Lee Billings is a science journalist specializing in astronomy, physics, planetary science, and spaceflight, and is a senior editor at Scientific American. He is the author of a critically acclaimed book, Five Billion Years of Solitude: the Search for Life Among the Stars, which in 2014 won a Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics. In addition to his work for Scientific American, Billings's writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Wired, New Scientist, Popular Science, and many other publications. A dynamic public speaker, Billings has given invited talks for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Google, and has served as M.C. for events held by National Geographic, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, Pioneer Works, and various other organizations.
Billings joined Scientific American in 2014, and previously worked as a staff editor at SEED magazine. He holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Minnesota.
Polaris Dawn’s First Private Space Walk Was a Stellar Success
The world’s first commercial space walk, performed by billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, tested new technology and was practically flawless
Starliner Spacecraft Safely Returns to Earth, sans Astronauts
Starliner’s first crewed test flight has concluded with a successful touchdown—and two astronauts still in orbit awaiting a different ride home
Polaris Dawn Is the Most Ambitious—And Risky—Private Spaceflight Yet
The Polaris Dawn mission—a partnership between SpaceX and billionaire Jared Isaacman—will soar to historic heights and attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk
We Know the Origins of the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs
New evidence points to a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer solar system as the culprit for Earth’s most recent mass extinction
This Is the Most Exciting Rock Ever Found on Mars
Mysterious “leopard spots” on a Martian rock could be evidence of extraterrestrial life—or of mere lifeless chemistry. Finding out the truth may require bringing the rock back to Earth
How Worried Should We Be about Starliner’s Stranded Astronauts?
On its first crewed flight, troubling technical glitches with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft have left two astronauts in limbo onboard the International Space Station
China Makes History with First-Ever Samples from the Moon’s Far Side
China’s Chang’e 6 mission has successfully returned samples from the moon’s far side, opening a new phase of the nation’s lunar space race with the U.S.
NASA Refuses Hubble Rescue Mission and Trims the Space Telescope’s Science
Failing hardware on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope may lead to less science, officials say, but the space agency isn’t ready to pursue a private repair mission
The Science of Heliophysics Demands Its Moment in the Sun
NASA’s head of heliophysics explains how we weathered the worst solar storm of a generation—and discusses the challenges we face in preparing for the next one
The Strongest Solar Storm in 20 Years Did Little Damage, but Worse Space Weather Is Coming
Years of careful planning helped safeguard against last weekend’s severe space weather, but we still don’t know how we’d cope with a monster event
Can Scientific Thinking Save the World?
A physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist are working together to bring better, smarter decision-making to the masses
It’s Not Just You: Three Times Eclipses Left Scientists ‘More or Less Agog’
Total solar eclipses have set the stage for major scientific advancements—everything from the discovery of helium to the testing of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
The Great Debate: Could We Ever Travel through Time?
Our space and physics editors go head-to-head over a classic mind-bending question.
When Will We Finally Have Sex In Space?
We're talking about the big bang—but not in the way you might think.
Space Junk Is Polluting Earth’s Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal
Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth’s fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown
Astronomers May Have Witnessed Worlds in Collision
A planet-vaporizing impact is the leading explanation for a distant star’s curiously fluctuating light
Here’s What Oppenheimer Gets Right—And Wrong—About Nuclear History
Here’s what a historian who has studied J. Robert Oppenheimer for two decades has to say about the new Christopher Nolan film on the father of the atomic bomb.
The Universe Is Abuzz with Giant Gravitational Waves, and Scientists Just Heard Them (Maybe)
Researchers, using the galaxy as a detector, believe they have detected gravitational waves from monster black holes for the first time.
Have Astronomers Seen the Universe’s First Stars?
The James Webb Space Telescope is giving us our first glimpse of stars in the early universe.
Listen to the Astonishing ‘Chirp’ of Two Black Holes Merging
Some of the most violent cosmic collisions occur silently in the vacuum of space, but with the right instrumental ears, we can still hear it happen. Here’s how.
We Live in the Rarest Type of Planetary System
New work suggests four distinct star system types—and finds our own in the rarest category
Is Time Travel Even Possible?
Two SciAm editors duke it out to see if wormholes and multiverses could in fact exist.
A Mission to Jupiter’s Strange Moons Is Finally on Its Way
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) and Europa Clipper missions will search for signs of habitability on three of Jupiter’s potentially ocean-bearing moons.
Science Has New Ideas about ‘Oumuamua’s Weirdness
Our first known interstellar visitor is now long gone, but new research has some ideas about why it moved the way it did while it was in our cosmic neighborhood.