All Stories by Christopher Crockett
- Planets
The ultimate getaway — visiting the Red Planet
At a recent summit, experts discussed the challenges of a human mission to Mars — and how to land a crew there within 20 years.
- Climate
This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth
Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.
- Chemistry
Key sugar for life on Earth could have formed in space
Ribose, a sugar in RNA, may have formed in space and then rained down on a young Earth, a new study suggests.
- Space
Hurricane at this galaxy’s center is wicked fast
The gale-force winds around one quasar whip by at almost 200 million kilometers per hour. That’s 625,000 times faster than the strongest hurricanes on Earth.
- Physics
Black hole smashup sent out ‘yottawatts’ of power
When two black holes collided, they released a lot of energy in gravity waves. How much? How about 36 septillion yottawatts of power!
- Physics
Explainer: What are gravitational waves?
Albert Einstein had predicted that large catastrophes, like colliding black holes, should produce tiny ripples in the fabric of space. In 2016, scientists reported finally detecting them
- Planets
Hunt is on for new Planet Nine
Lots of clues point to the likelihood that a mystery planet lurks in the outer suburbs of our solar system. Math and the screening of old photos may turn it up.
- Planets
Beyond Pluto: A new 9th planet?
A giant planet, perhaps 10 times Earth’s mass, may be orbiting the sun from a great distance. Its existence, orbit and size are all surmised, based on strange effects seen in objects within the distant Kuiper Belt.
- Planets
Weird Pluto gives up its secrets
The New Horizon spacecraft spent almost a decade getting to Pluto. Its first few months of data reveal this dwarf planet is far stranger than scientists had imagined.
- Space
Pollution may give ‘first’ stars a youthful look
The oldest stars should be made of only light elements. But these suns may have sucked up heavier elements, giving them a more youthful appearance, a new study finds.
- Planets
Picture This: Evidence of liquid water on Mars
Mars hosts surface salt deposits. They appear to come from seasonal water flows on the Red Planet, a new study concludes.
- Planets
News Brief: Venus may have active volcanoes
The Venus Express spacecraft detected flashes of infrared light that may be from hot lava erupting from active volcanoes.
