
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

Incomplete remains of world's 'youngest' impact crater spotted lurking in Chinese forest
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2021 satellite photo shows off the recently uncovered Yilan crater in China, which is most likely the youngest impact structure on Earth. The incomplete ring is also the largest of its kind and only the second impact crater ever found in the country.

Saturn's largest moon may actually be 2 moons in 1 — and helped birth the planet's iconic rings
By Harry Baker published
A new study hints that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, was created around 400 million years ago, when two massive moons smashed into each other. This hypothesis could also help to solve several other mysteries surrounding other moons and the planet's iconic rings.

City-size, cold-volcano comet transforms into a glowing 'snail shell' after major explosive outburst
By Harry Baker published
Following a massive cryovolcanic eruption, the mysterious Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann has been morphed into a giant spiral and is now shining 100 times brighter than normal.

Supercomputers simulated the orbits of 1 million satellites between Earth and the moon — and less than 10% survived
By Harry Baker published
Researchers used a pair of powerful supercomputers to simulate the potential trajectories of 1 million satellites in a cislunar orbit between Earth and the moon. Less than 10% of these orbits remained stable throughout the simulations, but this is not as disastrous as it may sound.

Hidden beauty of Zimbabwe's 2.5 billion-year-old 'geological marvel' revealed in striking astronaut photo
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2010 astronaut photo shows off the astonishing scale of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, which stretches over 340 miles (550 kilometers). The lengthy structure, which is not actually a dike, is full of extremely valuable minerals that fuel a massive mining industry.

Live Science crossword puzzle #30: Brightest star in the night sky — 5 down
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Newly visible, city-size 'green comet' will soon be ejected into interstellar space — just like 3I/ATLAS
By Harry Baker published
Comet Wierzchoś, also known as C/2024 E1, is rapidly brightening as it approaches its closest point to Earth next week. But experts predict it will eventually be thrown out of the solar system forever, just like the "alien" comet 3I/ATLAS.

Astronaut snaps salty, pink Valentine's Day 'heart' shining in Argentina
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2024 astronaut photo shows a striking pink, heart-shaped salt lake in the middle of the Argentine lowlands. The endearing photo was originally released to celebrate Valentine's Day.

New 'sungrazing' comet could become visible to the naked eye during the day — if the sun doesn't destroy it
By Harry Baker published
The newly discovered sungrazing comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) will undergo an extremely close slingshot around our star in early April, and could become bright enough to be seen without a telescope during the day.

Impossibly powerful 'ghost particle' that hit Earth may have come from an exploding black hole
By Harry Baker published
A supercharged neutrino that smashed into our planet in 2023 may have been spit out by an exploding primordial black hole with a "dark charge." If true, this theory could lead to a definitive catalog of all subatomic particles and unveil the elusive identity of dark matter.

Live Science crossword puzzle #29: The 'middle' period of the dinosaurs — 13 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Martian meteorite that fell to Earth is full of ancient water, new scans reveal
By Harry Baker published
A new study has revealed that the iconic Black Beauty meteorite contains much more hidden water than previously suspected. The rock, which fell to Earth from Mars, could reveal clues about the Red Planet's watery past.

'Behemoth star,' previously thought to be dying, is 'rising from the ashes' like a phoenix
By Harry Baker published
A new study suggests that the red supergiant WOH G64, also known as the "behemoth star," has not transitioned into a yellow hypergiant as previous research suggested. This means it is now unlikely to imminently explode in a colossal supernova.

Trippy 'biomass' snap reveals first detailed look at our planet's carbon stores
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space The first false-color image from ESA's newly operational Biomass satellite shows off a unique perspective of the rainforests, grasslands and wetlands surrounding a winding river in Bolivia.

Live Science crossword puzzle #28: Largest desert in Asia — 6 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

NASA jet crashes in flames on Texas runway — taking it out of the Artemis II mission
By Harry Baker published
New footage shows one of NASA's WB-57 research jets spewing out flames and smoke as it skids across a runway during an emergency landing near Houston. The veteran aircraft was due to play a small role in the Artemis II mission.

Giant 'metal cloud' in nearby star system could be hiding an undiscovered sun
By Harry Baker published
Astronomers suspect that a massive metallic cloud swirling in a nearby star system could be hiding a giant planet or dwarf star from view, after it drastically dimmed a sun-like star for around nine months.

Ancient lake full of crop circles lurks in the shadow of Saudi Arabia's 'camel-hump' mountain
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2020 astronaut photo shows the oasis town of Jubbah lurking within a paleolake in the wind shadow of Saudi Arabia's "two camel-hump mountain."

Live Science crossword puzzle #27: The explosion that created the universe — 5 down
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Stunning time-lapse video captured using 'artificial eclipse' shows 3 massive eruptions on the sun
By Harry Baker published
ESA's Proba-3 mission, made up of twin spacecraft capable of aligning to create artificial eclipses, has captured "rare" footage of three solar prominences erupting from the sun's mysteriously hot atmosphere.

Earth hit by biggest 'solar radiation storm' in 23 years, triggering Northern Lights as far as Southern California
By Harry Baker last updated
Earth's magnetic field was struck by a "severe" solar storm Monday (Jan. 19), triggering vibrant auroras in the U.S. and large parts of Europe. The storm broke a record that had stood for more than two decades.

Giant underwater plumes triggered by 7-story waves at Nazaré captured off Portuguese coast
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2020 satellite photo shows the immense power of 7-story waves crashing along the Portuguese coast. Later the same day, a surfer rode a 101-foot-tall wave at Nazaré, setting a new world record.

Live Science crossword puzzle #26: Nothing can travel faster than this — 12 across
By Harry Baker published
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

NASA's powerful new Roman Space Telescope is complete — and will soon begin mission to find 100,000 alien worlds
By Harry Baker published
New photos show off NASA's newly constructed Roman Space Telescope, which will soon help researchers unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. Experts have also revealed when the next-gen spacecraft is set to launch and begin collecting data.

'One of those rare 'wow' moments': Zombie star near Earth has a rainbow shockwave that 'shouldn't be there'
By Harry Baker published
A new study reveals a rare-breaking white dwarf star, dubbed RXJ0528+2838, that is somehow generating a rainbow-like "bow shock" as it zooms through the Milky Way. The cosmic zombie is also ripping apart its partner star like a black hole.
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
