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

    Betelgeuse’s buddy leaves a wake in the giant star’s atmosphere

    The wake left by Betelgeuse’s companion could solve a decades-old mystery of its strange brightness cycles.

  2. Astronomy

    Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought

    The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.

  3. Space

    First maps of the sun’s outer boundary may help predict solar storms

    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has mapped the shifting boundary between the sun and the rest of the solar system.

  4. Space

    These space stories made us look up in 2025

    Space is always inspiring and 2025 was no exception, with finding Betelgeuse’s buddy, debuting a prolific survey telescope and more.

  5. Space

    The Vera Rubin Observatory is ready to revolutionize astronomy

    Sporting the world’s largest digital camera, the new telescope is poised to help solve some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.

  6. Space

    A Soviet spacecraft has returned to Earth

    Kosmos 482 launched for Venus in 1972 but never left Earth orbit. The spacecraft finally lost enough energy that it couldn't fight gravity anymore.

  7. Astronomy

    A claimed hint of alien life whips up spirited debate

    Astronomers have a lot of thoughts about the latest paper claiming we’ve found the strongest hints of alien life yet on the distant planet K2 18b.

  8. Space

    A NASA rover finally found Mars’ missing carbon

    The Curiosity rover identified hidden caches of the mineral siderite, which could help explain why Mars lost its habitable climate.

  9. Planetary Science

    Check out some of the weird rocks that have turned up on Mars

    Some of the unusual rocks carry stories about water on Mars. One has hints of long-gone microbes. All tell of a dynamic, complex planet.

  10. Space

    JWST spots the earliest sign yet of a distant galaxy reshaping its cosmic environs

    The galaxy, called JADES-GS-z13-1, marks the earliest sign yet spotted of the era of cosmic reionization at 330 million years after the Big Bang.

  11. Space

    The nearest single star to Earth has four small planets

    Last year, astronomers announced that a planet orbits Barnard’s star. Now, researchers have confirmed the existence of three more.

  12. Cosmology

    New baby pictures of the universe deepen a cosmic mystery

    Cosmic microwave background data support cosmology’s standard model but retain a mystery about the universe’s expansion rate.