headshot of Associate News Editor Christopher Crockett

Christopher Crockett

Associate News Editor

Christopher Crockett is an Associate News Editor. He was formerly the astronomy writer from 2014 to 2017, and he has a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.

All Stories by Christopher Crockett

  1. Astronomy

    Odd white dwarf found with mostly oxygen atmosphere

    A white dwarf that has been stripped of its hydrogen and helium provides a rare peek inside the core of a dead massive star.

  2. Astronomy

    This eclipse goes on and on

    The longest known stellar eclipse hides a nearby star for nearly 3.5 years behind a thick clump of orbiting dust once every 69 years.

  3. Astronomy

    Earth’s hurricanes have nothing on this quasar

    In a remote galaxy, a cosmic hurricane around a supermassive black hole is driving winds at nearly 20 percent of the speed of light.

  4. Astronomy

    Japan’s new X-ray space telescope has gone silent

    Japan’s newest orbiting X-ray telescope, ASTRO-H, has gone silent and might have broken into several pieces, the Japanese space agency reports.

  5. Astronomy

    Companion star could have triggered supernova

    An exploding star in another galaxy might have been pushed over the edge by a stellar companion.

  6. Astronomy

    The moon’s poles have no fixed address

    Ancient deposits of lunar water ice mark where the moon’s poles used to be.

  7. Astronomy

    Two chunks of the same comet buzzing Earth this week

    Two comets, one a possible fragment of the other, will slip past Earth on March 21 and 22.

  8. Planetary Science

    Comets carried noble gases to Earth

    Asteroids might have delivered water to Earth, but comets could be responsible for noble gases and amino acids, a new study suggests.

  9. Astronomy

    Quasars’ distance no longer in question

    Astronomers now know quasars live around black holes in remote galaxies, but 50 years ago, one researcher argued they were much closer.

  10. Planetary Science

    Get your Pluto trivia down cold

    Eight months after visiting Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft has delivered a wealth of details about the dwarf planet and its family of moons.

  11. Planetary Science

    Wandering Jupiter could have swept inner solar system clean

    If Jupiter formed close to the sun and then wandered out, that might explain why there are no planets interior to Mercury’s orbit.

  12. Planetary Science

    ExoMars mission to search for signs of life on the Red Planet

    The next mission to Mars will tally gases in the planet’s atmosphere and test technologies for a 2018 rover.