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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.

Illustration of two spacecraft near the Moon, with Earth in the background.
Posted inNews

Moon’s Porosity Changes Cratering History, Study Says

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 3 August 20224 October 2022

Gravity field measurements from decade-old lunar orbiter provide a proxy for counting craters.

A small fragment of rock, part of a meteorite from the planet Mars.
Posted inNews

Flipping the Sequence of Martian Formation

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 15 July 202219 July 2022

Analysis of the Chassigny meteorite suggests the planet acquired most of its interior volatiles from meteorites, not from the solar nebula.

Detailed image shows sculpted layers of ice at Mars’s south pole.
Posted inNews

The Bumpy Search for Liquid Water at the South Pole of Mars

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 8 March 20228 March 2022

Studies since 2018 have provided competing explanations of bright radar reflections from the base of the south polar ice cap.

Una explosión de luz solar sobre una Tierra nublada.
Posted inNews

Pequeños cambios climáticos podrían verse magnificados por procesos naturales

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 1 March 202227 March 2023

Un nuevo estudio utiliza técnicas de modelado para descubrir cómo pequeños incidentes de calentamiento pueden convertirse en eventos hipertermales que duran miles de años.

A Mars rover beside a rock with two holes drilled into it
Posted inNews

Scientists Plan a Home Away from Home for Mars Samples

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 8 December 202127 March 2023

The core tubes being collected by the Perseverance rover won’t arrive for years, but NASA and the European Space Agency are outlining needs for a facility to assess their safety and store and distribute them.

A boat floats between flood buildings, with people walking on the sidewalks and across a bridge.
Posted inNews

For Venice’s Floodgates to Work, Better Forecasts Are Needed

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 14 October 202129 March 2023

Climate change increases massive storm surges, which may be more than Venice’s flood-control system can handle.

Un buzo se acerca a roca cubierta con tapetes multicolores de bacterias.
Posted inNews

Días más largos probablemente incrementaron el oxígeno temprano de la Tierra

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 1 October 20218 April 2022

Tapetes microbianos en el sumidero del Lago Huron, combinado con modelado, sugiere que el cambio en duración del día de la Tierra podría haber jugado un rol principal en la oxigenación de la atmósfera.

A burst of sunlight above a cloudy Earth.
Posted inNews

Small Climate Changes Could Be Magnified by Natural Processes

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 16 September 202129 March 2023

A new study uses modeling techniques to uncover how small incidents of warming may be turned into hyperthermal events lasting thousands of years.

A diver approaches rocks covered with multicolored mats of bacteria.
Posted inNews

Longer Days Likely Boosted Earth’s Early Oxygen

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 3 September 202124 August 2023

Microbial mats in a Lake Huron sinkhole, combined with modeling work, suggest that the changing length of Earth’s day could have played a key role in oxygenating the atmosphere.

This illustration shows an exoplanet orbiting its much brighter star.
Posted inGeoFIZZ

Oddballs of the Exoplanet Realm

Damond Benningfield, Science Writer by Damond Benningfield 26 July 202125 October 2021

The list of planets in other star systems includes zombies, hot giants, puffballs, and even a few Tatooines. Zowie!

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