Matt Williams

British Columbia, Canada, Victoria

Writer and Curator at Universe Today

Content Writer at Interesting Engineering

Author and Freelance Writer at Freelance

Articles

ESA's New Mission Can See a Solar Eclipse Every Day

1 week ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

Last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Proba-3 mission to space. Comprised of two spacecraft, the Coronograph and the Occulter, it is a technology demonstrator designed to test techniques for highly-precise satellite formation flying that will pave the way for future multi-satellite missions. This past March, the two spacecraft performed a first-ever feat by flying in tandem for hours without help from mission controllers.
Fast Radio Bursts are Helping to Locate the Universe's Missing Matter

1 week ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

In the 1960s, scientists became acutely aware of a problem with the Universe's "mass budget." Based on the observed rotational curves of galaxies, they determined that about 85% of the Universe's mass was invisible, leading to the theory of Dark Matter. Scientists have also been aware for some time that much of the "normal" or baryonic matter (that which we can see) in the Universe was also unaccounted for.
Spaceflight Could Be Bad For Your Teeth

1 week ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams |Space Exploration

Extended periods in space can lead to all kinds of health problems. The hazard posed by radiation is well known and is the reason NASA and other space agencies impose limits on the amount astronauts are exposed to. There's also microgravity, which has been studied extensively thanks to regular missions to the International Space Station and long-term studies (like the NASA Twins Study).
NASA's PUNCH Mission Captured Images of a Huge Solar Eruption

1 week ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

In March 2025, NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission launched into orbit to monitor the Sun's outer atmosphere to reveal more about solar wind. Developed and led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), this constellation consists of four microsatellites that observe the Sun's corona and heliosphere using continuous 3D deep-field imaging.
Telescopes in Chile Capture Images of the Earliest Galaxies in the Universe

1 week ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

Thanks to observatories like the venerable Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and its next-generation cousin, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers are finally getting the chance to study galaxies that existed just one billion years after the Big Bang. This period is known as "Cosmic Dawn" because it was during this period that the first stars formed and came together to create the first galaxies in the Universe.
The Universe's Missing Black Holes May Have Been Located

1 week ago | sciencealert.com | Matt Williams

For decades, astronomers have theorized that black holes fall into three broad categories. There are the stellar-mass black holes, which range from five to 50 times the mass of our Sun. Then, there are supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which are millions to billions of times more massive than the Sun. Finally, there are intermediate black holes (IMBHs), with masses that fall somewhere in between.
Mysteriously Magnetic Moon Rocks Might Have an Explosive Origin Story

2 weeks ago | sciencealert.com | Matt Williams

Unlike Earth, the Moon doesn't have much of a magnetic field – and yet, a strange pile of rocks on the far side seems mysteriously magnetized. A new study suggests that a major cataclysm, over and done in under an hour, left a lasting imprint. A team led by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that a massive impact may have generated a huge amount of plasma that temporarily strengthened the Moon's tiny, ancient magnetic field.
Webb Shows Another Jupiter Forming in Real Time

2 weeks ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

The field of exoplanet studies continues to grow by leaps and bounds, with over 5,900 confirmed discoveries to date. Thanks to improved methods, instruments, and next-generation telescopes, the field is transitioning from exoplanet discovery to characterization.
Martian Supervolcano Peeks Through the Cloudtops

2 weeks ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

Since 2001, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter has been studying the Martian surface and atmosphere to look for evidence of past or present water and ice, and study the planet's geology and radiation environment. As the longest-running mission to orbit another planet, this robotic probe has taken some impressive images of the Red Planet and its major surface features.
The Martian Atmosphere is Sputtering

2 weeks ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

When the Mariner 9 flew past Mars in 1972, scientists were treated to the first evidence that water once flowed on the surface of Mars. Subsequent missions confirmed this theory based on the study of features that form in the presence of water (flow channels, delta fans, and sedimentary deposits), the presence of hydrated minerals and clays in impact basins, and the discovery of subsurface ice and permafrost across the planet.