Dr Robin George Andrews
@squigglyvolcano.bsky.social
Award-Winning Science Journalist | Volcanology PhD | Stories in
@nytimes @sciam @NatGeo etc | Author: SUPER VOLCANOES 🌋 and HOW TO KILL AN ASTEROID 🚀☄️💥☠️
@nytimes @sciam @NatGeo etc | Author: SUPER VOLCANOES 🌋 and HOW TO KILL AN ASTEROID 🚀☄️💥☠️
Pinned
NASA telescope will hunt down ‘city killer’ asteroids
With an infrared eye, NEO Surveyor will target dangerous space rocks glowing in the dark
www.science.org
NEW: When she worked at NASA’s JPL, Amy Mainzer used to rack up high scores on the 1979 Atari game ASTEROIDS. Very apt, now she’s in charge of a space mission that will save the world from killer asteroids.
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
NEW: America’s returning to the Moon—but there’s a problem. Lunar dust is sharp, corrosive, and potentially fatal. Fortunately, NASA has a solution straight out of sci-fi: a new electric force field designed to blast it away.
Me for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Me for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Inside NASA’s plan to defeat moon dust. (And why it matters more than you think.)
Moon dust is sharp, corrosive, and potentially fatal. NASA’s new electric force field shield is designed to blast it away.
www.nationalgeographic.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:51 PM
NEW: America’s returning to the Moon—but there’s a problem. Lunar dust is sharp, corrosive, and potentially fatal. Fortunately, NASA has a solution straight out of sci-fi: a new electric force field designed to blast it away.
Me for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Me for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
Venus shows an alternate timeline that Earth could have gone down, explains volcanologist @SquigglyVolcano.bsky.social. “I like to say that Earth is paradise and Venus is paradise lost”. More on how volcanoes play a role in making our paradise possible: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/lif...
January 15, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Venus shows an alternate timeline that Earth could have gone down, explains volcanologist @SquigglyVolcano.bsky.social. “I like to say that Earth is paradise and Venus is paradise lost”. More on how volcanoes play a role in making our paradise possible: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/lif...
NEW: So China and the U.S. are racing to land on, then develop bases at, the lunar south pole. Why? Because a lot of water's there—and it can be turned into rocket fuel, making the Moon a low-gravity launching pad to send humans to Mars.
Me for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Me for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
The audacious plan to make rocket fuel on the moon
Using lunar ice to make rocket fuel could help future lunar settlements sustain themselves and provide a launch pad for astronauts to reach Mars.
www.nationalgeographic.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:14 PM
NEW: So China and the U.S. are racing to land on, then develop bases at, the lunar south pole. Why? Because a lot of water's there—and it can be turned into rocket fuel, making the Moon a low-gravity launching pad to send humans to Mars.
Me for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Me for NatGeo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: Remember that weird Mars rock with spots and seeds? They are the best evidence yet for alien life—and scientists are going to cook up those spots and seeds in high-tech labs back home to see if aliens might have been responsible.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Evidence of Life on Mars Could Emerge from Labs on Earth
New laboratory studies could shed light on a rock containing potential signs of alien life that’s stranded on Mars
www.scientificamerican.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
NEW: Remember that weird Mars rock with spots and seeds? They are the best evidence yet for alien life—and scientists are going to cook up those spots and seeds in high-tech labs back home to see if aliens might have been responsible.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
NEW: Remember that weird Mars rock with spots and seeds? They are the best evidence yet for alien life—and scientists are going to cook up those spots and seeds in high-tech labs back home to see if aliens might have been responsible.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Evidence of Life on Mars Could Emerge from Labs on Earth
New laboratory studies could shed light on a rock containing potential signs of alien life that’s stranded on Mars
www.scientificamerican.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
NEW: Remember that weird Mars rock with spots and seeds? They are the best evidence yet for alien life—and scientists are going to cook up those spots and seeds in high-tech labs back home to see if aliens might have been responsible.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: When she worked at NASA’s JPL, Amy Mainzer used to rack up high scores on the 1979 Atari game ASTEROIDS. Very apt, now she’s in charge of a space mission that will save the world from killer asteroids.
