Mara Johnson-Groh

Mara Johnson-Groh

Live Science Contributor

Mara Johnson-Groh is a contributing writer for Live Science. She writes about everything under the sun, and even things beyond it, for a variety of publications including Discover, Science News, Scientific American, Eos and more, and is also a science writer for NASA. Mara has a bachelor's degree in physics and Scandinavian studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and a master's degree in astronomy from the University of Victoria in Canada. 

Articles by: Mara Johnson-Groh

Time warp

If There Were a Time Warp, How Would Physicists Find It?

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but scientists have already detected a time warp.

dark matter mysteries

Is Dark Matter Fuzzy?

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

These particles would be much tinier than electrons.

eagle visualization

Neutrinos Entangled in the Cosmic Web May Change the Structure of the Universe

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

The neutrinos enmeshed in the vast cosmic web could provide a glimpse of the earliest observable moment after the Big Bang.

quasars

Something Is Not Quite Right In the Universe, Ultraprecise New Measurement Reveals

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

A super-precise measurement of one of the fundamental constants of the universe suggests it's expanding faster now than it was in its early years.

Astronomers have spotted the brightest quasar (shown here in artistic impression) yet discovered in the early universe.

Ultrabright Quasar Lit Up the Early Universe

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

Astronomers just found a galaxy with a glowing heart that is almost as old as the universe itself.

An alien megastructure like a Dyson sphere doesn’t seem to be causing the weird dimming of one of the weirdest stars in our galaxy, Tabby's star.

If Aliens Are Causing Weird Dimming of 'Tabby' Star,' They Aren't Using Lasers to Do It

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

The evidence for aliens around one of the weirdest stars in our galaxy — Boyajian's star — is not looking promising.

dark matter mysteries

Scientists Find the 'Missing' Dark Matter from the Early Universe

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

Past studies suggested there was less dark matter earlier on in the universe’s history.

The Atacama desert typically receives less than a half-inch of rain every year.

Rare Rainfall in the Atacama Is Deadly for Its Tiniest Inhabitants

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

What is supposed to be a boon to life caused bacteria to burst like balloons.

center of milky way

Spinning Grains of Cosmic Dust Could Explain Weird Signals at the North Pole

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

A mysterious cosmic signal that was detected above the North Pole could be coming from fast-spinning grains of dust.

Parallel Universe

If Extra Dimensions Do Exist, They Must Be Really, Really Small

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

So far, gravitational waves have found no hints of extra dimensions, but there may still be some really tiny ones lurking out there.