Monisha Ravisetti

Monisha Ravisetti

Astronomy Channel Editor

Monisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times. Prior to becoming a writer, she was an immunology researcher at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in philosophy, physics and chemistry. She spends too much time playing online chess. Her favorite planet is Earth.

Latest articles by Monisha Ravisetti

A side-by-side view of the Ring Nebula, imaged by the JWST.

James Webb Space Telescope offers a mesmerizing look at the Ring Nebula (photos)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

The James Webb Space Telescope strikes again, this time with a beautiful new view of a famous planetary nebula. But don't be fooled  — none of this has anything to do with planets.

James Webb Space Telescope
Two views of a galaxy cluster are seen. On the right, areas where dark matter is expected to exist are shaded in blue.

We still don't know what dark matter is, but here's what it's not

By Monisha Ravisetti published

An experimental detector can now rule out dark matter particles down to about a fifth of a proton's mass.

The Universe
A crowd of oval-shaped elliptical galaxies gather around the largest in the center. They are surrounded by more distant stars and galaxies, that have many shapes and sizes but all are smaller, on a dark background.

Hubble images a museum of galaxies, and some are gravitationally warped (photo)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

A new image released by NASA shows-off the galaxies of Abell 3322.

Hubble Space Telescope
Progression of blue planet become hazier as clouds dissipate

Neptune's clouds have vanished, and the sun may be to blame (video)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Thanks to the sun's 11-year-long cycle, Neptune might be systematically purged of its clouds.

Neptune
An aerial view of Hawaii, taken by the International Space Station camera.

Deadly wildfires in Hawaii seen from International Space Station (photo)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Not only is the devastation being thoroughly documented around the world, but it's also being recorded from space.

Climate Change
a map showing regions of heat across the globe. Almost all areas are highlighted in red, showing that temperatures are rising way quicker than they should be.

July 2023 was the hottest month on Earth since at least 1880 'by a longshot,' NASA says

By Monisha Ravisetti published

In the wake of Hawaii's tragic wildfires, NASA experts discuss our planet's critically rising temperatures.

Climate Change
An artist's depiction of NASA's Parker Solar Probe flying past Venus.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe to make closest flyby of Venus on Aug. 21

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Thanks to some precise maneuvering on Aug. 3, NASA says Parker is on-track to make its sixth and closest flyby of Venus on Aug. 21.

Parker Solar Probe
An image of the sun.

Sun blasts out highest-energy radiation ever recorded, raising questions for solar physics

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Using a 24/7 observatory that can detect when charged particles interact with water, scientists identified record-breaking rays coming from the sun.

The Sun
Various warped galaxies are seen as elongated lines, loops, arcs and smudges against the background of space. The JWST's iconic diffraction spikes are seen toward the center-right of the image.

James Webb Space Telescope unveils the gravitationally warped galaxies of 'El Gordo'

By Monisha Ravisetti published

The enormous galaxy cluster, El Gordo, has been imaged by Hubble in the past — now, the JWST has offered us a fresh new view.

James Webb Space Telescope
On the left, a black and white image showing tons of glimmering spots representing stars and galaxies taken by Euclid's VIS instrument. On the right, a reddish version of a similar scene, taken by NISP.

Euclid 'dark universe' telescope reveals its 1st sparkling images of the cosmos (photos)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Euclid's stunning seminal images confirm that the observatory's instruments are working as expected.

The Universe
A fiery red dwarf star is seen in the background. In the foreground, a tiny black orb transits in front. Around the black orb is a purple hazy atmosphere that's blowing away on either side.

Hubble telescope sees an angry star and an evaporating planet

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Quite close to our solar system, an angry red dwarf star is terrorizing a misfortunate planet by ripping away the world's atmosphere.

Hubble Space Telescope
Levitating particles controlled by a magnetic and acoustic field clump together to form human heart model.

3D-printed hearts on ISS could help astronauts travel to deep space

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Scientists are using new technologies to create 3D-printed hearts that'll be sent to the ISS in about five years. This could be key for a future in which humans are deep-space explorers.

International Space Station
Against a dark backdrop of space, speckled with bright dots representing hundreds of galaxies, a giant reddish splotch at the center depicts an active region of star formation.

James Webb Space Telescope stuns with glowing portrait of actively forming stars (photo)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has used its infrared eyes to produce a highly detailed image of two young stars more than 1,000 light-years away.

James Webb Space Telescope
Scientists bring the ComPair instrument into a blue vacuum chamber for thermal testing. The Goddard logo is on the side of the chamber and the scientists are wearing white sterile uniforms.

NASA to hunt deep space gamma-rays with new high-altitude balloon mission

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Next month, the agency plans to begin detecting invisible signals from some of our universe's most extreme regions.

Missions
NASA experts stand in a dark room with Earth visualizations to show the impacts of climate change.

NASA searches for climate solutions as global temperatures reach record highs

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Scientists with NASA discussed the urgency of climate change mitigation and the innovations that can help us reach our environmental goals.

Climate Change
A streak of blue glowing light is shown against a dark background of space. Around the streak are spots representing the boulders, each one circled to highlight the positions.

Hubble telescope spies cloud of space rocks created by DART asteroid impact (photos)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

NASA's ambitious asteroid collision mission may have created a swarm of boulders filled with key scientific information.

Hubble Space Telescope
looping lines around a glowing star with two different shades of blue on either hemisphere.

Strange two-faced dying star 'Janus' baffles scientists in cosmic oddity

By Monisha Ravisetti published

While routinely scanning the sky for the burnt-out remnants of dying stars, scientists stumbled upon a strange cosmic signal.

Stars
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