
James Riordon is a freelance science writer who covers physics, math and astronomy, and coauthor of the book Ghost Particle – In Search of the Elusive and Mysterious Neutrino.

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All Stories by James R. Riordon
- Cosmology
New JWST images suggest our understanding of the cosmos is flawed
JWST data don’t resolve a disagreement over how fast the universe is expanding, suggesting we might need strange new physics to fix the tension.
- Space
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx has returned bits of the asteroid Bennu to Earth
Asteroid dirt from Bennu could help reveal clues about the material that came together to make the solar system — and possibly where life comes from.
- Physics
Centuries on, Newton’s gravitational constant still can’t be pinned down
A new experiment could finally answer the question 'What is the strength of gravity?' But it's a hard test to do.
- Physics
Neutrinos offer a new view of the Milky Way
Physicists turned to AI to help map out the newfound origins of ghostly neutrino particles coming from deep in the Milky Way.
- Physics
Physicists split bits of sound using quantum mechanics
New experiments put phonons — the tiniest bits of sound — into quantum mechanical superpositions and show they are as weird as other quantum entities.
- Astronomy
The Parker Solar Probe may have spotted the origin of high-speed solar winds
Kinks in the magnetic fields near the surface of the sun appear to be the cause of fast-moving flows in the solar wind.
- Astronomy
A reappearing supernova offers a new measure of the universe’s expansion
Supernova Refsdal blew up once but burst into view at least five times. The timing of its appearances provides clues to how fast the universe is growing.
- Astronomy
The James Webb telescope revealed surprise asteroids in the Fomalhaut star system
New images of Fomalhaut confirm that an alleged planet is probably just dust while also revealing a new asteroid belt and a “Great Dust Cloud.”
- Astronomy
For the first time, astrophysicists have caught a star eating a planet
A burst of light and a cloud of dust are signs that a star 12,000 light-years away swallowed a planet up to 10 times the mass of Jupiter.
- Physics
Videos of gold nanoparticles snapping together show how some crystals grow
Real-time electron microscopy shows gold nanoparticles tumbling and sliding in a fluid before snapping together in crystalline structures.
- Physics
The W boson might not be heavier than expected after all
A new and improved look at the mass of the W boson is in close alignment with theory, but it doesn’t negate an earlier, controversial measurement.
- Math
Chia seedlings verify Alan Turing’s ideas about patterns in nature
New experiments confirm that complex patterns in plants emerge from a model proposed by mathematician Alan Turing.