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

    Lit-up gas clouds hint at galaxies’ violent pasts

    Voorwerpjes, tendrils of gas that orbit galaxies, continue to glow tens of thousands of years after being blasted with ultraviolet radiation.

  2. Astronomy

    Astronomers celebrating Hubble’s past focus on its future

    Astronomers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope by reflecting on its diversity and looking ahead to the future.

  3. Astronomy

    Color differences could recalibrate cosmic acceleration rate

    Color differences in a class of supernovas could lower estimates of how much dark energy is in the universe.

  4. Astronomy

    A look back in time reveals Milky Way’s evolution

    A sample of galaxies covering 11 billion years of cosmic history helps astronomers document how the Milky Way evolved.

  5. Planetary Science

    Comet 67P shows no sign of magnetism

    Philae found no evidence of a magnetic field on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but did send back some clues about its rough landing.

  6. Astronomy

    Source of puzzling cosmic signals found — in the kitchen

    One type of radio burst has a pretty mundane origin: prematurely opened microwave ovens.

  7. Planetary Science

    A modest Plutonian proposal

    Flagstaff, Echidna, Spock. Naming conventions for the landscapes of Pluto and its moons are proposed ahead of the arrival of the New Horizons probe.

  8. Astronomy

    Cyanides around young star signal complex organic chemistry

    Abundances of cyanide compounds around a young star match those found in comets in our solar system.

  9. Astronomy

    Celebrating 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope has served for more than two decades as the sharpest eyes ever to peer into the universe.

  10. Astronomy

    Saturday’s lunar eclipse will be total, but brief

    A brief total lunar eclipse on April 4 favors observers from western North America to Australia.

  11. Planetary Science

    Minisatellites could detect dangerous asteroids, researchers propose

    Five tiny telescopes orbiting the sun could provide early warning for an Earth-bound asteroid, though other researchers disagree.

  12. Astronomy

    Primordial stars left their imprint on dwarf galaxy

    A smattering of stars in a dwarf galaxy outside the Milky Way witnessed explosions from the first generation of stars.