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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Astronomy
Distant swirling galaxy dwarfed by violent star killer
In a mosaic of images from a telescope in Chile, dark dust lanes and twisting tails betray a history of galactic collisions.
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Astronomy
White dwarf boosts light of stellar companion
A gravitational lens in a binary star lets astronomers weigh the core of a dead star.
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Astronomy
Earth-sized planet found in star’s habitable zone
Astronomers have found a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet around a cool red star.
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Astronomy
Early Mars couldn’t hold liquid water long
Small rocks hit Mars 3.6 billion years ago, suggesting an early atmosphere too thin for liquid water to hang around very long.
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Astronomy
Diamond ring shape formed by dead and living stars
Abell 33 is a planetary nebula, the remains of a star, beautifully aligned with another star.
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Planetary Science
Subsurface sea hides below ice of Saturn moon
Astronomers add to evidence for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus using subtle variations in the moon’s gravity.
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Planetary Science
Icy rings found around tiny space rock
Astronomers discover an icy ring around the planetoid Chariklo, held in place by unseen moons.
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Planetary Science
Icy planetoid found lurking at edge of solar system
Astronomers discovered an icy planetoid orbiting beyond the edge of the Kuiper belt.
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Astronomy
Zoom in on amazing detail in NASA moon map
An interactive mosaic of images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter lets you fly over the Moon’s north pole with unprecedented detail.
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Space
Exoplanet oxygen may not signal alien life
Oxygen in an exoplanet atmosphere may come from water and ultraviolet light, not alien life.
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Cosmology
Gravitational waves unmask universe just after Big Bang
For the first time, researchers have seen traces of superfast cosmic expansion and gravity waves.
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Astronomy
Mature galaxies found in young universe
Inactive galaxies the size of the Milky Way found dating to when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old.