Meghan Bartels
Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at @meghanbartels.
Latest articles by Meghan Bartels

Hurricane Dorian Looks Massive from Space As NASA Prepares for Impacts
By Meghan Bartels published
Hurricane Dorian's clouds are staggering, a massive swirl of white surrounding the knotted eyewall at the storm's heart, in this image taken from space.

Astronaut Spots Eye of Hurricane Dorian from Space Station
By Meghan Bartels published
Hurricane Dorian is terrifying even from the International Space Station, where astronaut Luca Parmitano captured photos of the Category 5 storm.

Something Weird Is Happening to the Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way
By Meghan Bartels published
Astronomers have been watching the black hole at the center of our galaxy for 20 years, and in May, they saw something they'd never seen before.

'Interplanetary Shock' Seen for 1st Time
By Meghan Bartels published
A team of four NASA spacecraft finally caught sight of a phenomenon scientists have been hunting for years: an interplanetary shock.

Skywatching Spider Photobombs Perseid Meteor Shower
By Meghan Bartels published
How do you spot a "shooting star"? Well, you don't look for eight legs; that's for sure.

NASA Fed Apollo 11 Moon Rocks to Cockroaches (And Then Things Got Even Weirder)
By Meghan Bartels published
The rocks were also dumped into fishbowls. And injected into mice. No, really.

This Strange Rock Formed on Mars Billions of Years Ago, Possibly from an Explosive Eruption
By Meghan Bartels published
This is one of the most tangible pieces of evidence yet for the idea that explosive volcanism was more common on early Mars.

How Do You Stop a Hypothetical Asteroid from Hitting Earth? NASA's On It.
By Meghan Bartels published
We'll have to deflect a space rock someday. It's just a question of when.

This Asteroid Will Come Incredibly Close to Earth on Friday the 13th, 2029
By Meghan Bartels published
The space rock will give our planet a close shave, and scientists are pumped.

Asteroid Bennu Goes Technicolor in 3-D NASA View
By Meghan Bartels published
A space rock called Bennu is getting its close-up: NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to explore the asteroid has entered a new phase of detailed survey work.

Saturn's Moon Titan May Have 'Phantom Lakes' and Caves
By Meghan Bartels published
These "phantom lakes" may be evidence of seasonal changes on the moon.

Japan Spacecraft Shoots Copper Bomb at Asteroid
By Meghan Bartels published
It's still unclear how the dramatic operation went. But the hope is the explosive-packed bomb cut an artificial crater into Ryugu.

Hubble Telescope Reveals What 200 Billion Stars Look Like
By Meghan Bartels published
Two incredible new images from the Hubble Space Telescope show galaxies in all their shining glory.

The Asteroid Bennu Keeps Spinning Faster. And Scientists Aren't Sure Why
By Meghan Bartels published
On a distant space rock being explored by a NASA probe, days are slowly shortening — and scientists are still trying to figure out why.

Here's Your Chance to Name 5 Jupiter Moons! (No Moon McMoonfaces, Please)
By Meghan Bartels published
Last summer, scientists announced the discovery of a dozen new moons orbiting Jupiter. But now comes the hard part: naming them.

Meet Ripley, SpaceX's Dummy Astronaut Riding on Crew Dragon Test Flight
By Meghan Bartels published
SpaceX's famous "Starman" dummy onboard the inaugural Falcon Heavy launch is about to have some competition — from a new dummy, named Ripley, strapped into the company's first Crew Dragon capsule.

Japan Just Shot a Fake Asteroid with a Space Bullet … for Science
By Meghan Bartels published
Say you need to prepare to shoot bullets into an asteroid and suck up the debris kicked up from the blast, then tuck it away for safekeeping.

Astrophysicists Find New Clue in Search for Universe's Missing Matter
By Meghan Bartels published
Astronomers think they've found a new clue in their continuing quest to solve one of the most substantial mysteries of the cosmos: where about a third of the universe's matter is hiding.

Mysterious Blobs Around These Small Stars May Be Bad News for Alien Life
By Meghan Bartels published

Bizarre Space Object 'Oumuamua Could Be a Monstrous Corpse of Comet Dust
By Meghan Bartels published
'Oumuamua is long gone, but it's still leaving scientists guessing. A new explanation proposes that the strange object was a "monstrous fluffy dust aggregate" produced by a busted-up comet.

China Tests World's 1st Robot Ship for Launching Small Rockets
By Meghan Bartels published
China has built the world's first robotic, partially submersible boat for launching sounding rockets — a technology that will help meteorologists better understand the atmosphere over Earth's oceans.

NASA Watched This Baby Island Burst From the South Pacific. And It Seems to Be Here to Stay.
By Meghan Bartels published
A NASA scientist has visited a four-year-old island that satellites watched rise out of the waters — a rare opportunity to see in person a new island that lasts more than a few months.

Watch the Polar Vortex Cast Its Chill Over North America in This Satellite's-Eye View
By Meghan Bartels published
Americans across the Midwest and Northeast can agree on one thing — it's really, really cold this week — and a NASA satellite monitoring air temperatures confirms the sentiment.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.