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

    Magnetic fields in sun rise at 500 kilometers per hour

    Magnetic fields within the sun rise up no faster than about 500 kilometers per hour, suggesting that the movement of gas is responsible for bringing these fields to the sun’s surface.

  2. Planetary Science

    Ceres is more than just a space rock

    Dawn spacecraft reveals that the dwarf planet Ceres hides a core of solid rock beneath an outer crust of minerals, salts and ices.

  3. Planetary Science

    Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is hot

    High temperatures over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot suggest that storms pump heat into the atmosphere and warm the entire planet.

  4. Planetary Science

    40 years ago, Viking 1 pioneered U.S. exploration on Mars

    Forty years ago, Viking 1 became the first U.S. mission to land safely on the surface of Mars.

  5. Astronomy

    Kepler tally grows: 104 more exoplanets confirmed

    Kepler space telescope adds another 104 planets to its growing census of worlds in our galaxy.

  6. Astronomy

    Black hole born without stellar parent, evidence suggests

    A galaxy in the early universe might harbor the first known “direct collapse” black hole, one that forms when a cloud of gas collapses under its own weight without forming stars.

  7. Planetary Science

    Juno snaps its first pic of Jupiter

    Jupiter and three of its moons take center stage in the first snapshot taken by the Juno spacecraft since arriving at the planet on July 4.

  8. Planetary Science

    New dwarf planet discovered lurking beyond Neptune

    Newly discovered dwarf planet 2015 RR245 takes about 700 years to orbit the sun and lives among the icy boulders of the Kuiper belt.

  9. Planetary Science

    New clues in search for Planet Nine

    Lots of unknowns remain as researchers try to pin down where a possible ninth planet might be hiding in the solar system.

  10. Planetary Science

    The Juno spacecraft is now in orbit around Jupiter

    NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Jupiter, beginning a 20-month investigation of the giant planet’s interior.

  11. Planetary Science

    The Juno spacecraft is now in orbit around Jupiter

    NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Jupiter, beginning a 20-month investigation of the giant planet’s interior.

  12. Planetary Science

    Mars once had many moons

    Mars' moons might be the only two left of a larger family of satellites that helped them form in the wake of an asteroid collision.