Lisa Grossman

Lisa Grossman

Astronomy Writer

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. Space

    The first magnetar flare detected from another galaxy was tracked to its home

    An outburst from the super magnetic remains of a star suggests similar eruptions are behind some of the most powerful explosions in the universe.

  2. Space

    The Parker Solar Probe will have company on its next pass by the sun

    The probe is about to make another close pass of the sun. This time, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo and others will be watching too.

  3. Space

    Here are the highlights from a busy year in space launches

    Satellites, Mars rovers and astronauts launched into space in 2020.

  4. Space

    How future spacecraft might handle tricky landings on Venus or Europa

    Scientists are getting inventive with ways to touch down on these worlds, where landers will face obstacles not seen elsewhere in the solar system.

  5. Space

    Hayabusa2’s asteroid dirt may hold clues to the early solar system

    “We collected the treasure box,” a Japanese space scientist announced after a capsule holding samples from asteroid Ryugu safely landed on Earth.

  6. Planetary Science

    China is about to collect the first moon rocks since the 1970s

    The robotic Chang’e-5 mission, which landed on an unexplored region of the moon December 1, aims to gather samples and return them to Earth.

  7. Space

    Astronomers spotted colliding neutron stars that may have formed a magnetar

    Astronomers may have witnessed the formation of a kind of rapidly spinning, extremely magnetized stellar corpse for the first time.

  8. Astronomy

    Betelgeuse went dark, but didn’t go supernova. What happened?

    Astronomers are anxious to learn why Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky, dimmed dramatically, but didn’t explode, in 2019.

  9. Astronomy

    Arecibo Observatory, an ‘icon of Puerto Rican science,’ will be demolished

    The telescope, known for cameos in moves like Contact and for fast radio burst observations, was feared to be on the verge of collapse.

  10. Space

    Planets with many neighbors may be the best places to look for life

    Solar systems with many planets in circular orbits suggest a calm life-nurturing past, while single exoplanets with eccentric orbits hint at chaos.

  11. Planetary Science

    Chemical reactions high in Mars’ atmosphere rip apart water molecules

    Mars is so dry because its water constant escapes into space. A new study suggests this process occurs in the ionosphere and faster than thought.

  12. Planetary Science

    Doubts over a ‘possible sign of life’ on Venus show how science works

    Detecting phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere made headlines, but reanalyses and new searches call into question the original discovery of the molecule.