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.
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All Stories by Christopher Crockett
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		AstronomyThis weekend, lunar eclipse coincides with supermoon
On September 27, sky gazers will be treated to a rare type of total lunar eclipse.
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		AstronomyBlack 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.
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		Planetary ScienceEnceladus’ ocean goes global
A subsurface liquid water ocean envelops Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus.
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		Planetary ScienceMars’ 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.
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		Planetary ScienceSatellite 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.
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		Planetary ScienceAsteroid 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.
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		Planetary ScienceThe first spacecraft buzzed a comet today in 1985
Thirty years ago, a spacecraft became the first to fly past a comet.
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		Planetary ScienceNew Pluto photos show unprecedented detail
New images from the New Horizons spacecraft show off Pluto and Charon in unprecedented detail.
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		Planetary ScienceCeres’ mysterious bright spots come into focus
The Dawn spacecraft gets its best look yet at bright spots on Ceres.
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		Planetary ScienceThe 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.
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		AstronomyFirst 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.
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		AstronomyTwo 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.