Lewis Dartnell

Astrobiologist

Dr. Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiologist and science author based at the University of Westminster.

Recent articles by Lewis Dartnell

View of a planet orbiting a star.Credit: Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library

Can a star be smaller than a planet?

Artist's impression of a super Earth planet. Credit: Getty

What would happen to our Solar System if Earth were replaced by a super Earth?

Artist's impression of NASA’s DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) LICIACube just before impact at the Didymos binary system. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

DART impact mission shows we could deflect Earth-bound asteroid

Supernova close to Earth. Credit: Artist’s impression of a supernova. Credit: Vit_Mar / Getty Images

What would happen if a supernova detonated close to Earth?

A view of Jupiter's moon Io captured by the Galileo spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io probably has a subsurface magma ocean

When can we expect the James Webb Space Telescope's first images? ESA/ATG medialab

James Webb Space Telescope is revealing active exoplanet atmospheres

What would happen if Earth's magnetic field flipped? Credit: Elen11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Scientists discover how a reversal of Earth’s magnetic field could affect our climate

A star like our Sun swelling into a red giant and engulfing its orbiting planets. Credit: Stocktrek Images/Tomasz Dabrowski / Getty Images

Could reducing the Sun’s mass stop it destroying Earth in the future?

A group of SpaceX Starlink satellites in the night sky over Uruguay. Photo by Mariana SUAREZ / AFP via Getty Images

How big a problem are Starlink satellites for astronomers?

Ancient tide marks show the Moon used to orbit much closer to Earth. Credit: Abstract Aerial Art / Getty Images

Ancient tide marks show the Moon once orbited much closer to Earth

What causes the tides? Credit: Yinwei Liu / Getty Images

What causes the tides?

An unknown object slams into Jupiter, causing the most energetic flash seen this century, comparable to the Tunguska event. Credit: Ko Arimatsu

Astronomers observe Tunguska-like impact events on Jupiter

Can astronauts survive radiation on Mars? Credit: cokada / Getty Images

How astronauts can hide from radiation on Mars

An artist's impression of the Trojan asteroids, which share the same orbital path around the Sun as gas giant Jupiter.

Examining Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids

Scientists are teaching drones to hunt for meteorites on Earth. Credit: Curtin University

Scientists are teaching drones to hunt for meteorites on Earth