Adam Mann

Adam Mann

Live Science Contributor

Adam Mann is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience, specializing in astronomy and physics stories. He has a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Nature, Science, and many other places. He lives in Oakland, California, where he enjoys riding his bike. 

Articles by: Adam Mann

alien world artist illustration

To find intelligent alien life, humans may need to start thinking like an extraterrestrial

By Adam Mann published

Anthropologist reveals a potentially big flaw in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

Quasar Artist's Impression How Galaxies Refuel

No One Can Agree How Fast Universe Is Expanding. New Measure Makes Things Worse.

By Adam Mann published

We just might need new physics to get out of this mess.

A plume on Betelgeuse (artist’s impression) 1920

Bright Star Betelgeuse Might Be Harboring a Deep, Dark Secret

By Adam Mann published

A new model suggests that the star Betelgeuse committed an act of cannibalism.

This image shows the location of fast radio bursts across the night sky

Origin of Deep-Space Radio Flash Discovered, and It's Unlike Anything Astronomers Have Ever Seen

By Adam Mann published

Mysterious ultra-fast pinpricks of radio energy keep lighting up the night sky and nobody knows why.

An artist's rendition of a binary neutron star merger.

Gravitational-Wave Discovery Reveals Spectacular Crash of Neutron Stars, the 2nd Known

By Adam Mann published

For the second time ever, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has spotted two ultradense stellar remnants known as neutron stars violently crashing together.

a comb jelly that has a disappearing anus

The 14 Wildest Science Stories from 2019

By Adam Mann published

See you next decade, science!

Irrational numbers are real numbers that, when expressed as a decimal, go on forever after the decimal and never repeat.

What Are Irrational Numbers?

By Adam Mann published

They're irrational but they're still logical.

big bang, expansion of the universe.

What Is the Hubble Constant?

By Adam Mann published

It's an expanding problem.

The golden ratio is one of the most famous irrational numbers; it goes on forever and can’t be expressed accurately without infinite space.

Phi: The Golden Ratio

By Adam Mann published

A golden opportunity for misconceptions.

Mars's larger moon, Phobos, is a cratered, asteroid-like object.

What Does It Take to Be a Moon?

By Adam Mann published

When is a moon not a moon — and does it matter?

Wormholes have been proposed as one possible means of traveling through time.

Where Does the Concept of Time Travel Come From?

By Adam Mann last updated

When did time travel stories first appear, and what makes them so popular?

A 3D illustration of a neutron star in the nebula.

What Is a Neutron Star?

By Adam Mann published

A wealth of energy crammed into a tiny, spinning package.

dark matter

Exotic 'Fuzzy' Dark Matter May Have Created Giant Filaments Across the Early Universe

By Adam Mann published

Simulations help distinguish a cosmos containing fuzzy dark matter from one without it.

An infinity symbol glows against a dark background.

Can You Count Past Infinity?

By Adam Mann published

How many different types of infinity are there, and can we count past any of them?

an image of the the universe's largest object, the Hercules Corona Borealis great wall

Cosmic Record Holders: The 12 Biggest Objects in the Universe

By Adam Mann published

Things that make you go whoa!

A comparison of an original and deepfake video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Deepfake AI: Our Dystopian Present

By Adam Mann published

Don't believe everything you see.

In an artist's concept, the Indian lander Vikram nears the lunar surface.

Why Is It So Hard to Land on the Moon?

By Adam Mann published

Despite the fact that humans landed on the moon many times during the Apollo missions half a century ago, doing so remains a tough business.

iconic pillars of creation , with tall elephant trunks in the eagle nebula

Meet the 'Giant Elephant Trunks,' Mysterious Cosmic Structures 10 Times Bigger Than the 'Pillars of Creation'

By Adam Mann published

Astronomers have spotted enormous column-shaped structures called Giant Elephant's Trunks in the galaxy

conceptual drawing of a spaceship on alien world

Scientists Are Building a Real-Life Version of the Starship Enterprise's Life Scanner

By Adam Mann published

A novel method relying on biochemistry could provide an unambiguous signal of life on other worlds.

an image of the large magellanic cloud showing cosmic expansion rate discrepancy

One Number Shows Something Is Fundamentally Wrong with Our Conception of the Universe

By Adam Mann published

Here's what's going on with the discrepancies in cosmic expansion measurements.

Artist depiction of a supernova explosion in space.

What Is dark energy?

By Adam Mann last updated

Dark energy is the name physicists have given to the mysterious thing driving the universe's accelerated expansion. It may be a force or a form of energy, and one piece of evidence suggests it is hidden inside black holes.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Why Does Metal Spark in the Microwave?

By Adam Mann published

A sparking mystery

An Apollo 12 astronaut takes "moonshots" with a Hasselblad camera.

What If Humans Never Landed on the Moon?

By Adam Mann published

You will not go to the moon today.

supercomputer simulation of chameleon theory disc galaxy

'Chameleon Theory' Could Explain Why the Universe Is Blowing Up

By Adam Mann published

Cosmic, cosmic, cosmic, cosmic, cosmic chameleon, you come and go.

The radio telescope at Parkes Observatory in Australia revolves at night during routine maintenance.

No Signs of Aliens in the Closest 1,300 Stars, Hunt Funded by Billionaire Reveals

By Adam Mann published

E.T. is still not phoning Earth.

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