Lisa Grossman

Astronomy Writer, Science News

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 the University of California, 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. Chemistry

    Diamonds and more suggest unusual origins for asteroids

    Inside a meteorite, scientists found sulfur and iron wrapped in tiny diamonds. Those gems hint the rock formed inside a long-lost planet.

  2. Planets

    Uranus has stinky clouds

    Hydrogen sulfide makes Uranus reek of rotten eggs.

  3. Planets

    Asteroids may have delivered water to early Earth

    Scientists shot mineral pellets at a simulated planet. It showed an impact wouldn’t have boiled off all of an asteroid’s water.

  4. Planets

    Flared! How a planetary ‘neighbor’ may have been fried

    Hoping for life on the planet our stellar neighbor Proxima Centauri? Don’t hold your breath. Its star may have sterilized its Earthlike exoplanet.

  5. Planets

    Here’s why Venus is so unwelcoming

    Venus is hard to study. Scientists also find it hard to get money to send spacecraft there. But researchers have ideas about how to tackle both challenges.

  6. Planets

    Saturn’s rings might be shredded moons

    Final data from the Cassini spacecraft put a mass and a date of birth on the gas giant’s iconic rings.

  7. Space

    Weird star explodes over and over, cheating death

    There’s a weird supernova out there. This dying diva may have had multiple explosions, and it’s lately been glowing for more than three years.

  8. Physics

    Ancient light may point to where the cosmos’ missing matter hides

    The universe is missing some of its matter. Now astronomers may have a way to find it.

  9. Planets

    Space toilet may teach scientists how to scout for life on distant icy moons

    Lessons learned from flushing space toilets may help plan life-hunting missions on distant icy moons.

  10. Physics

    Trio wins physics Nobel for detecting gravity waves

    The 2017 Nobel Prize in physics went to three physicists for helping figure out how to search for ripples in spacetime — which launched a new field of astronomy.

  11. Space

    Cassini spacecraft takes its final bow

    Twenty years after it left Earth, NASA’s Cassini mission is about to end — with a crash into Saturn.

  12. Physics

    What scientists hope to learn from Great American Eclipse

    A solar eclipse will travel across North America on August 21. Scientists will use that opportunity to learn more about our home star.