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

    This weekend, lunar eclipse coincides with supermoon

    On September 27, sky gazers will be treated to a rare type of total lunar eclipse.

  2. Astronomy

    Black hole collisions evade detection

    The environment in the centers of some galaxies might inhibit gravitational waves radiating from supermassive black holes, a new study suggests.

  3. Planetary Science

    Enceladus’ ocean goes global

    A subsurface liquid water ocean envelops Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus.

  4. Planetary Science

    Mars’ ionosphere mystery explained

    A decades-old disagreement between the Viking landers and spacecraft buzzing around Mars might come down to what time of day each was investigating the Red Planet’s ionosphere.

  5. Planetary Science

    Satellite captures double solar eclipse in action

    NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a rare double eclipse as both Earth and the moon partially blocked the sun.

  6. Planetary Science

    Asteroid impacts may explain Venus’ missing oxygen

    Asteroid impacts on Venus might have helped sequester oxygen left behind when Earth’s sister planet lost its water, new simulations show.

  7. Planetary Science

    The first spacecraft buzzed a comet today in 1985

    Thirty years ago, a spacecraft became the first to fly past a comet.

  8. Planetary Science

    New Pluto photos show unprecedented detail

    New images from the New Horizons spacecraft show off Pluto and Charon in unprecedented detail.

  9. Planetary Science

    Ceres’ mysterious bright spots come into focus

    The Dawn spacecraft gets its best look yet at bright spots on Ceres.

  10. Planetary Science

    The wait for more Pluto data is almost over

    As New Horizons prepares to tell us everything it learned about Pluto, fans of the dwarf planet take a crack at imagining what the spacecraft saw.

  11. Astronomy

    First known exoplanets have few counterparts

    The first known exoplanets were discovered around pulsars — probably one of the least likely places to have been found, astronomers now say.

  12. Astronomy

    Two stars were once considered coldest known

    Two stars once thought to be the coldest known are actually scorching compared with some truly frigid brown dwarfs.