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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		Planetary ScienceRosetta mission extended until September 2016
The Rosetta spacecraft will explore comet 67P through September 2016 and then may go to sleep on the comet’s surface.
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		AstronomyMagnetic ‘glue’ helps shape galaxies
Galaxy-wide magnetic fields may play a role in shaping the spiral arms of gas and stars.
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		Planetary SciencePluto and Charon’s orbital dance captured in color
New Horizons has captured the first true-color movie of Pluto and Charon orbiting one another.
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		AstronomyBig exoplanet may be surrounded by helium
Warm Neptune-sized exoplanet might have atmospheres filled with helium.
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		Planetary ScienceEvidence mounts for active volcanoes on Venus
The Venus Express orbiter detected possible signs of active volcanism on the planet next door.
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		Planetary ScienceEvidence mounts for active volcanoes on Venus
The Venus Express orbiter detected possible signs of active volcanism on the planet next door.
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		Planetary ScienceNASA moves ahead with a mission to Europa
A NASA mission slated for the 2020s to Jupiter’s icy moon will try to figure out if the ocean there is habitable.
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		AstronomyMars-sized exoplanet is smallest to have its mass measured
The smallest exoplanet to be weighed is a hot, rocky cousin of the Red Planet.
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		AstronomyDistant galaxy may contain primeval stars
A stockpile of the first generation of stars might be lighting up gas in a galaxy that existed roughly 800 million years after the Big Bang.
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		Planetary ScienceMethane found in meteorites from Mars
Methane stored in Martian meteorites points to possibly habitable environments beneath the surface of the Red Planet.
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		Planetary ScienceRendezvous with Pluto
Earth will get its first good look at Pluto and its five known moons when New Horizons sails past on July 14.
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		Planetary ScienceSaturn’s widest ring measured
Saturn has an invisible belt that's nearly 270 times as wide as the giant planet, researchers report.