
Ben Turner
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
Latest articles by Ben Turner

NASA offers SpaceX $843 million to destroy the International Space Station
By Ben Turner published
The International Space Station is nearing the end of its operational life. Now NASA is developing a plan for SpaceX to destroy it.

Mystery 'random event' killed off Earth's last woolly mammoths in Siberia, study claims
By Ben Turner published
Woolly mammoths survived on Wrangel Island for 6,000 years after their mainland cousins had perished. A new genomic study has revealed that this final population likely died from a sudden, mysterious event.

OpenAI shuts down AI agent that was 'running for mayor' in Wyoming
By Ben Turner published
An AI candidate running in the Wyoming mayoral race has been disabled by the company that developed the technology. But its creator says he has not given up.

'Space potato' spotted by NASA Mars satellite is actually something much cooler
By Ben Turner published
The starchy-looking moon Phobos, destined to crash into Mars' surface, has been revealed in new detail by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The 'space potato' image was recently shared on NASA's Instagram.

Butterflies cross Atlantic ocean on 2,600-mile non-stop flight never recorded in any insect before
By Ben Turner published
Painted lady butterflies discovered in French Guiana — thousands of miles from their usual habitats — got there through a Herculean transoceanic flight.

China rover returns historic samples from far side of the moon — and they may contain secrets to Earth's deep past
By Ben Turner published
China's Chang'e-6 lunar module has returned from the moon's far side with samples in a historic mission. Its success is a key step toward understanding our planet's early history, and a milestone in the race with the U.S. to reach the moon's south pole.

'The early universe is nothing like we expected': James Webb telescope reveals 'new understanding' of how galaxies formed at cosmic dawn
By Ben Turner published
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed five extremely dense proto-globular clusters along a hair-thin arc of glittering stars. The discovery could help them understand how the earliest galaxies formed.

Astronauts stranded in space due to multiple issues with Boeing's Starliner — and the window for a return flight is closing
By Ben Turner published
NASA and Boeing engineers are troubleshooting various faults in the Starliner spacecraft. But with only 45 days of docking time available, the window for return is closing.

AI models could devour all of the internet’s written knowledge by 2026
By Ben Turner published
A new estimate suggests that AI could use up all of the internet’s text data within the next few years. The next recourse could be private information, a new study warns.

'Reverse Turing test' asks AI agents to spot a human imposter — you'll never guess how they figure it out
By Ben Turner published
Four AI models uncovered a human interloper in a startling viral video. But what can it teach us about intelligence?

The 2024 summer solstice will be the earliest for 228 years. Here's why.
By Ben Turner published
The time of the annual summer solstice will be the earliest it's been for centuries and will continue to creep forward every leap year until 2100. But why?

Supermassive black hole roars to life before astronomers' eyes in world-1st observations
By Ben Turner published
Astronomers may be watching a supermassive black hole "waking up" from a long slumber for the first time ever. The researchers think the black hole may have gotten its hands on a glut of new material to devour, causing an uptick in brightness.

Astronomers discover the 1st-ever merging galaxy cores at cosmic dawn
By Ben Turner published
Two superluminous quasars, or active black holes at the centers of large galaxies, were found just 900 million years after the Big Bang — the earliest detection of a pair of merging quasars ever seen.

Gulf Stream's fate to be decided by climate 'tug-of-war'
By Ben Turner published
New research suggests that runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet could prevent icebergs from disrupting key ocean currents. But some scientists have cautioned that other factors may be at play.

James Webb telescope discovers most distant supernova ever seen
By Ben Turner published
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a supernova dating to just 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang, as well as 80 others in the early universe. The ancient explosions could help scientists figure out the mysteries of how the cosmos evolved.

'At least 150,000 tons' of water frost discovered atop Mars' tallest volcanoes
By Ben Turner published
Once thought impossible to exist, water frost found atop Mars' Tharsis region volcanoes could come in handy for future human exploration missions, new research suggests.

James Webb telescope reveals 'cataclysmic' asteroid collision in nearby star system
By Ben Turner published
The James Webb Space Telescope has caught a snapshot of two massive asteroids colliding in a nearby star system — and it could teach us about how common solar systems like our own are.

'Physics itself disappears': How theoretical physicist Thomas Hertog helped Stephen Hawking produce his final, most radical theory of everything
By Ben Turner published
Thomas Hertog tells us how he collaborated with Stephen Hawking on his final theorem — a Darwinian revolution in physics that explains the origin of time.

James Webb telescope finds carbon at the dawn of the universe, challenging our understanding of when life could have emerged
By Ben Turner published
The James Webb Space Telescope has found carbon in a galaxy just 350 million years after the Big Bang. That could mean life began much earlier too, a new study argues.

2 new helium leaks discovered on Boeing's Starliner — forcing NASA astronauts to skip sleep to fix them
By Ben Turner published
Two helium leaks appeared on the spacecraft en route to the International Space Station, in addition to a leak engineers knew about prior to launch. The crew are not thought to be in any danger.

Stunning 'parade of planets' image shows 6 worlds aligned over Earth
By Ben Turner published
A stunning photo of the recent "parade of planets" shows Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in alignment over Earth. It was captured from the U.K. on June 1.

Cutting pollution from the shipping industry accidentally increased global warming, study suggests
By Ben Turner published
A reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions may have caused "80% of the measured increase in planetary heat uptake since 2020."

A 'parade of planets' is coming on June 3. Here's what you can actually expect to see.
By Ben Turner last updated
Six worlds will align for a "parade of planets" on June 3, although only a few of them will be visible to the naked eye. Here's what you need to know about the rare alignment.

GPT-4 didn't ace the bar exam after all, MIT research suggests — it didn't even break the 70th percentile
By Ben Turner published
Last year, claims that OpenAI's GPT-4 model beat 90% of trainee lawyers on the bar exam generated a flurry of media hype. But these claims were likely overstated, a new study suggests.

Scientists may have finally solved the problem of the universe’s 'missing' black holes
By Ben Turner published
Primordial black holes are one of the strongest candidates for the universe's missing dark matter. But a new theory suggests that not enough of the miniature black holes formed for this to be the case.
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