Adam Mann

Adam Mann

Live Science Contributor

Adam Mann is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience, specializing in astronomy and physics stories. He has a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Nature, Science, and many other places. He lives in Oakland, California, where he enjoys riding his bike. 

Articles by: Adam Mann

An illustration of an atom on a rainbow background, representing the world of quantum physics

Quantum mechanics: Definitions, axioms, and key concepts of quantum physics

By Adam Mann last updated

Reference Quantum mechanics, or quantum physics, is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behavior of photons, electrons and the other subatomic particles that make up the universe.

A black and white photograph of Albert Einstein wearing a suit and sitting at his desk

Albert Einstein: Biography, facts and impact on science

By Adam Mann last updated

A brief biography of Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955), the scientist whose theories changed the way we think about the universe.

Navstar-2F GPS satellite

8 ways you can see Einstein's theory of relativity in real life

By Jesse Emspak last updated

Reference Relativity is one of the most famous scientific theories of the 20th century, but how well does it explain the things we see in our daily lives?

Full moon shines on Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft

Artemis Program: NASA's plan to send humans back to the moon

By Adam Mann last updated

Basic information about the Artemis program's Space Launch System and Orion capsule.

Pi written on a blackboard_Jeffrey Coolidge via Getty Images

12 numbers that are cooler than pi

By Live Science Staff last updated

To celebrate Pi Day, we asked several mathematicians to tell us their favorite non-pi numbers. Here are some of their answers.

Artist depiction of a supernova explosion in space.

What Is dark energy?

By Adam Mann last updated

Dark energy is the name physicists have given to the mysterious thing driving the universe's accelerated expansion. It may be a force or a form of energy, and one piece of evidence suggests it is hidden inside black holes.

Could hidden alien probes circle our sun as part of an extraterrestrial communication network? A new study investigated the possibility.

Is the sun a node in a gigantic alien space internet? Scientists scanned the skies to check.

By Adam Mann published

Through a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, aliens could be transmitting signals using the sun, but a quick scan for such signals has turned up nothing.

A side-by-side image of X-ray and optical data showing what appears to be an active black hole hidden at the center of a distant, dusty galaxy

Hundreds of dusty black holes found hiding in plain sight

By Adam Mann published

Astronomers detected 400 previously unknown black holes in a new X-ray survey of dusty galactic centers.

An illustration of the giant star being eclipsed by its dusty companion

A star mysteriously blinked for 7 years, and astronomers think they finally know why

By Adam Mann published

The strange dimming of Gaia17bpp could point to a small companion surrounded by a huge dusty disk.

A close-up of the moon's Tycho Crater, taken from Earth

Incredible new photos of moon's surface are highest resolution pictures ever taken from Earth

By Adam Mann published

A radar system less powerful than a household microwave oven produced some of the best pictures of the moon ever captured.

This image — a mosaic of 690 individual frames taken with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope—covers an area of sky about eight times as large as Webb’s First Deep Field Image released on July 12. It’s from a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper.

Webb telescope turns up baffling views of the early universe

By Adam Mann published

New results from the James Webb Space Telescope challenge prevailing models of the early universe.

This artist rendering shows an aerial view of the liftoff of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Artemis Mission: Here's everything you need to know about NASA's Space Launch System

By Adam Mann published

NASA's upcoming Space Launch System is amazing in so many ways.

abstract image represents string theory

What Is String Theory?

By Adam Mann last updated

Trying to explain everything with vibrating little strings.

Fundamental particles called quarks come in six different flavors. Protons are made of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons contain two down quarks and one up quark.

What Are Elementary Particles?

By Adam Mann last updated

They're the smallest of the small.

Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS)_NASA/Glenn Benson

NASA's 'Mega moon rocket' test resumes. Why were so many details about it kept secret?

By Adam Mann last updated

Experts dismiss NASA's reasons for being secretive about wet dress rehearsal of its major moon rocket.

black holes

9 ideas about black holes that will blow your mind

By Adam Mann last updated

Some of the strangest ideas ever proposed about the weirdest cosmic objects, black holes

Global color view of Mars. A large, round, rusty-red planet. There are numerous craters all over on the planet. There is a small white circle at the top (ice cap). In the top-right quadrant of the planet there is a very large darker patch. On the bottom half there is what appears to be a long canyon that is in the shape of a smile.

Mars: The Red Planet

By Adam Mann published

Reference Mars is a rusty, red world and one of the most explored planets in the solar system.

Albert Einstein's E=mc2

9 equations that changed the world

By Adam Mann last updated

Here are nine equations that altered the course of history.

Wormholes have been proposed as one possible means of traveling through time.

Where Does the Concept of Time Travel Come From?

By Adam Mann last updated

When did time travel stories first appear, and what makes them so popular?

Panoramic view of moon in clear sky. Alberto Agnoletto & EyeEm.

Moon: Facts about our planet's lunar companion

By Adam Mann published

Reference The moon is our constant companion and Earth's only consistent natural satellite.

"Wow!" signal printout

Famous 'alien' Wow! signal may have come from distant, sunlike star

By Adam Mann published

An astronomer proposes that the sun-like star 2MASS 19281982-2640123 is the origin of the Wow! Signal

Hubble’s observation of Jupiter in 2021. NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL team.

Jupiter: Facts about the king of the planets

By Adam Mann published

Reference Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with moons, rings and beautiful clouds.

This is an image of the planet Uranus taken by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986. NASA & JPL-Caltech.

Uranus: Facts about the sideways ice giant

By Adam Mann published

Reference Uranus is a strange world in the solar system that spins on its side. A new probe that will visit Uranus in the coming decades could unlock even more secrets about this peculiar planet.

Mosaic of Saturn taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on November 20, 2017. Source -NASA & JPL-Caltech & Space Science Institute

Saturn: Facts about the ringed planet

By Adam Mann published

Reference Saturn is one of the most beautiful worlds in the solar system, with spectacular rings and moons that could host life.

Venus - Computer Simulated Global View Centered at 90 Degrees East Longitude. September 23, 1996. NASA & JPL.

Venus: Facts about the hellish planet next door

By Adam Mann published

Reference Venus is Earth's next-door neighbor and could be Earth's twin, if not for the sulfuric acid clouds and hellish surface temperatures.