Brandon is the space / physics editor at Live Science. With more than 20 years of editorial experience, his writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. His interests include black holes, asteroids and comets, and the search for extraterrestrial life.
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Where is Einstein's brain?Following his death in 1955, Albert Einstein's brain was removed, cut into 240 pieces and slowly distributed to scientists around the world. But where is Einstein's brain now?
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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Air pressure makes Mount Everest 'shrink' by thousands of feet, new study findsSeasonal changes in air pressure sometimes make Mount Everest's "perceived elevation" to shrink by thousands of feet, a new study finds.
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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Watch a 'ring of fire' eclipse play out from space in epic new NASA footageA partial solar eclipse on Oct. 25 looked like an epic ring of fire when viewed by NASA's Hinode satellite, new footage reveals.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Collapsed Arecibo telescope offers near-Earth asteroid warning from beyond the graveThe famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico completely collapsed in 2020. Now, scientists going through its final observations offer a major new asteroid report.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Adorable 'smiling' sun could batter Earth with geomagnetic storms this weekendWith three dark blotches popping up in the sun's atmosphere, our closest star seems to 'smile' even as it pelts our planet with charged-up solar wind.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Grisly new footage shows orcas attacking a great white shark and eating its liverNewly released video shows a gang of killer whales in South Africa attack and slaughter a great white shark.
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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UFOs are finally getting the big NASA study they deserveFollowing years of increased government interest in unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), NASA has officially launched a nine-month investigation into uncovering their mysteries.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Massive 'proton aurora' blasted a 250-mile-wide hole in Earth's ozone layerIn June 2015, a little-known type of aurora cut a Grand-Canyon-size ozone hole in Earth's mesosphere. Scientists have finally assessed the damage.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Stunning (and spooky) photos of the final solar eclipse of 2022On Tuesday, Oct. 25, half the world saw the moon's shadow creep over the surface of the sun in the year's last partial solar eclipse.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Stunning 'pillars of creation' shine like never before in new James Webb Telescope imageThe towering pillars of creation, captured by the James Webb Telescope, are a nursery of newborn stars that’s been slowly destroying itself for millions of years.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Energy jet traveling 7 times the speed of light appears to break the laws of physicsA jet of particles released by two colliding stars appears to be moving seven times faster than the speed of light — but astronomers blame a cosmic illusion known as superluminal motion.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Are there really UFOs flying over Ukraine?A recent report about pitch-black "phantom" UFOs in the skies over Ukraine has been discredited by the Ukrainian government and by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Aliens May Well Exist in a Parallel Universe, New Studies FindCould alien life be hiding in the multiverse? New studies say, "sure!"
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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A Parasite Spread by Cat Poop Is Infecting (and Probably Killing) Whales in CanadaFifteen of 34 dead beluga whales tested positive for a potentially lethal cat-poop parasite.
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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The CIA wants to bring woolly mammoths back from extinctionThe CIA is the latest investor in Colossal Biosciences, a company that wants to bring woolly mammoths and Tasmanian tigers back from extinction using DNA editing.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Mt. Everest's highest glacier lost 2,000 years worth of ice since the 1990sThe highest glacier on Mount Everest is losing ice at an alarming rate, new research finds.
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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One of the most extreme black hole collisions in the universe just proved Einstein rightA monster merger between two black holes sent ripples through time and space, and may prove Einstein right about a gravitational phenomenon called precession.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Watch the Draconid meteor shower rain fire over Earth on Oct. 8 and 9The Draconid meteor shower peaks on Oct. 8 and 9, but will be largely outshined by the full Hunter's Moon.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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How much water do you really need to drink?Hydration is the key to a happy and healthy life, but how much water do you really need to drink?
By Brandon Specktor Published
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'Cataclysmic' 50-minute orbit between two stars is the fastest ever recordedAstronomers have discovered a rare binary star system with an orbital period of just 51 minutes – a blazing new record.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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The full Hunter's Moon could outshine a 'dragon' meteor shower on Oct. 9October’s full moon, also called the Hunter’s Moon, rises Oct. 9. Here’s how to watch, and the story behind its name.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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A 'galactic underworld' of ancient, blown-up stars lurks just beneath the Milky Way's surfaceWhere are all the galaxy's dead stars hiding? New research draws the map.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Could an asteroid destroy Earth?When large asteroids hit the Earth, they trigger mass extinctions and climate chaos. But could an asteroid destroy the planet entirely?
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Astronomers discover secret star at the center of gorgeous Cat's Eye NebulaAstronomers modeled the stunning Cat's Eye Nebula in 3D, revealing the mysterious planetary nebula's history for the first time.
By Brandon Specktor Published

