Elizabeth Fernandez

Elizabeth Fernandez

Elizabeth is a freelance science writer. She has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Texas at Austin and has worked with telescopes all around the world and in space. Now she writes on astronomy, physics, geology, mathematics, and science and technology in society. 

Latest articles by Elizabeth Fernandez

Imagery of the eye of the storm.

Satellite images capture Hurricane Milton intensifying into Category 5 storm (videos)

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Just 10 days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, Hurricane Milton is headed to the U.S. state.

Climate Change
A chalkboard background shows a drawing of a tblue/teal comet burning upward towared the right. In the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

How to make a comet

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Meta description: Learn how to make your very own comet with these cool NASA experiments.

Comets
a chalkboard texture background features illustrations of stars, constellations, a sun, a rocket and a commet. in the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

Learn about Space with these awesome NASA education videos

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

If you're looking for some great STEM education ideas, this collection of videos and experiments from NASA will blow your mind.

The Universe
A chalkboard background shows a drawing of a teal rocket with a window near the top and to fins on the sides at the bottom.. In the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

All about rockets

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Learn more about rockets while having a blast with these fun NASA experiments.

Launches & Spacecraft
A chalkboard background shows a drawing of a moon pass in front of a drawing of the sun.. In the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

How to recreate a solar eclipse

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

You don't have to wait for the next solar eclipse to learn more about them, not when you can just make your own!

The Sun
A chalkboard background shows a drawing of a moon or round space body with a smattering of large craters. In the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

Whip up a moon-like crater

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Want to learn more about the moon and how craters are formed? This neat NASA experiment will take your learning to new heights.

The moon
A chalkboard background shows a few yellow stars and white dots connected by dotted lines to show constellations. In the to top right, a space.com 25 year anniversary logo.

Inflatable planetarium — Stories in the sky

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Find out how to make your own planetarium and star constellations with these great NASA experiments.

Stargazing
Artist's illustration of the quantum world. Two spherical shapes are connected by a series of blue sparks/strings, they are subsequently surrounded by glowing orange and red streaks of light, the scene is very abstract.

What is quantum gravity?

By Elizabeth Fernandez last updated

Quantum gravity is an attempt to unite the incompatible worlds of quantum mechanics and gravity. We explore it in more detail here.

The Universe
illustration of a blazar shows a bright jet of light in the very center of a scene of swirling orange, gray and purple bands.

What are blazars?

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Reference Discover the fascinating world of blazars: their discovery, formation, and the science behind these energetic cosmic phenomena.

Reference
stalks of corn rise from the bottom, stretching halfway up the image, before a vast dark sky of stars.

Will the constellations ever change?

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

BepiColombo spotted an outpour of carbon and oxygen atoms in Venus' fragile magnetic environment

Constellations
The first sample of asteroid Ryugu received by NASA.

Life beyond Earth may form in the coldest depths of space, Ryugu asteroid samples reveal

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

PAHs may be able to form in cold regions of space, affecting what scientists think about the origins of planets and possibility of alien life.

Search for Life
a gaseous green nebula in the shape of a christmas tree

Watch the 'Christmas Tree Cluster' twinkle in X-rays (video)

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

The twinkling lights of the Christmas Tree Cluster tell us about the science going on there.

Stars
green and yellow auroras in the sky

Historic magnetic storms help scientists learn what to expect when one hits

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Magnetic storms can create amazing auroras, but they also have the capacity to impact our power grid.

Climate Change
a large galaxy shown shining pink, with two nearby galaxies to the upper left. dots of far distant galaxies are littered about

Data science helps cross-check space discoveries 'across time and telescopes'

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

It’s not always easy to match objects from various telescopic surveys. A new method can change this, allowing objects to be matched in up to 100 different surveys.

Tech
A still from the video of the Europa lander undergoing testing.

Watch this Jupiter moon lander handle harsh terrain it may face on Europa (video)

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Landing on Europa is a highly anticipated, possible NASA mission. Engineers recently tested how to successfully land a spacecraft on the icy moon.

The moon
An image of Uranus taken by Voyager 2 on Jan. 14, 1986.

Wonder what it's like to fall into Uranus? These scientists do, too

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

Wind tunnels show what a probe descending into the atmosphere of Uranus or Neptune would probably need to contend with. Such a probe is a high-priority mission for both NASA and ESA.

Uranus
a cone-shaped telescope in orbit above Earth

NASA's SPHEREx mission aims to map 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars

By Elizabeth Fernandez published

NASA has begun construction has started on SPHEREx, a new extraordinary mission that will map the sky in unprecedented detail and color.

Missions