Rahul Rao
Rahul Rao is a freelance science writer and a graduate of New York University's Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP).
As a freelancer, he writes regularly about physics, space, and infrastructure. His work has appeared in Gizmodo, Popular Science, IEEE Spectrum, and Continuum. He enjoys riding trains for fun, and he has seen every surviving episode of Doctor Who.
Before becoming a journalist, Rahul completed his bachelors at Vanderbilt University in physics and English. Rahul is based in New York.
Physicists Confirm A Long-Held Belief About Dark Energy Using Unique Supernova
Astronomers just found the most solid evidence yet that dark energy is constant throughout the cosmos, unchanging with space or time.
This Common Gas Transformed Venus From Habitable To Hellish
For the first time, astronomers have used a 3D climate model to simulate a cool, Earth-like water world transforming into a Venus-like hothouse.
2023 Ignited a New Era For Nuclear Fusion. 2024 Could Be Even Brighter
“For the first time, all the pieces of the puzzle are there: the physics, the policy drivers, and the investment.”
What Created The Milky Way’s Mysterious Bar? A Galactic Collision, Maybe
Some astronomers already suspect that the bar formed around the same time as a massive collision.
Astronomers Discover Stars Containing Absurdly Heavy Elements Unlikely To Survive On Earth
Researchers found that some neutron stars contain elements that would be extremely unstable and short-lived on our home planet.
The Webb Telescope Went On A Hunt For Baby Stars — It Accidentally Discovered Something Far More Intriguing
A deadly poison on Earth, carbon monoxide is actually the second-most common molecule in the universe.
Is the Kessler Effect in Gravity Really That Dangerous? Here's What Astrophysicists Think
Researchers from a range of fields agree that the current state of Earth's orbit is on course for a disaster much like that in the film.
The Rocket That Could Take Humans to Mars Has Been 50 Years in the Making
Most of today’s rockets are chemical rockets, generating immense energy from chemical reactions. But if we want to go to Mars, we need nuclear energy.
Scientists Debunk the Most Advanced Space Tech We’ve Ever Seen in Star Wars
Ahsoka is about to make Star Wars history by traveling to another galaxy. Could humanity do the same thing one day?
A Strange 1950s Technology Could Finally Bring Fusion Energy to the Grid
The stellarator is back, baby.
Deepfakes could get super advanced (and weird) thanks to these breakthroughs
If the models do improve, they could create some of the most advanced deepfakes out there.
Webb Telescope finds carbon dioxide in a hot Jupiter atmosphere — with hopes for smaller planets down the line
While the planet is too large and hot for life, it could help us study more Earth-like exoplanets.
This beautiful math equation could herald a quantum computing breakthrough
The Fibonacci sequence may unleash the potential of nascent quantum computers.
Large Hadron Collider physicists find new particles in old data
These new kinds of quarks don’t last long.
The Large Hadron Collider restarts next week — here's what it's hunting for
Here's what you need to know.
China's search for alien life turns up something suspicious — but there's a catch
Rumblings of mysterious signals from outer space are going around — but how much stock should you put in them?
Boeing’s Starliner lands in the desert — and brings NASA one step closer to a key strategic goal
Starliner’s path to success has been turbulent.
The first congressional hearing on UFOs in 50 years shows America’s interest in aliens will never fade
In the 1960s, just as now, the US military expressed great interest in UFOs.
Inside the FBI's secret Einstein file: Flying saucers and Soviet conspiracies
While the Red Scare was making America panic, the FBI had their eyes on the famed physicist.
