' patterns are coming from the Crab Nebula — this physicist finally figured out why
By Conor Feehly published
There are strange "zebra" patterns coming from the Crab Nebula, and the reason has to do with plasma refraction.
![a bright orange yellow star hangs behind a red and black striped planet.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aYASfnAmGLt8NZzgJze6eB-320-80.jpg)
Scientists find extremely young exoplanet orbiting star with a wonky disk
By Conor Feehly published
NASA's TESS exoplanet-hunting spacecraft found the youngest transiting world yet, and the exoplanet's star has a wonky planetary disk.
![in a pink haze of space, a galaxy near center top shoots three blue lines downward left, to a gaseous smudge labeled LMC Halo.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rQrqQmjiCvptkju6sfkwQS-320-80.jpg)
Hubble Telescope witnesses Milky Way strip its galactic neighbor of gas
By Conor Feehly published
The Hubble Space Telescope may have captured our Milky Way galaxy being a bit of a bully.
![An illustration of a frozen white Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2NJRkP5CWR878m4fZ4vUGB-320-80.jpg)
'Snowball Earth:' Entire planet was likely covered in ice more than 600 million years ago
By Conor Feehly published
New evidence found in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado supports the notion that Snowball Earth was indeed a global phenomenon.
![A grid of images shows clusters of stars in space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FP3CjqSWnGVyp5jnVru8am-320-80.jpg)
Star cities: New 3D view of globular clusters illuminates their origins (photo)
By Conor Feehly published
Astrophysicists have reconstructed the movement of stars within globular clusters to understand their evolution and origin.
![An aerial view of the massive radio dish at Arecibo Observatory after the telescope's collapse.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kcguQ8g69UwiCsJUZy7VqV-320-80.jpg)
4 years after the giant Arecibo Observatory collapsed, we finally know what happened
By Conor Feehly published
The Arecibo Observatory collapsed in 2020, and a new report suggests a zinc decay was to blame for its death.
![Aerial view of an urban area with a grey brown river flowing through.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rbn4BibZpUJr2f6KmcnxtC-320-80.jpg)
Satellites capture havoc caused by Spanish floods (images)
By Conor Feehly published
Earth observation technology is set to play a larger role in how agencies respond to natural disasters and weather events.
![the thick metal cylinder of a airplane-like turbo fan.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WYCWUpv6xhxz8bSd6A8ekg-320-80.jpg)
Space stations are loud — that's why NASA is making a quiet fan
By Conor Feehly published
NASA's building a quiet fan to help future astronauts have some peace and quiet.
![Two scientists in white coveralls examine a black piece of space tech with wires on one end.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NKeXg8uRN9NPxCxHCogVjS-320-80.jpg)
New NASA coronagraph will measure temperature, speed of solar wind from ISS
By Conor Feehly published
We're about to learn more about the solar wind, thanks to NASA's Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX), which just arrived at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft.
![A large futuristic spaceship with a mid section comprised of the enlarging circles, blasts through black space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TaZ4pvT76N5MBwY5p68bBJ-320-80.jpg)
Design an interstellar 'generation ship' to spend decades among the stars with Project Hyperion competition
By Conor Feehly published
A new design competition, dubbed Project Hyperion, is calling for submissions for the design of a crewed interstellar generation ship.
![a craggy grey moon on a black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/javqeFgcCcM5bTp8vAKcEf-320-80.jpg)
Icy moon of Uranus may have once hid watery secret, Voyager 2 archives reveal
By Conor Feehly published
Surface features of Uranus' icy moon Miranda point to the existence of a once deep ocean, one that still may exist today.
![a brown rusty ground stamped with a circle toward the left side and green spots in Mars rock](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hfX8mzM82Bc6C7ytdcTMqh-320-80.png)
Strange green spots on Mars found by NASA's Perseverance rover (photo)
By Conor Feehly published
NASA's Perseverance rover found strange green spots in Martian rock, potentially indicating a past interaction with liquid water.
![An illustration of a space rock headed toward Earth, creating disturbance in the atmosphere.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Yv8rY6pYeXqRf6u3578vf4-320-80.jpg)
Scientists look back in time to reconstruct explosions in Earth's atmosphere
By Conor Feehly published
An illustration of a cosmic airburst event.
![a black sphere is surrounded in gasses that fade from a bright purple to a dark rust.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jHRWJAg2oe8HABFG8esPUm-320-80.jpg)
NASA peers into the blistering hot plasma swirling around 12 black holes
By Conor Feehly published
Stellar-mass and supermassive black hole coronas have some similarities, and this is great news for black hole physicists.
![a dark mountainous landscape beneath a dark sky with many shooting stars](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/teA7Ma9Q45LXjidjSnNZck-320-80.jpg)
Most of Earth's meteorites may have come from the same 3 spots
By Conor Feehly published
Scientists say they've uncovered where the vast majority of Earth's meteorites came from.
![image showing two faraway galaxies, along with white text describing them and scale bars showing how big they are](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ideG2jqo7TCMTUuKhpwNGW-320-80.jpg)
James Webb Space Telescope spies 'inside-out' star formation in ancient galaxy (image)
By Conor Feehly published
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed 'inside-out' star formation in a galaxy just 700 million years after the Big Bang, fleshing out our understanding of the early universe.
![a researcher holds a white camera, which is focusing on a pair of hands shaping a pile of rocks and dirt on the ground](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/56jVmdHuXw9EYjJ4C4w6cM-320-80.jpg)
New Artemis moon camera gets 1st field test (photos)
By Conor Feehly published
Recently, an international team took the HULC moon camera out for a test drive in lunar-like conditions to improve the camera's design for Artemis moon missions.
![A large bright full moon hangs central in a starry black sky.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BxLGLreRcEk9xX4ycgaLuQ-320-80.jpg)
What's inside the moon? Gravity measurements suggest a layer of molten rock
By Conor Feehly published
In between the moon's solid core and external surface may swirl a partially molten layer of rock.
![This image shows the far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft and the Earth — 1 million miles away.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uDg42cR7NbrAnk6UHGoaKZ-320-80.jpg)
We have the satellite data to show climate change is real. Now what?
By Conor Feehly published
Free, open source climate data can help bridge the gap between information and environmental action.
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