Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell

Live Science Contributor
Elizabeth Howell is a regular contributor to Live Science and Space.com, along with several other science publications. She is one of a handful of Canadian reporters who specializes in space reporting. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Journalism, Science Concentration at Carleton University (Canada) and an M.Sc. Space Studies (distance) at the University of North Dakota. Elizabeth became a full-time freelancer after earning her M.Sc. in 2012. She reported on three space shuttle launches in person and once spent two weeks in an isolated Utah facility pretending to be a Martian.

Articles by: Elizabeth Howell

the moon

China says moonbound rocket stage was not from 2014 lunar mission: Report

By Elizabeth Howell published

Chang'e-5 T1 'completely burned up' in Earth's atmosphere shortly after launch, officials said.

the Milky Way

James Webb Space Telescope will study Milky Way's flaring supermassive black hole

By Elizabeth Howell published

The James Webb Space Telescope will study the weirdly flickering black hole at the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

A single star repeats in a hexagonal pattern in this image during James Webb Space Telescope's alignment, released on Feb. 18, 2022.

Star twinkles 18 times to form hexagonal pattern in new James Webb telescope image

By Elizabeth Howell published

The James Webb Space Telescope finished the first major stage in its long process of aligning the observatory's 18-segmented primary mirror.

mount etna

Mount Etna is erupting and astronauts are watching it from space

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Sicilian volcano is 'smoking' and 'spitting lava,' one astronaut reports.

mars bosporus planum

Water on Mars may have flowed for a billion years longer than thought

By Elizabeth Howell published

New evidence finds substantial water on Mars flowed as recently as 2 billion years ago.

A still image from a visualization showing the Eta Carinae supernova expanding into space.

Eta Carinae's epic supernova explosion comes to life in new visualization

By Elizabeth Howell published

Data from three space telescopes help tell the story of Eta Carinae's explosion.

An artist's depiction of the fully deployed James Webb Space Telescope completing its final burn to reach orbit around L2.

James Webb Space Telescope will glide to its deep-space parking spot today

By Elizabeth Howell published

Here's how to watch the events related to the James Webb Space Telescope's arrival.

An artist's impression of a near-Earth asteroid.

A huge asteroid will fly safely by Earth today. Here's how to watch it live.

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can watch a nearly mile-wide asteroid make its closest Earth approach for the next 200 years today. Here's how.

Forget "Deep Impact" – and definitely forget "Armageddon" – this is probably how it would actually happen.

Climate scientist and Netflix 'Don't Look Up' director talk comet metaphors and global warming (exclusive)

By Elizabeth Howell published

Adam McKay, creator of Netflix's popular satire-comedy movie "Don't Look Up," and climate scientist Kate Marvel talk why the world needs more films like the comet metaphor movie.

Google celebrated the life and legacy of scientist Stephen Hawking in a Google Doodle for what would have been his 80th birthday on Jan. 8, 2022.

Stephen Hawking would have been 80 today. Google Doodle honors famous physicist.

By Elizabeth Howell published

The pioneering work of physicist Stephen Hawking is honored in a Google Doodle today (Jan. 8).

These nine images show coronal streamers on the sun, bright structures in the sun's corona normally seen only in solar eclipses, as spotted by NASA's Parker Solar Probe as it flew through the sun's outer atmosphere. In the top row, they appear as structures angled upward, and as angled downward features in the bottom row.

Watch 'coronal streamers' streak off the sun in close-up video from Parker Solar Probe

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new video of solar streamers evokes the streaking stars seen during spacecraft hyperdrives in "Star Wars."

Astrophotographer Chris Schur captures this stunning photo of Comet Leonard on Dec. 4, 2021 from Payson, Arizona using a 10-inch Newtonian telescope and 60-minute camera exposure.

Comet Leonard may have spawned meteor shower on Venus

By Elizabeth Howell published

Comet Leonard may be sparking meteor showers at Venus this weekend during a relatively close approach of the comet to the planet.

NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory spotted the Dec. 4 total solar eclipse from space.

See rare total solar eclipse from nearly 1 million miles away

By Elizabeth Howell published

The only total solar eclipse of 2021 was one few could see and this new photo from a spacecraft nearly 1 million miles from Earth shows why.

An illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope on track for Dec. 22 launch

By Elizabeth Howell published

The generational observatory is nearly ready for space after years of delays.

The Beaver Full Moon is seen partially obscured by Earth's shadow during the near-total partial lunar eclipse of Nov. 19, 2021 as seen through a telescope from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California.

Watch the entire Beaver Moon lunar eclipse in 1 minute time-lapse

By Elizabeth Howell published

It was the longest partial eclipse in 580 years.

The 2021 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum area on Oct. 7 and ranks as the 13th-largest such feature since 1979.

See how the huge ozone hole over Antarctica has grown in 2021 in this NASA video

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new NASA video highlights the giant ozone hole that opened over the Antarctic this year.

An illustration of the private Nova-C moon lander built by Intuitive Machines with NASA's Polar Resources Ice-Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) attached to the spacecraft.

NASA picks landing site at the moon's south pole for ice-drilling robot

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA and Intuitive Machines announced the Shackleton Crater landing site for an ice-drilling robot.

Orson Welles rehearsing a radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' classic, The War of the Worlds on October 10, 1938. The broadcast, which claimed that aliens from Mars had invaded New Jersey, terrified thousands of Americans.

Was the 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast an early deepfake?

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new podcast argues the 1938 Martian invasion story foreshadowed the problems of media creation today.

A bomb cyclone has merged with a Category 5 "atmospheric river" — giant flowing trains of moist air in the sky — and is dropping lots of precipitation across Northern California.

A 'bomb cyclone' is battering much of California

By Elizabeth Howell published

A "bomb cyclone" in the Pacific is dumping extreme rain and several feet of snow on California.

"Star Trek" star William Shatner, 90, is ready to launch into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on Oct. 13, 2021.

William Shatner of 'Star Trek' says he's ready to go to space for real

By Elizabeth Howell published

The 'Star Trek' star speaks about the final frontier on Twitter, in a Blue Origin video.

A collage shows Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, the company's suborbital New Shepard launch system and actor William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in "Star Trek."

William Shatner's space launch on Blue Origin's New Shepard: When to watch and what to know

By Elizabeth Howell published

Here's everything you need to know about Blue Origin's launch of William Shatner and his crew on the New Shepard spacecraft on Oct. 12, 2021.

This 23-second looped animation of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, created with data from the Hubble Space Telescope, represents approximately 10 Earth hours (or one Jovian day) of activity.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is not only shrinking. Its winds are also speeding up.

By Elizabeth Howell published

A decade of Jovian storm-chasing paid off for the Hubble Space Telescope.

A Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the most complete Einstein ring scientists have studied to date.

Scientists pinpoint age of molten 'Einstein ring'

By Elizabeth Howell published

New science from a stunning 2020 Hubble image illuminates the back story behind a shining loop of light.

Crowds converge near Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this satellite image taken on Aug. 24, 2021.

Satellite images show crowds at Kabul airport before two reported explosions

By Elizabeth Howell published

Massive crowds converged at Hamid Karzai International Airport before explosions there killed and injured dozens on Thursday (Aug. 26).

SpaceX's Starship could launch on its first uncrewed flight to Mars in 2024.

SpaceX Starship: Key milestones for the world's most powerful rocket

By Elizabeth Howell published

SpaceX's Starship system is the most powerful rocket yet. Here are some of the key moments in its history as the rocket and spacecraft get ready for the first orbital test.