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

    Mercury’s surface still changing

    A population of small cliffs on Mercury suggests that the planet might have been tectonically active in the last 50 million years.

  2. Planetary Science

    A salty sea could lurk beneath the heart of Pluto

    An ocean more than 100 kilometers thick might hide beneath Pluto’s surface.

  3. Astronomy

    Old-school contraptions still work for weighing astronauts

    To weigh themselves, astronauts still use technology invented about 50 years ago.

  4. Astronomy

    Anna Frebel digs a young universe

    Astronomer Anna Frebel has discovered record-breaking stars, including the most pristine in the galaxy.

  5. Astronomy

    The sun isn’t the only light source behind that summer tan

    About 99.999% of the light that creates a suntan comes from the sun; the rest comes from the Big Bang and galaxies throughout the universe.

  6. Astronomy

    Vanished star may be first known failed supernova

    A star that vanished in another galaxy might be the first confirmed case of a failed supernova — and the birth of a black hole.

  7. Planetary Science

    Source of Charon’s red north pole is probably Pluto

    The dark red pole on Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is probably gas that escaped from Pluto and was then transformed by sunlight.

  8. Astronomy

    Gaia mission’s Milky Way map pinpoints locations of billion-plus stars

    New map of the galaxy provides unprecedented positions of over 1 billion stars and promises of a detailed 3-D atlas to come.

  9. Planetary Science

    Source of Charon’s red north pole is probably Pluto

    The dark red pole on Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is probably gas that escaped from Pluto and was then transformed by sunlight.

  10. Planetary Science

    Rock star Freddie Mercury now has his own space rock

    Queen front man Freddie Mercury is the latest in a long list of celebrities to have an asteroid named after him.

  11. Planetary Science

    OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launches tonight for mission to grab asteroid sample

    NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is about to launch for a seven-year mission to study the asteroid Bennu and bring samples of the space rock back to Earth.

  12. Planetary Science

    Philae lander spotted on comet 67P

    Missing since November 2014, the Philae comet lander has been found lurking in the shadows on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.