Megan Gannon

Megan Gannon

Live Science Contributor
Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

Articles by: Megan Gannon

izapa kingdom

Hidden Monuments and Cookie-Cutter 'Suburbs' Discovered in Ancient Izapa Kingdom

By Megan Gannon published

Ancient hidden settlements were revealed in a new lidar survey of the Izapa kingdom in southern Mexico.

izapa kingdom

Photos: Hidden Monuments Found at Ancient Site of Izapa Kingdom

By Megan Gannon published

Here's a look at the amazing discoveries from the ancient site of the Izapa kingdom in southern Mexico.

This 5,000-year-old wooden door was found in a village buried on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

Social Inequality Left Its Mark on 5,000-Year-Old Alpine Village

By Megan Gannon published

Archaeologists think they've spotted traces of social inequality in a 5,000-year-old village that was buried on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

A "Dead Sea Scroll" fragment on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in Museum of the Bible Are Fake

By Megan Gannon published

These aren't ancient pieces of the biblical text but rather modern forgeries.

An artist's interpretation of an unknown, dangerous disease, or Disease X.

An Unknown 'Disease X' Could Become an Epidemic. Can We Find It Before It's Too Late?

By Megan Gannon published

Experts warn we need to pay more attention to animal health to stop Disease X, a hypothetical epidemic caused by a species-hopping pathogen.

The northern eyewall of Hurricane Michael comes ashore between St. Vincent Island and Panama City, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2018.

Why Did Hurricane Michael Become Such a Monster Storm So Quickly?

By Megan Gannon published

Forecasters watching Hurricane Michael barrel toward the Gulf coast of Florida earlier this week saw the storm do something "most unusual."

Hurricane Michael, seen here by the GOES East satellite at 2:45 p.m. ET on Oct. 9, 2018, strengthened as it moved north-northwest toward the Florida Panhandle.

Hurricane Michael Strengthens to 'Unprecedented' Category 4 Storm Overnight

By Megan Gannon published

Florida is bracing for winds up to 140 mph and a potentially deadly storm surge.

The shipwreck of the HMS Erebus, sister ship to the HMS Terror.

Infamous Wreck of Ill-Fated Franklin Expedition Yields More Artifacts, But No Ship's Log

By Megan Gannon published

Harsh conditions and thick ice kept divers out of Franklin's cabin.

hms erebus artifacts

In Photos: Artifacts Recovered from the HMS Erebus Exploration

By Megan Gannon published

Abandoned 170 years ago, the HMS Erebus was only rediscovered in the icy waters of the Canadian Arctic in 2014.

Bombing of a factory at Marienburg, Germany, on Oct. 9, 1943.

WWII Bombs Had Rippling Effect on the Edge of Space

By Megan Gannon published

The shock waves from Allied bombing raids during World War II briefly weakened the ionosphere.

Standing in the entrance to Raqefet Cave, where they found evidence for the oldest man-made alcohol in the world, are, from left, Dani Nadel, Li Liu, Jiajing Wang and Hao Zhao.

Traces of the World's First 'Microbrew' Found in a Cave in Israel

By Megan Gannon published

The world's oldest beer may have been brewed for a funeral 13,000 years ago.

The mummified wolf pup is so well preserved, it still has its head, tail, paws, skin and hair intact.

Amazingly Preserved Wolf Pup Mummy Discovered in Yukon Gold Mine

By Megan Gannon published

Frozen for more than 50,000 years, the pup still has its tail and paws.

Preparatory sketch with a drawn frame for an illustration of the Comedy Les Moissonneurs, 1768, by Charles Dominique Joseph Eisen (1720–1778).

Trove of Art Stolen from Jewish Family Rediscovered, Identified as Nazi Loot

By Megan Gannon published

Four pieces of Nazi loot connected to the Gurlitt trove have been rediscovered.

icy tundra

Melting Arctic Could Rapidly Unlock 'Deep Carbon' Buried in Permafrost

By Megan Gannon published

New lakes formed in the melting Arctic could rapidly tap into deep reservoirs of ancient carbon.

Towering statues called moai are scattered across Chile's Easter Island.

People of Easter Island Weren't Driven to Warfare and Cannibalism. They Actually Got Along.

By Megan Gannon published

Stone tools found around Easter Island's famous moai statues contradict the popular narrative of social collapse.

Here, the "Last of his Tribe's" house and garden, where the man grows manioc and other vegetables, according to Survival International.

Last Survivor of Uncontacted Tribe, 'Man of the Hole,' Is Spotted in the Amazon

By Megan Gannon published

Video footage shows the "Man of the Hole" chopping trees in the Amazon.

This historic cemetery was discovered during a construction project in Sugar Land, Texas.

Century-Old Burials of 95 Convict Slaves Uncovered in Texas

By Megan Gannon published

Ninety-five burials found in Texas likely belong to African Americans who were forced to work on plantations in the state's convict-leasing system.

The ancient papyrus, shown here after it was cleaned and smoothed, holds medical text possibly written by the Roman physician Galen.

Ancient Papyrus Reveals Galen's Crazy Theory About 'Hysterical Suffocation'

By Megan Gannon published

The text is 2,000 years old and suggests a weird cause of hysterical suffocation in women.

The newfound clay slab may hold the first 13 verses of Homer's "Odyssey."

Possible Oldest Fragment of Homer's 'Odyssey' Discovered in Greece

By Megan Gannon published

In an ancient heap of Roman rubble, archaeologists in Greece discovered a clay tablet engraved with 13 lines of Homer's epic poem.

napoleonic war battlefield

Archaeologists Dig Up Mass Grave of Soldiers Crushed by Napoleon's Troops

By Megan Gannon published

Just under the topsoil of the farm fields in this small town northeast of Vienna, there are traces of one of the biggest battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

napoleonic war battlefield

Photos: Archaeologists Excavate Battlefield from Napoleonic Wars

By Megan Gannon published

Ahead of highway construction, archaeologists in Austria are busy excavating a huge battlefield from the Napoleonic Wars.

An enormous wildfire in British Columbia in the summer of 2017 sent huge plumes of smoke into the sky.

These 'Dirty' Thunderstorms Fill the Sky with As Much Smoke As a Volcanic Eruption

By Megan Gannon published

Wildfires can fuel "dirty" thunderstorms that fill the stratosphere with as much smoke as a volcanic eruption.

Here, a ground-based lidar captures researchers within a mangrove forest in Ten Thousand Islands in southwest Florida, displaying much finer detail on the ground than available from the air.

Hurricane Irma Turned the Everglades into a Tree 'Graveyard,' NASA Lasers Reveal

By Megan Gannon published

There were mass tree casualties.

tirpitz smokescreen

How a Bizarre Nazi Military Machine Left a Lasting Mark on the Environment

By Megan Gannon published

Hitler's navy used a toxic artificial fog to conceal its biggest battleship.

Smoke plumes from Greenland's largest wildfire on record can be seen in this Landsat-8 satellite image from Aug. 3, 2017.

Greenland's Biggest Fire Is a 'Warning' for Its Future

By Megan Gannon published

Are more wildfires in Greenland’s future?