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
NASA telescope will hunt down ‘city killer’ asteroids
With an infrared eye, NEO Surveyor will target dangerous space rocks glowing in the dark
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
NEW: When she worked at NASA’s JPL, Amy Mainzer used to rack up high scores on the 1979 Atari game ASTEROIDS. Very apt, now she’s in charge of a space mission that will save the world from killer asteroids.
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
NEW: When she worked at NASA’s JPL, Amy Mainzer used to rack up high scores on the 1979 Atari game ASTEROIDS. Very apt, now she’s in charge of a space mission that will save the world from killer asteroids.
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
NASA telescope will hunt down ‘city killer’ asteroids
With an infrared eye, NEO Surveyor will target dangerous space rocks glowing in the dark
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
NEW: When she worked at NASA’s JPL, Amy Mainzer used to rack up high scores on the 1979 Atari game ASTEROIDS. Very apt, now she’s in charge of a space mission that will save the world from killer asteroids.
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
Planet Protector, my new feature for @science.org, is live. www.science.org/content/arti...
NEW: In 2023, twin earthquakes devastated parts of southern Turkey and Syria. All eyes are now on Istanbul, which has its own worrying fault system—one that will, inevitably, produce a large and tremendously devastating earthquake.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...
Turkey’s Largest City Is Threatened by a Lurking Seismic Catastrophe
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
NEW: In 2023, twin earthquakes devastated parts of southern Turkey and Syria. All eyes are now on Istanbul, which has its own worrying fault system—one that will, inevitably, produce a large and tremendously devastating earthquake.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
Webb breaks its own record by identifying the earliest supernova to date, a star that exploded when the Universe was only 730 million years old.
To astronomers' surprise, this early supernova looks exactly like modern supernovae based on data gathered so far 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
To astronomers' surprise, this early supernova looks exactly like modern supernovae based on data gathered so far 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
December 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Webb breaks its own record by identifying the earliest supernova to date, a star that exploded when the Universe was only 730 million years old.
To astronomers' surprise, this early supernova looks exactly like modern supernovae based on data gathered so far 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
To astronomers' surprise, this early supernova looks exactly like modern supernovae based on data gathered so far 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
Here is the latest tsunami information for the M7.6 earthquake that just struck offshore northern Japan. The warnings are for waves up to 3 m, but the highest waves measured so far are <0.5 m. It is still possible for larger waves to arrive.
1/2
www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.ht...
⚒️ 🧪
1/2
www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.ht...
⚒️ 🧪
December 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Here is the latest tsunami information for the M7.6 earthquake that just struck offshore northern Japan. The warnings are for waves up to 3 m, but the highest waves measured so far are <0.5 m. It is still possible for larger waves to arrive.
1/2
www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.ht...
⚒️ 🧪
1/2
www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.ht...
⚒️ 🧪
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
☄️ Our #ESAJuice team couldn't wait until February, when they will receive data on #3IATLAS from the mission's science instruments.
So they downloaded just a quarter of an image from its navigation camera to get a surprise sneak preview.
More info and annotations 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🔭 🧪
So they downloaded just a quarter of an image from its navigation camera to get a surprise sneak preview.
More info and annotations 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🔭 🧪
December 4, 2025 at 2:09 PM
☄️ Our #ESAJuice team couldn't wait until February, when they will receive data on #3IATLAS from the mission's science instruments.
So they downloaded just a quarter of an image from its navigation camera to get a surprise sneak preview.
More info and annotations 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🔭 🧪
So they downloaded just a quarter of an image from its navigation camera to get a surprise sneak preview.
More info and annotations 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🔭 🧪
Fun fact: in the 1950s, the U.S. briefly considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon as both a display of technological might viewable from Earth and a way to do some very dramatic geological research.
They reconsidered, deciding that a lunar landing would be a bit less bonkers.
They reconsidered, deciding that a lunar landing would be a bit less bonkers.
December 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Fun fact: in the 1950s, the U.S. briefly considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon as both a display of technological might viewable from Earth and a way to do some very dramatic geological research.
They reconsidered, deciding that a lunar landing would be a bit less bonkers.
They reconsidered, deciding that a lunar landing would be a bit less bonkers.
NEW: Not long after Earth formed, it received a giant sucker punch when an object named Theia crashed into it, unleashing debris that made the Moon. But where did Theia come from—the outer solar system?
