Ben McCarthy

Ben McCarthy is a Sydney-based builder and essayist who creates science-focused digital experiences and writing for curious, research-minded audiences. Describing most online content as “technological junk food,” he aims to make high-protein work for science nerds: interactive explainers, illustrated essays, software, and community projects exploring science and the natural world. He invites research institutes, observatories, museums, and other science organisations to commission explainers.

His projects make complex topics approachable through hands-on exploration. What Are You Made Of? traces the origins of the atoms in the human body, while Solar Eclipses Across the Solar System simulates eclipses from Earth to Pluto. Other work includes a guide to species at Manly’s Cabbage Tree Bay, a comparison of the universe’s rarest gemstones, and a tool for viewing the night sky without light pollution. McCarthy has also built online communities for nature photographers and published essays on cosmic origins, nuclear waste, and space. His curiosities include reviewing star projectors and exploring ways to bring the night sky indoors.