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. Astronomy

    White dwarf boosts light of stellar companion

    A gravitational lens in a binary star lets astronomers weigh the core of a dead star.

  2. Astronomy

    Earth-sized planet found in star’s habitable zone

    Astronomers have found a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet around a cool red star.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Planetary Science

    Icy rings found around tiny space rock

    Astronomers discover an icy ring around the planetoid Chariklo, held in place by unseen moons.

  7. Planetary Science

    Icy planetoid found lurking at edge of solar system

    Astronomers discovered an icy planetoid orbiting beyond the edge of the Kuiper belt.

  8. 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.

  9. Space

    Exoplanet oxygen may not signal alien life

    Oxygen in an exoplanet atmosphere may come from water and ultraviolet light, not alien life.

  10. Cosmology

    Gravitational waves unmask universe just after Big Bang

    For the first time, researchers have seen traces of superfast cosmic expansion and gravity waves.

  11. 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.

  12. Astronomy

    Behemoth star destroys potential solar systems

    A massive star in the Orion Nebula is evaporating disks surrounding young stars in its neighborhood but some disks mysteriously manage to survive.