Alexandra Witze

Nature • 26th May 2022

‘Unsustainable’: how satellite swarms pose a rising threat to astronomy

This story broke the news that SpaceX is no longer putting sunshades on its Starlink satellites.

Nature • 11th May 2022

The $93-billion plan to put astronauts back on the Moon

An in-depth look at NASA's Artemis lunar program.

Science News • 10th March 2022

We're living through a climate crisis. How did we get here?

“What’s happening to the planet is not routine,” says geochemist Ralph Keeling. “We’re in a planetary crisis.”

Grid News • 16th February 2022

Space is turning into a dangerous junkyard

Defunct rockets, satellites and other debris litter the skies. Giant nets, harpoons and robot claws might be part of the solution.

Nature • 8th December 2021

The $11-billion Webb telescope aims to probe the early Universe

A preview of the launch of the hugely ambitious, hugely challenged James Webb Space Telescope.

Nature • 1st October 2021

NASA won’t rename James Webb telescope — and astronomers are angry

The agency found no evidence that the flagship observatory’s namesake was involved in anti-LGBT+ activities, but some say that Webb bears responsibility.

Nature • 14th July 2021

Racism is magnifying the deadly impact of rising city heat

Scientists are mapping correlations between race, poverty and heat in cities, and suggesting solutions to reduce the dangers.

Science News • 6th May 2021

How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news

From lies about election fraud to QAnon conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine falsehoods, misinformation is racing through our democracy. And it is dangerous.

Nature • 16th February 2021

The hunt for life on Mars: A visual guide to NASA’s latest mission

What the Perseverance rover intends to do in Jezero Crater as it collects rocks for return to Earth.

Nature • 23rd September 2020

Universities will never be the same after the coronavirus crisis

How virtual classrooms and dire finances could alter academia. Part 1 in a series on science after the pandemic.

Nature • 14th January 2020

How the fight over a Hawaii mega-telescope could change astronomy

The Thirty Meter Telescope controversy is forcing scientists to grapple with how their research affects Indigenous peoples.

Nature • 16th July 2019

These young scientists will shape the next 50 years of Moon research

Half a century after Apollo, Nature profiles five researchers who are shaking up lunar exploration.

Knowable • 14th March 2019

The secrets of extreme wildfires

Researchers probe the weather-like physics of deadly infernos.

The Open Notebook • 6th November 2018

How to read a scientific paper

It’s one of the first, and likely most intimidating, assignments for a fledgling science reporter. “Here,” your editor says. “Write up this paper that’s coming out in Science this week.”

The Atlantic • 26th April 2018

Earth may have been formed by a bunch of tiny space pebbles

Some 4.5 billion years ago, the solar system was a nursery full of planetary toddlers.

Air & Space Magazine • 1st October 2017

As the earth melts

Seen from the window of a Lockheed P-3 Orion turboprop flying at 1,500 feet, Greenland’s ice seems to go on forever.