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

    19 more galaxies mysteriously missing dark matter have been found

    The finding reveals a population of dwarf galaxies that defy common wisdom about how these star systems form and evolve.

  2. Planetary Science

    Ribose, a sugar needed for life, has been detected in meteorites

    Samples of rocks that fell to Earth contain a key molecular ingredient of RNA, part of life’s genetic machinery.

  3. Space

    How two gamma-ray bursts created record-breaking high-energy photons

    Light packing up to 1 trillion electron volts of energy bolsters a theory for how these cosmic explosions produce such high-energy radiation.

  4. Space

    Realigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils

    Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.

  5. Space

    NASA gave Ultima Thule a new official name

    The distant world briefly visited by New Horizons is now called Arrokoth, a Powhatan word that means “sky.”

  6. Space

    Light leaking from a distant galaxy hints at a cosmic makeover’s origins

    Ultraviolet light slips through a hole in a distant galaxy’s gas. Older galaxies might have used the trick to ionize most of the universe’s hydrogen.

  7. Space

    Voyager 2 reveals the dynamic, complex nature of the solar system’s edge

    With two spacecraft outside the sun’s magnetic bubble, researchers get a new look at the boundary between the sun and its galactic environment.

  8. Planetary Science

    Accolades, skepticism and science marked Science News’ coverage of Apollo

    Science News’ coverage of the Apollo program stayed focused on the science but also framed the moon missions in the broader social and political context of the era.

  9. Planetary Science

    Saturn has two hexagons, not one, swirling around its north pole

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft spied a vortex growing high over Saturn’s north pole, whose hexagonal shape mirrors a famous underlying cyclone.

  10. Planetary Science

    Jupiter’s magnetic field is surprisingly weird

    New results from NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveal different magnetic behavior in the planet’s northern and southern hemispheres.

  11. Planetary Science

    New Horizons has sent back the first images of Ultima Thule, its next target

    NASA probe gets its first look at distant Kuiper Belt object

  12. Particle Physics

    A new quasiparticle lurks in semiconductors

    Strange entities called collexons hint at undiscovered physics among interacting subatomic particles in a semiconductor.