
Harry Baker
Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior and paleontology. His recent work on the solar maximum won "best space submission" at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He also writes Live Science's weekly Earth from space series.
Latest articles by Harry Baker

Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2023 astronaut photo shows three dark hills, or mesas, towering above part of the Sahara desert in southern Mauritania. The structures are remnants of a single Paleozoic era formation, and have helped to create a series of striking sand dunes.

Russia accidentally destroys its only working launch pad as astronauts lift off to ISS
By Harry Baker published
The recent launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station has caused significant damage to Russia's only launch pad capable of sending humans into space.

Live Science crossword puzzle #22: Subatomic particle with a positive charge — 13 across
By Harry Baker last updated
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Live Science crossword puzzle #21: NASA rover that landed on Mars in 2012 — 16 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Bizarre, UFO-like halo of red light appears over small Italian town — for the second time in 3 years
By Harry Baker published
An eerie new photo shows a giant red ring shining above Possagno, near the Italian Alps. The eye-catching image is almost identical to one taken in the same town in early 2023.
RIP 'other ATLAS': Watch the doomed comet explode into pieces in incredible new images
By Harry Baker published
Stunning new photos show the pieces of the "other ATLAS," C/2025 K1, breaking apart in space after the golden comet suddenly exploded earlier this month.

Marooned no more! Stranded Chinese astronauts finally have a way home following launch of unmanned 'lifeboat'
By Harry Baker published
China has launched an unmanned "lifeboat" to the Tiangong space station, ending a month-long fiasco. The spacecraft will eventually ferry home the marooned Shenzhou-21 crew, who have been stuck without a return capsule for over a week.

Twin tornadoes tear perfectly parallel tracks through Mississippi during deadly 'superstorm'
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A satellite photo from March shows a pair of parallel tornado tracks in Mississippi, leftover from a deadly storm system that spawned over 100 twisters in more than a dozen U.S. states.

Live Science crossword puzzle #20: Largest contiguous land empire in history — 3 down
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Odd-looking rock on Mars is totally alien to the Red Planet, Perseverance rover finds
By Harry Baker published
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover recently came across an odd rock, dubbed "Phippsaksla," that is unlike anything else the robot has found on the Red Planet. It turns out that it probably isn't from our neighboring world and likely crashed on Mars instead.

Secretive SpaceX satellites operated by US government are shooting disruptive radio signals into space, astronomer accidentally discovers
By Harry Baker published
An amateur astronomer has accidentally uncovered a series of puzzling radio signals coming from SpaceX's government-operated "Starshield" network. The signals overlap with protected frequencies and could disrupt other nearby spacecraft, experts warn.

'From another world': 3I/ATLAS photobombs a galaxy and shows off its multiple tails in stunning new image
By Harry Baker published
An incredible new image shows the multi-tailed alien comet 3I/ATLAS shooting past a distant galaxy in the night sky. The stunning scene is a reminder of the object's perfectly natural interstellar origins, photographer Satoru Murata claims.

Extreme bloom of toxic algae swirls in Nevada's 'Pyramid Lake'
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2024 satellite photo shows an unusually active bloom of toxic cyanobacteria swirling in the water of Nevada's Pyramid Lake. Research suggests that the algae has been blooming there for at least 9,000 years.

Three more Chinese astronauts are now stranded in space following successful rescue of their colleagues
By Harry Baker published
The Shenzhou-21 crew has been marooned on China's Tiangong space station after three of their colleagues were brought back to Earth in the wrong spacecraft. For now, the astronauts have no safe way of returning home.

Mars orbiter narrows down exact path of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
By Harry Baker published
Scientists from the European Space Agency have significantly narrowed down the trajectory of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS thanks to data from the alien comet's recent flyby of Mars, allowing for more accurate future observations.

Live Science crossword puzzle #19: Tallest mountain in Africa — 12 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Astrophotographer snaps 'absolutely preposterous' photo of skydiver 'falling' past the sun's surface
By Harry Baker published
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has snapped a striking shot of a skydiving YouTuber perfectly aligned with the fiery surface of the sun. The unlikely image, dubbed "The Fall of Icarus," required meticulous planning to pull off.

2 million black 'streaks' on Mars finally have an explanation, solving 50-year mystery
By Harry Baker published
A new analysis of data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals that the majority of the Red Planet's dark "slope streaks" did not form as most researchers previously assumed.

Astronomers detect first 'radio signal' from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn't aliens
By Harry Baker published
Astronomers at South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope have detected the first radio waves coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. But while this sounds suspiciously like alien activity, it is actually further proof of its completely natural origins.

Extreme 'paradise' volcano in Costa Rica is like a piece of ancient Mars on our doorstep
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2025 satellite photo captures the stark contrast between the barren Poás volcano and the surrounding Costa Rican jungle. The volcano's super-acidic lake provides the perfect analog for studying how hardy microbes may have emerged on Mars billions of years ago.

New 'nearly interstellar' comet — wrongly linked to 3I/ATLAS — will reach its closest point to Earth on Tuesday (Nov. 11)
By Harry Baker published
Newly discovered comet C/2025 V1 (Borisov), which has some minor similarities to 3I/ATLAS, will make its closest approach to Earth on Tuesday (Nov. 11). However, despite recent rumors, the two objects are not related to one another.

Live Science crossword puzzle #18: First human-made satellite in space — 11 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Three Chinese astronauts stranded in space after debris hits their return capsule
By Harry Baker published
Three Chinese taikonauts — Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Dong — will be extending their stay aboard China's Tiangong space station after their return capsule was struck by a presumed piece of orbital debris on Wednesday.

There's another comet ATLAS in our solar system — and it just turned gold after a perilous dance with the sun
By Harry Baker published
New photos show that the recently discovered comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) developed a surprising golden glow after reaching its closest point to the sun. Until now, the comet has gone under the radar, largely thanks to the more famous interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

'Interstellar visitor' 3I/ATLAS may have just changed color — for the third time
By Harry Baker published
Recent observations of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS show that it has developed a faint blueish hue, hinting at a potential color change. This is the third time experts have seen the comet's coloring shift since it was discovered.
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