Lewis Dartnell

Astrobiologist

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

Recent articles by Lewis Dartnell

What type of life could there be on an exoplanet? Credit: MPRIV/iStock/Getty Images

Could an exoplanet’s atmosphere indicate the presence of life?

Asteroid Itokawa

How do binary asteroids form?

Artist's impression of lightning storms on Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/JunoCam

Could exoplanets host a global electric current?

A 2D surface map of Earth, treated as a proxy exoplanet, shows the continents in green and seas in blue. Credit: Steng Fan

Is it possible to make a map of an exoplanet?

Dead or alive: the study of isotopes in an exoplanet’s atmosphere gives clues about its habitability. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Does oxygen on an exoplanet indicate an Earth-like world?

Can an exomoon make plants grow on tidally-locked exoplanets around dim stars? Credit: NASA/ESA and G. Bacon (STScI), Elen11/iStock/Getty images

Can an exomoon make plants grow?

Carbon dioxide released from hot tectonic plates beneath the sea could affect a water world’s climate. Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech/ NASA

Could water-rich exoplanets experience extreme cooling?

Roman Tkachenko processed this image of crescent Jupiter and its Great Red Spot using raw data captured by the Juno spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Roman Tkachenko

The true nature of our ambiguous ally

Mars. Credit: Art: Kees Veenenbos/Data: Mola Science Team

Life on Mars

An artist's impression of exoplanets in orbit around a star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The search for a second Earth

Credit: Oliver Burston

Life…but not as we know it