Matthew Williams

Matt Williams is a space journalist, science communicator, and author with several published titles and studies. His work is featured in The Ross 248 Project and Interstellar Travel edited by NASA alumni Les Johnson and Ken Roy. He also hosts the podcast series Stories from Space at ITSP Magazine. He lives in beautiful British Columbia with his wife and family. For more information, check out his website.

Recent Articles

A Rapidly-Growing Black Hole in a Nearby Galaxy Could Provide a Window Into the Early Universe.

July 11, 2026

The black hole at the centre of a nearby galaxy is growing exceptionally fast, and is producing a burst of radio emission that has never been observed before. With characteristics that are expected in the early Universe, this unique galaxy provides important insights into the processes that governed the growth of the first black holes.
Astronomers Use a Neutron Star Merger to Measure Cosmic Expansion

July 10, 2026

Swinburne University of Technology and CSIRO have combined telescope and gravitational wave data in an attempt to unlock the true value of the Universe's expansion. Existing measurements of the Hubble Constant have split cosmologists for more than a decade.
Ultra-Black Coating Could Mitigate Light Pollution Caused by Satellites

July 09, 2026

Astrophysicists working tirelessly to tackle the growing impact of satellite constellations have pioneered a new ultra-black coating as one possible way to mitigate the problem.
The Milky Way's Arms Reach Out Further Than we Thought

July 08, 2026

A new result using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that the outer spiral arms in the Milky Way galaxy may reach wider than previously thought. This finding may lead astronomers to adjust their understanding of our home galaxy’s structure.
Astronomers Using Chandra Data Produce the Most Detailed View of the M87 Jet in X-rays

July 07, 2026

Combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with advanced image-processing techniques to produce the sharpest X-ray view yet of the relativistic jet from M87's supermassive black hole.
University Team Proposed Retractable, Pressurized Tunnels for Missions to Mars

July 06, 2026

As part of NASA's Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) 2026 Academic Innovation Challenge, a University of Michigan team proposed an actuated, pressurized tunnel system that would save countless hours of work and preparation by connecting the astronaut's habitat with other surface elements.
Nearby "Super Earth" Could Host Life After All

July 05, 2026

Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought.Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought.
Astronomers Characterize "Improbable" System Shaped by Brown Dwarf

July 05, 2026

An international team involving over ten institutions, with a strong participation from ESO and INAF, has characterised TOI-201 c, the transiting brown dwarf with the longest period for which mass has been measured. The study, published today in Nature, reveals a compact, coplanar system in which the presence of a massive, eccentric object redefines the stability boundaries for the inner planets
In Anticipation of New Horizons Entering Interstellar Space, Researchers are Developing a Solar Wind Forecasting Method

July 04, 2026

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists are using a solar wind forecasting method combined with analytic and numerical heliosphere models to find out where the first plasma boundary of the outer heliosphere lies as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft hurtles toward this mysterious region of space.
A New Study into Dark Matter in the Bullet Cluster Could Disprove its Existence

July 03, 2026

A study led by the University of Bonn presents new data that calls the existence of Dark Matter - a fundamental pillar of the current cosmological model - into question.
Astronomers Discover Another Galaxy With No Dark Matter

July 01, 2026

Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have discovered the third known galaxy apparently lacking dark matter, part of a strange linear structure that may have formed during a violent collision between galaxies.
Hubble Spots Two Galaxy Clusters in the Process of Merging

June 28, 2026

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy cluster, called CL0016+1609 or MACS J0018.5+1626, that is very bright at X-ray wavelengths and is one of the most extensively studied clusters at X-ray and radio wavelengths. The X-ray observations of this cluster revealed that it is two clusters merging along our line of sight.
Scientists Confirm that Two Gamma-Ray Bursts Were Caused by Collapsing Neutron Stars

June 28, 2026

Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory have confirmed that two long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originated from the collapse of neutron stars into black holes.
Astronomers Spot a Possible Supernova Remnant Near the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

June 27, 2026

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton may have found a supernova remnant near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. If confirmed as a supernova remnant, the ejected material is moving at about two million miles per hour and is about 1,700 years old.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Arrives in Florida Ahead of Launch

June 26, 2026

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrived June 21st, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the start of final prelaunch preparations before liftoff later this summer.
Mars Express Captures Dozens of Dust Devils in Mars Valley

June 26, 2026

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured part of Mars’s Mamers Valles: a fascinating valley system speckled with brief, tornado-like whirlwinds known as dust devils.
Beyond Fermi's Paradox XVIII: What if We Make Contact?

June 25, 2026

Welcome to the final installment in the Fermi series, where we look at the impact that making contact with extraterrestrials could have and the rules governing how such an event should be treated.
That "Pink Planet" Astronomers Found Turns Out to be a Salty Customer!

June 25, 2026

Found in 2013, Pink Planet was too faint to study with ground-based telescopes. In new study, scientists used JWST and advanced processing methods to obtain its spectrum for the first time. Observations provided some of the first direct evidence for salt clouds in a cold object atmosphere. Pink Planet could be a giant planet or brown dwarf, so astronomers refer to it as a ‘planetary-mass companion’.
Radio Observations Reveal the Secret of Early Galaxy Growth

June 23, 2026

Astronomers have discovered a huge reservoir of cold molecular gas, the direct fuel for star formation, in REBELS-25, a massive, star-forming galaxy.The team, led from Leiden University, focused on REBELS-25, seen when the universe was only about 700 million years old, around 5% of its current age. Astronomers use “redshift” to describe this distance, which measures how much the universe’s expansion has stretched a galaxy’s light to redder wavelengths.
Ariane 6 Sets New Record for Europe with More Powerful Boosters

June 23, 2026

On 17 June at 09:21 local time (13:21 BST, 14:21 CEST) Ariane 6 flight VA269 soared to orbit from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. 36 satellites for Amazon’s Leo constellation were placed into their orbit just over an hour after liftoff – the eighth successful mission insertion in a row for Europe’s newest rocket.