Deepa Jain

Deepa Jain

Live Science contributor

Deepa Jain is a freelance science writer from Bengaluru, India. Her educational background consists of a master's degree in biology from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and an almost-completed bachelor's degree in archaeology from the University of Leicester, UK. She enjoys writing about astronomy, the natural world and archaeology. 

Latest articles by Deepa Jain

An artist's illustration of asteroids, or near-Earth objects, that highlight the need for a complete Space Situational Awareness system.

'God of chaos' asteroid may be transformed by tremors and landslides during 2029 flyby of Earth, study finds

By Deepa Jain published

When the 'God of chaos' asteroid Apophis makes an ultraclose flyby of Earth in 2029, our planet's gravity may trigger tremors and landslides that totally change the asteroid's surface.

Asteroids
Olympus Mons on Mars

The speed of sound on Mars is constantly changing, study finds

By Deepa Jain published

New research shows that the speed of sound on Mars varies considerably by location and temperature. The findings could help scientists understand sounds picked up by Martian rovers, as well as make future crewed ventures safer.

Mars
This image of Uranus from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows the planet and its rings in new clarity. The Webb image exquisitely captures Uranus’s seasonal north polar cap, including the bright, white, inner cap and the dark lane in the bottom of the polar cap. Uranus’ dim inner and outer rings are also visible in this image, including the elusive Zeta ring—the extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet.

Uranus and Neptune aren't made of what we thought, new study hints

By Deepa Jain published

A study suggests the ice giants Uranus and Neptune aren't quite as watery as previously thought. They may also contain huge amounts of frozen methane, potentially solving the puzzle of how they formed.

Solar System
Illustration depicts asteroid Phaethon being heated by the Sun. The asteroid’s surface gets so hot that sodium inside Phaethon’s rock likely vaporizes and vents into space, causing it to brighten like a comet and form a tail.

Geminid meteors may be 10 times older than thought, simulations of oddball asteroid Phaethon suggest

By Deepa Jain published

The comet-like asteroid Phaethon likely lobbed thousands of rocky fragments toward Earth while rapidly spinning around the sun 18,000 years ago, new research suggests ― and it may fling some more soon.

Asteroids
Aerial view of Barringer crater (meteor impact) in Arizona.

Barringer Crater may have been formed by a cosmic 'curveball,' asteroid simulations show

By Deepa Jain published

Asteroids with different spins and bonding strengths may be responsible for the vast variety of impact craters on Earth, including Arizona's Barringer Crater, new simulations show.

Earth