headshot of Associate News Editor Christopher Crockett

Christopher Crockett

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

    Rare trio of supermassive black holes found

    Three supermassive black holes residing where two distant galaxies collide offer new clues about where to look for gravitational waves.

  2. Astronomy

    Milky Way galaxy’s dust clouds shown in 3-D map

    A new three-dimensional map of interstellar dust in the Milky Way wraps 180 degrees around the sky and extends over 16,000 light-years from Earth.

  3. Astronomy

    Galaxy seed found from 3 billion years after Big Bang

    A still-growing core of a galaxy in the early universe may help astronomers understand how massive elliptical galaxies get their start.

  4. Cosmology

    Dazzle or dust?

    The unpredictable glow of galactic dust could undermine the biggest cosmological discovery in years.

  5. Astronomy

    Supermassive black hole kills monster galaxy

    A supermassive black hole appears to have shut down star formation in an ancient, massive galaxy.

  6. Astronomy

    Stopping starlight may bring other Earths into focus

    Two new telescope concepts compete for NASA’s approval, in hopes of taking the first picture of a life-bearing exoplanet.

  7. Astronomy

    Hubble space telescope spies teenage galaxies

    New Hubble telescope images show ultraviolet radiation from stars born during the universe’s adolescent phase.

  8. Astronomy

    Galactic collision creates huge particle collider

    New images reveal a jet of particles shooting out of a collision among four galaxy clusters.

  9. Astronomy

    Rocky, overweight planet shakes up theories

    Kepler-10c is a rocky exoplanet 17 times as massive as Earth, and astronomers are puzzled as to how it formed.

  10. Planetary Science

    Do-it-yourself solar system

    If you've always wanted to build your own solar system, roll up your sleeves — SuperPlanetCrash is an online solar system simulator, set up as a game.

  11. Astronomy

    Young, hot exoplanet takes title for longest year

    Newly discovered exoplanet sits a whopping 2,000 times farther from its star than Earth does from the sun.

  12. Astronomy

    Sun shines new life on Kepler space telescope

    NASA approved a proposal to bring the crippled Kepler spacecraft back to life, using sunlight as balance to help the telescope search for planets and more.