Lisa Grossman is the astronomy writer for Science News. Previously she was a news editor at New Scientist, where she ran the physical sciences section of the magazine for three years. Before that, she spent three years at New Scientist as a reporter, covering space, physics and astronomy. She has a degree in astronomy from Cornell University and a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz. Lisa was a finalist for the AGU David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, and received the Institute of Physics/Science and Technology Facilities Council physics writing award and the AAS Solar Physics Division Popular Writing Award. She interned at Science News in 2009-2010.

All Stories by Lisa Grossman

  1. Tech

    Gecko-inspired robot grippers could grab hold of space junk

    Aboard a microgravity plane, NASA is testing gecko-inspired grippers that one day could help clear up space junk.

  2. Astronomy

    Satellite trio will hunt gravitational waves from space

    The European Space Agency has green-lighted the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, expected to launch in 2034.

  3. Astronomy

    Kepler shows small exoplanets are either super-Earths or mini-Neptunes

    The final catalog from the Kepler space telescope splits Earthlike exoplanets into two groups and pinpoints 10 new rocky planets in the habitable zone.

  4. Astronomy

    Eclipse watchers catch part of the sun’s surface fleeing to space

    A serendipitous eruption during a solar eclipse showed relatively cool blobs of plasma, wrapped in a million-degree flame, streaming from the sun.

  5. Planetary Science

    Jupiter’s precocious birth happened in the solar system’s first million years

    Jupiter formed within the first million years of the solar system, according to meteorite measurements.

  6. Cosmology

    Milky Way’s loner status is upheld

    Galaxy surveys show the Milky Way lives in a vast cosmic void, which could help ease tensions between ways of measuring how fast the universe is expanding.

  7. Astronomy

    Einstein’s light-bending by single far-off star detected

    A measurement so precise Einstein thought it couldn't be done has demonstrated his most famous theory on a star outside the solar system for the first time.

  8. Enzymes Exposed

    Clearer views of the cell’s movers and shakers threaten a century-old mainstay of biology.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Taste of power goes to the head, then muscles

    Just a swish of the carbohydrates in an energy drink can increase muscle performance, a study suggests.

  10. Physics

    Making clouds with lasers

    Inspired by a classic particle physics experiment, researchers get water droplets to condense by shooting a light beam skyward.

  11. Physics

    Reverse engineering a quantum compass

    Physicists propose a method that could explain how birds’ magnetic-sensing organs work.

  12. Physics

    Lasing Beyond Light

    Laser physicists have set their sights on new types of waves — manufacturing beams of sound, creating plasma swells and looking for ripples in spacetime.