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. Planetary Science

    Japanese spacecraft reaches Venus — five years late

    The Japanese Space Agency’s Akatsuki spacecraft succeeded at a second attempt at orbiting Venus, five years after an engine failure prevented its intended mission.

  2. Astronomy

    LISA Pathfinder to pave way for gravitational wave detection

    The successful launch of the LISA Pathfinder mission marks the first step toward testing techniques needed to build a space-based gravitational-wave detector.

  3. Astronomy

    Mysterious cosmic signals carry a clue to their origins

    A burst of radio waves from another galaxy ran into a dense magnetized plasma while en route to Earth, hinting at an origin near a population of young stars.

  4. Astronomy

    Super-Earths, meet superpuffs, a lighter weight class of planet

    Superpuffs are underweight, oversized planets that formed in outskirts of star systems before cuddling up close to their sun.

  5. Planetary Science

    A defenseless Mars is losing its atmosphere

    Measurements of Mars’ atmosphere leaking into space could help scientists explain how the Red Planet lost its once life-friendly climate.

  6. Astronomy

    More mysterious extragalactic signals detected

    Five more fast radio bursts from other galaxies have shown up and one of them is a double.

  7. Planetary Science

    Phobos to create ring around the Red Planet

    Mars’ moon Phobos will shatter and create a temporary ring around Mars 20 million to 40 million years from now.

  8. Planetary Science

    Way-out world is solar system’s most distant object — for now

    An icy world over 15 billion kilometers from the sun is the new record holder for most distant object in the solar system.

  9. Planetary Science

    Glimpse of baby planet shows what to expect when a star is expecting

    A baby planet is still growing in the disk of gas that encircles a young star.

  10. Planetary Science

    Two-stage process formed moon, simulations suggest

    Certain elements absent from lunar samples but present on Earth might be hidden deep inside the moon, a relic from how it was put together.

  11. Planetary Science

    Mighty winds fuel megastorms on Titan

    Saturn’s moon Titan might produce long-lasting storms squalls that flood the surface with liquid methane.

  12. Astronomy

    Cosmic rays maintain their mystery

    Cosmic rays come from all over the universe, including some places we’re not so sure about.