Author: Matthew R. Francis
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Blogging about science for Forbes Magazine
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] As of this week, I will be blogging regularly for Forbes on planetary science, climate change, physics, and math. My first two posts are up; go check them out…
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No quantum foam seen in the cosmic beer glass
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Light from distant black holes doesn’t surf on waves of quantum foam Strongest check yet on quantum gravity effects in astronomy turns up nothing For Ars Technica: Quantum gravity…
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Listening to the sounds of the cosmos
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Last year, I went to a conference in Florida to hear — and in some cases meet — some of the leading thinkers in the study of gravitational waves.…
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A white dwarf murder mystery
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] What killed the white dwarfs? (Aside from the giant explosion) Merger or extra matter? Two papers come to opposite conclusions For Ars Technica: Type Ia supernovae are explosions that…
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Looking to the heavens for neutrino masses
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Looking to the heavens for neutrino masses From Symmetry Magazine: Neutrinos may be the lightest of all the particles with mass, weighing in at a tiny fraction of the…
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A possible ocean like ours on the moon Europa
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Europa’s Salty Sea My first contribution to the brand-new magazine Hakai: You can find bits and pieces of Earth seemingly scattered around the solar system. The surface of Mars…
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That’ll do, MESSENGER. That’ll do.
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Mercury Killed The MESSENGER Probe From The Daily Beast: Pour one out for MESSENGER space probe. Today, at around 3:30 PM EST, MESSENGER crashed into the planet Mercury, no…
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Bathing asteroids with nuclear weapons
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] A gentle nudge with a nuke: deflecting Earth-bound asteroids From Ars Technica: In 2013, a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The sonic boom from the…
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If we could only build one huge observatory….
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Q: Suppose we can only build one big telescope. Should we look for life among the stars or the origins of the universe? I participated in an experts’ roundtable…
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Unless you’re a werewolf, the full Moon isn’t to blame for your problems
[ This blog is dedicated to tracking my most recent publications. Subscribe to the feed to keep up with all the science stories I write! ] Get Over Your Full Moon Fears From The Daily Beast: The full Moon is making everyone crazy. More people get arrested when the Moon is full. The new Moon…
Bowler Hat Science 