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Damond Benningfield, Science Writer

Damond Benningfield

Damond Benningfield is a freelance science writer and audio producer in Austin, Texas. Among other projects, he writes and produces StarDate, a daily radio program about astronomy and space exploration, and Science and the Sea, a weekly program about marine science. He has been involved with several other short-format radio programs. Benningfield, a native of Austin, also serves as executive editor of StarDate magazine. He has contributed to almost 50 magazines, newspapers, and websites, including Air & Space/Smithsonian, Smithsonian, and Astronomy. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

A boxy spacecraft with large solar “wings” takes a detailed look at Earth’s surface.
Posted inNews

Major Lakes Have Suffered Major Water Losses over the Past Few Decades

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 27 June 202329 June 2023

A new study shows that losses are global in both arid and humid regions and could have significant impacts on a quarter of Earth’s population.

The lower part of Bear Glacier, Alaska, tripled in velocity in 2019, a phenomenon largely attributable to an ice-dammed lake suddenly draining through it.
Posted inFeatures

Redefining “Glacial Pace”

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 24 April 202324 April 2023

As Earth’s climate warms, glaciers and ice sheets are retreating, cracking, and adding to sea level rise at record speeds.

An orange “doughnut,” the plasmasphere, encircles Earth, with curved lines representing Earth’s magnetic field arcing through it and the Moon in the background.
Posted inNews

Tides Ripple Across Earth’s Plasma “Donut”

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 4 April 20234 April 2023

Interactions between lunar gravity and the terrestrial magnetic field may cause a 90° offset from the Moon’s position in its orbit.

The skyline of San Francisco, shrouded by clouds and smog, sits against a pastel blue and orange background.
Posted inNews

“Revolutionary” Instrument to Watch North American Skies

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 17 March 202317 March 2023

TEMPO, scheduled for launch this April, will monitor ozone and other pollutants during hourly daytime scans, providing data for better air quality forecasts and atmospheric models.

Artist’s illustration of a large yellow sphere with red curved lines running through it. A red striped sphere is in the foreground.
Posted inNews

“Hot Jupiter” Is in a Possible Death Spiral

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 31 January 202331 January 2023

Kepler’s first exoplanet is migrating toward its star, an evolved subgiant that is much bigger than first thought.

Illustration of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft diving through the plume of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in 2015
Posted inFeatures

Marine Science Goes to Space

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 4 January 202325 September 2023

Space and ocean scientists take a splash course in multidisciplinary science to chart our solar system’s ocean worlds.

The orange moon Titan passes in front of the striped disk of the planet Saturn, with Saturn’s rings seen edge on, forming a thin line between the moon and planet.
Posted inNews

Long-Gone Moon Could Explain Birth of Saturn’s Rings

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 20 October 202224 May 2023

Named Chrysalis, the moon could have disintegrated during a close encounter with the gas giant roughly 100 million years ago.

Gloved hands hold a dark chunk of rock, a part of the Aguas Zarcas meteorite.
Posted inNews

Tiny “Pancakes” Suggest Some Asteroids May Stay Active

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 22 September 202222 September 2022

Analysis of a meteorite that fell in Costa Rica shows that its parent body may resemble the asteroid Bennu.

A snow-capped volcano appears against a bright blue sky and is reflected in lake water of the same bright blue. In the foreground are green shrubs and a boulder.
Posted inNews

Supervolcanoes Linger a While, Then Rush to Erupt

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 12 September 202212 September 2022

Geologists examined crystals in rock from four massive eruptions in the Chilean Andes.

Diagram showing the interior of the Sun
Posted inFeatures

Shake, Rattle, and Probe

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 25 August 202217 January 2023

Helioseismology allows scientists to study the interior of the Sun, solve some basic physics mysteries, and forecast space weather.

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Features from AGU Publications

Research Spotlights

Tracing Black Carbon’s Journey to the Ocean

11 July 202510 July 2025
Editors' Highlights

The Power of Naming Space Weather Events

10 July 20258 July 2025
Editors' Vox

Water Tracks: The Veins of Thawing Landscapes

25 June 202525 June 2025
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