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

    Something’s cooking on Enceladus

    A trail of silicon-rich particles in one of the rings of Saturn points to possible hydrothermal activity on Enceladus.

  2. Planetary Science

    Dawn spacecraft arrives at dwarf planet Ceres

    The Dawn spacecraft arrives at Ceres to begin a 14-month investigation of the dwarf planet.

  3. Astronomy

    Hubble telescope sees quadruple

    A galaxy bends light to create four images of the same supernova.

  4. Astronomy

    Supernova hurls star out of the galaxy

    The fastest-moving star to leave the Milky Way might have been launched by a nearby exploding star.

  5. Planetary Science

    Dawn spacecraft on final approach to Ceres

    Dawn gets ready to enter the first orbit of its 14-month visit to the dwarf planet Ceres.

  6. Astronomy

    Hundreds of galaxies seen in a new 3-D view of the universe

    A new instrument lets astronomers measure the distances to hundreds of galaxies at once, looking back across the age of the universe.

  7. Astronomy

    Planet collisions may have rearranged crowded solar systems

    Solar systems discovered by Kepler with just one or two worlds may be remnants of planet families that were once far more crowded.

  8. Planetary Science

    Mysterious bright spot on Ceres has a partner

    A new image from the Dawn spacecraft finds two bright patches within a basin, possibly caused by an ice volcano.

  9. Astronomy

    Monster black hole lurks in the early universe

    A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.

  10. Oceans

    ‘Ocean Worlds’ chronicles the story of water on Earth and across the cosmos

    Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams recount the history and predict the future of Earth’s oceans.

  11. Planetary Science

    New Horizons spies two of Pluto’s moons

    Nix and Hydra come into view on the 85th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery.

  12. Planetary Science

    Dwarf planet Ceres comes into view

    New images from the Dawn spacecraft reveal a landscape of craters and mysterious bright patches on the dwarf planet Ceres.