A strange radio signal came from Earth, not aliens
Here's my latest writings plus a few others I recommend checking out.
Welcome to Ramin’s Space, the newsletter from WIRED space writer Ramin Skibba. You can read more about the newsletter here. If you like it, please consider subscribing and sharing this post. Just wanted to say thank you to my new subscribers, too.
A search for signals from aliens revealed one…from Earth
Astronomers scanning the stars for messages from aliens last year found lots of interference and one mysterious signal. And unfortunately that turned out to be a false alarm too! Still no call from ET yet.
Satellites can spy a menace in West Africa: Invasive Flowers
Sometimes flowers can be the villain. Scientists and experts in Benin are using space technology — imagery from satellites — to track and manage invasive hyacinths in a lake important to communities there.
The FAA weighs the SpaceX launch site’s environmental effects
As SpaceX is gearing up to launch Starships to the moon and Mars, they first need to get a passing grade for the FAA environmental review of their expanded South Texas launch site, next to the Mexico border. How much debris, pollution and noise is too much for wildlife and communities in the area?
NASA is preparing for the ravages of climate change
NASA’s eyes are on space, but everything starts on Earth. NASA’s bracing for impacts to its launchpads and facilities by hurricanes, rising seas, floods, fires, and more. (I was interviewed on Texas public radio about this story too.)
Astronomers probe Europa’s hidden ocean for life
Scientists are making new discoveries of Jupiter's mysterious moon Europa, including about its underground ocean and how alien life could arise within its briny water. No wonder NASA and other space agencies are dispatching missions there.
As SpaceX’s Starlink ramps up, so could light pollution
SpaceX's Starlink is providing broadband internet to more and more people, but how much could its satellite constellation contribute to light pollution in the sky and space debris in the atmosphere? As you’ll see in this story, these are worsening problems and space environmentalists are trying to draw more attention to them.
In other writing…
The coming battle over space
“Experts focused on pursuing peace, or at least safety, in space see two paths to that end: through diplomatic efforts and arms control, or through a new assertion of military supremacy.” And there’s not much of an appetite for space diplomacy. This is an excellent piece by Rachel Riederer in Harper’s magazine about risks of space wars.
Conflicts over the night sky
I’m not the only one writing about debates about the impacts of spacecraft on the dark skies. I recommend reading this piece in Vice by Becky Ferreira about Indigenous groups critical of satellite megaconstellations and this feature story in Science magazine by Josh Sokol about how these proliferating satellites affect astronomers’ efforts to study the stars.
A future for people with disabilities in outer space takes flight
I’m glad to see the European Space Agency and companies like AstroAccess providing a path for people with physical disabilities to travel in space. Let’s see more of this. What a wonderful story, by Amanda Morris in the New York Times.
Microwaves didn’t cause “Havana syndrome”
Despite some superficial media coverage out there, there’s evidence that weird microwave weapons didn’t cause the so-called “Havana Syndrome.” It's more likely at least partly “psychogenic,” as in, a mental phenomenon, according to a declassified State Department report. Interesting story by Dan Vergano in Buzzfeed.
What even counts as science writing anymore?
As we’ve seen especially through climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, many important debates and news stories today involve science in some way, and you can’t write about science without addressing social and political problems, too. Here’s the case for a more expansive perspective on science writing and science journalism, by Ed Yong in The Atlantic.
What I’m reading: Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. I love this collection of his stories, which in some ways prefigures modern science fiction and speculative fiction.
Looking back: A year ago, I published this piece in Knowable magazine about social scientists’ perspectives on Black Lives Matter’s lasting legacy. I think it’s fair to say that the social movement continues to have an impact today, at least at the city and state level.
More about me: I’m the space writer at WIRED magazine, and I’m based in San Diego. I used to be a freelance writer and journalist, and before that, an astrophysicist. You can find me at my website, raminskibba.net, and on Twitter @raminskibba. I’m also former president of the San Diego Science Writers Association (SANDSWA) and on the board of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), though the opinions I express are mine alone. If someone has forwarded this email to you, you’re welcome to subscribe too.