Michelle Starr

Michelle Starr

ScienceAlert

Michelle Starr is a senior journalist at ScienceAlert, with over 15 years of experience in the science and technology sectors. Prior to joining the ScienceAlert team in 2017, she worked for seven years at CNET, where she created the role of Science Editor. Her work has appeared in "The Best Australian Science Writing" anthologies, and in 2014, she was awarded the Best Consumer Technology Journalist in the Optus IT Journalism Awards. She absolutely adores orcas, corvids and octopuses, and would be quite content to welcome any one of them as the new overlords of Earth.

Articles by: Michelle Starr

Scientists have captured the sound of a "perfect fluid," which flows with the smallest amount of friction allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics.

Physicists recorded the flowing sound of a 'perfect' fluid for the first time

By Michelle Starr published

For the first time, physicists have recorded sound waves moving through a perfect fluid with the lowest possible viscosity.

At first glance, the galaxy NGC1052-DF4 (center) appears to be intact. But faint stars leaving the galaxy – shown by the grey shading in this composite color image – reveals the galactic theft at play. NGC1035 is the large galaxy to its left.

Mystery of galaxy's missing dark matter solved. (And it involves a thief.)

By Michelle Starr published

A small, mysterious galaxy 44 million light-years away is finally yielding up its secrets.

A white dwarf star after ejecting its mass to form a planetary nebula.

Our solar system will disintegrate sooner than we thought

By Michelle Starr published

Although the ground beneath our feet feels solid and reassuring (most of the time), nothing in this universe lasts forever.

The Hayabusa2 craft touched down on the asteroid Ryugu on Feb. 22, 2019.

Spacecraft with precious asteroid cargo is almost home after 3 billion-mile trek

By Michelle Starr published

On Dec. 6, 2020, after six years in space, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will finally return to Earth.

A ring of dusty material surrounding this black hole may be casting its shadow into space, astronomers say.

Hubble captures a black hole's 'shadow beams,' yawning across space

By Michelle Starr published

In images from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have spotted an entirely new phenomenon.

The powerful 330-foot (100 meters) radio telescope at Green Bank, West Virginia.

Astronomers detect millions of signals from an intelligent civilization: Us

By Michelle Starr published

The Universe seems like a lonely place.

Artist's concept of the asteroid 16 Psyche, which is thought to be a stripped planetary core.

This failed planet is slowly rusting in space

By Michelle Starr published

Roughly two to three times Earth's distance from the sun, in the Asteroid Belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, 16 Psyche makes its home.

An artist's impression of the ultrahot Neptune LTT 9779b and its parent star, LTT 9779.

Astronomers peer into the atmosphere of a rare exoplanet that 'shouldn't exist'

By Michelle Starr published

The discovery of the extraordinary exoplanet LTT 9779b was first announced a month ago.

A magnetar is a superdense neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field. In this illustration, the magnetar is emitting a burst of radiation.

The first star in our galaxy caught sending out fast radio bursts is doing it again

By Michelle Starr published

A little dead star that dazzled us earlier this year is not done with its shenanigans.

This artist's impression shows the orbits of the objects in the HR 6819 triple system, which consists of a binary star pair in which one star (orbit in blue) orbits a black hole (orbit in red), as well as another star with a wider orbit (also in blue).

The closest black hole to Earth may not actually be a black hole after all

By Michelle Starr published

An object identified earlier this year as the closest black hole we've ever discovered may have just been demoted.

Lots of space debris is orbiting Earth, including non-functional satellites.

Earth's space junk problem is getting worse. And there's an explosive component.

By Michelle Starr published

We really need to stop leaving trash everywhere we go.

Andromeda galaxy

Astrophysicists figure out the total amount of matter in the universe

By Michelle Starr published

Researchers have performed one of the most precise measurements yet to determine the proportion of matter in the universe.

Exotic particles stick to all surfaces in the superfluid, shielding it from interacting with the bulk superfluid.

There's no speed limit in a superfluid universe. Now we know why.

By Michelle Starr published

Physicists have figured out how objects traveling through a superfluid can exceed a critical speed limit.