Keith Cooper
Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of "The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.
Latest articles by Keith Cooper
Scientists find record-breaking collection of molecules in 2 extremely ancient galaxies
By Keith Cooper published
"We knew these galaxies were prodigious star factories, perhaps among the biggest the universe has ever seen."
Tiny 14-inch satellite studies 'hot Jupiter' exoplanets evaporating into space
By Keith Cooper published
Hot Jupiters are gas giants so close to their star that the star's heat and radiation can blow the planets' atmosphere away.
Over 100 galaxies seen spewing powerful winds that can halt star formation
By Keith Cooper published
The winds extend tens of thousands of light years above and below galaxies.
Could a 'supervoid' solve an unrelenting debate over the universe's expansion rate?
By Keith Cooper published
Measurements of how fast the universe is expanding differ depending on how you measure the rate. Could a huge under-density of galaxies, including the Milky Way, be to blame?
Why are there no gas moons?
By Keith Cooper last updated
Space mysteries We have rocky moons, ocean moons and ice moons, but where are all the gas moons?
James Webb Space Telescope gazes into 'The Brick,' a dark nebula near the Milky Way's heart
By Keith Cooper published
A dark nebula, also known as "The Brick," was imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Mighty morphin' Centaur rings — a distant icy object's rings are transforming
By Keith Cooper published
What is causing the structure of the dust to evolve, and where exactly the dust comes from, is still a mystery.
Life as we know it may have its roots in an old, cold cosmic cloud
By Keith Cooper published
The discovery is another step along the road to showing that the stuff of life originally came to Earth from space.
Dark matter may be hiding in the Large Hadron Collider's particle jets
By Keith Cooper published
A new study helped scientists better constrain the possible properties of dark matter particles.
'The Making of JUICE' film documents how scientists built a Jupiter-bound spacecraft against the odds
By Keith Cooper published
JUICE blasted off in April 2023 on a mission to explore Jupiter’s ocean moons and learn more about whether they could support life.
Our universe's smallest galaxies hold the largest star factories. Here's why
By Keith Cooper published
Conditions within dwarf galaxies initially produce more stellar-mass black holes than supernova explosions.
James Webb Space Telescope sees major star factory near the Milky Way's black hole (image)
By Keith Cooper published
The JWST has imaged an intense region of star-formation near the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, making findings that could be key to understanding the earliest galaxies.
Hubble Telescope investigates nearby exoplanet, finds it's Earth-size
By Keith Cooper published
The rocky exoplanet LTT 1445Ac, located about 22.5 light years away, has been observed transiting its star by the Hubble Space Telescope.
James Webb Space Telescope makes 1st discovery of disappearing neon around newborn star
By Keith Cooper published
Missing neon in a planet-forming disk of gas and dust indicates a change in radiation that's slowly eroding the disk.
James Webb Space Telescope finds 2 of the most distant galaxies ever seen
By Keith Cooper published
We see these galaxies as they were over 13.45 billion years ago, just between 330 and 350 million years after the Big Bang.
Astronomers pierce cosmic dust of 'Jewel Bug Nebula' to study anatomy of a dying star
By Keith Cooper published
The new spectrograph, named IGRINS-2, will probe regions of star-birth and star-death, as well as observe exoplanets and track the evolution of galaxies.
James Webb Space Telescope detects clues about how Earth formed billions of years ago
By Keith Cooper published
Water vapor observed sublimating from tiny chunks of rock within planet-forming disks is a sign that a process called "pebble accretion" kickstarts the birth of new worlds.
This supermassive black hole is the most distant ever seen in X-rays
By Keith Cooper published
How did supermassive black holes form? JWST and Chandra may have found the answer.
Star explosions boost deep space cosmic rays to near the speed of light
By Keith Cooper published
X-ray observations from the supernova remnant SN 1006 show its magnetic fields align to accelerate cosmic rays.
The rings of Uranus are being held back by its pesky moons
By Keith Cooper published
Large amounts of dust are being expelled from the Uranus system to settle in the ecliptic plane and contribute to the zodiacal light, a new study suggests.
Infrared aurora on Uranus confirmed for the 1st time
By Keith Cooper published
After nearly 40 years of searching, astronomers have now spotted the infrared northern lights on Uranus.
Search for intelligent aliens explores new radio-frequency realms
By Keith Cooper published
Over 1.6 million star systems have been scanned by Europe's LOFAR system so far, but E.T. hasn't been caught phoning home yet.
Nailing down exoplanet orbits could be key to finding ET. Here's why
By Keith Cooper published
A better understanding of exoplanet orbits is helping SETI astronomers reduce their computational costs and conduct their search for intelligent aliens faster.
Curiosity rover discovers new evidence Mars once had 'right conditions' for life
By Keith Cooper published
Thanks to NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, geologists have discovered evidence for ancient rivers on the Red Planet hiding in plain sight, suggesting the planet once had the right conditions for life.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!