Matthew R. Francis

Matthew R. Francis is a physics writer, pub- lic speaker, educator, and wearer of jaunty hats. His website is BowlerHatScience.org.

Against the pure white snow of Antarctica, an Emperor penguin colony appears in a QuickBird satellite image as a half-mile-long stain.

Penguin Spotting, and Other Cool Satellite Tricks

You’d be surprised what you can see from 300 miles up.

An artist’s conception of SPIDER, the lightweight array proposed by Lockheed Martin to replace the huge—and hugely expensive—space telescopes. SPIDER dumps the cumbersome mirror.

Could Future Telescopes Do Without the Mirror?

Tomorrow’s Hubble might be the size of a dinner plate.

One of the best views of the galactic center combines images from the Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra space telescopes. An artist's concept depicts the likely black hole within.

The First Sighting of a Black Hole

We know one lurks at the center of the Milky Way, but to these astronomers, seeing will be believing.

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