Nope. The Moon-making impact was an inside job.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
Nope. The Moon-making impact was an inside job.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
The Moon Was an Inside Job
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:46 PM
NEW: Not long after Earth formed, it received a giant sucker punch when an object named Theia crashed into it, unleashing debris that made the Moon. But where did Theia come from—the outer solar system?
Nope. The Moon-making impact was an inside job.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
Nope. The Moon-making impact was an inside job.
Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
NEW: NASA may not have been able to speak about 3I/ATLAS during the government shutdown, but now that's over, they got to showcase a bunch of fantastic new shots of it.
Spoiler alert: it's still a comet. But it's also very cool, and robots on Mars saw it.
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Spoiler alert: it's still a comet. But it's also very cool, and robots on Mars saw it.
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
NASA caught a view of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from Mars
NASA released new images of 3I/ATLAS as it plunged towards the sun, captured by a host of the agency’s robots and probes.
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:43 PM
NEW: NASA may not have been able to speak about 3I/ATLAS during the government shutdown, but now that's over, they got to showcase a bunch of fantastic new shots of it.
Spoiler alert: it's still a comet. But it's also very cool, and robots on Mars saw it.
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Spoiler alert: it's still a comet. But it's also very cool, and robots on Mars saw it.
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
NEW: Around Halloween, a Japanese astronomer caught two strange bright flashes on the Moon, one after the other. What were these spooky lights? Aliens having a rave?
Nope. They were asteroid impacts: a reminder that the Moon is a constant battleground.
@nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/s...
Nope. They were asteroid impacts: a reminder that the Moon is a constant battleground.
@nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/s...
What Were Those 2 Spooky Flashes That Lit Up the Moon?
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:57 AM
NEW: Around Halloween, a Japanese astronomer caught two strange bright flashes on the Moon, one after the other. What were these spooky lights? Aliens having a rave?
Nope. They were asteroid impacts: a reminder that the Moon is a constant battleground.
@nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/s...
Nope. They were asteroid impacts: a reminder that the Moon is a constant battleground.
@nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/s...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts.
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
An inside look into NASA's next generation moon rovers
A retro-futuristic space truck. A nimble crustacean on wheels. A space-age dune buggy. One will win a multibillion-dollar prize to deploy on a future NASA Artemis mission. But first, we took a ride on...
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts.
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts.
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
An inside look into NASA's next generation moon rovers
A retro-futuristic space truck. A nimble crustacean on wheels. A space-age dune buggy. One will win a multibillion-dollar prize to deploy on a future NASA Artemis mission. But first, we took a ride on...
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts.
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way.
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Sorry, but interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS really is a comet, not aliens
Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are exciting, but there is no reason to claim that they are evidence of alien spacecraft – sometimes a comet is just comet, says Robin George Andrews
www.newscientist.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way.
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes.
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Hurricane Melissa Literally Made the Earth Shake Hundreds of Miles Away
Seismometers picked up the ferocious winds and waves of Hurricane Melissa, showing how the tools can be used to better understand storms today and those from the past
www.scientificamerican.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes.
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Reposted by Dr Robin George Andrews
NEW: Some alien worlds orbiting right next to their stars seem to have a lot of water—but how?
A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts.
Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts.
Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
Alien worlds may be able to make their own water
Ocean planets could arise from rocks reacting with thick hydrogen atmospheres, lab experiments show
www.science.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
NEW: Some alien worlds orbiting right next to their stars seem to have a lot of water—but how?
A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts.
Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts.
Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way.
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Sorry, but interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS really is a comet, not aliens
Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are exciting, but there is no reason to claim that they are evidence of alien spacecraft – sometimes a comet is just comet, says Robin George Andrews
www.newscientist.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way.
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft.
Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Update: it happened!
Editors: if you let me write a story that’s essentially called “It’s a fucking comet, people. It’s just a comet” about 3I/ATLAS, with exactly that tone, I will basically write it for free.
Quite the battle royale here.
October 30, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Update: it happened!
NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes.
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Hurricane Melissa Literally Made the Earth Shake Hundreds of Miles Away
Seismometers picked up the ferocious winds and waves of Hurricane Melissa, showing how the tools can be used to better understand storms today and those from the past
www.scientificamerican.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes.
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...
Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone.
Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...