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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: life in the dark, a galaxy far, far away, jewelry box science, and Cookie Monster social science!
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Life in the dark. Most of us live in areas of near-endless light — night is filled with the … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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7 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #29!
There’s only 7 days left before the deadline of the next edition of The Giant’s Shoulders history of science blog carnival! It will be hosted by Egil Asprem at Heterodoxology, and will be another themed edition: To the layman, the natural sciences … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Weird science facts, September 26-October 9
Posting will likely be rather quiet for the next few weeks, as I’m taking another shot at National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo! In the meantime, I’ll be keeping up my usual features, such as my editor’s selections and my … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Brian Switek’s Written in Stone
To anyone who takes even the most cursory look at the natural world around them, it is obvious that life on earth is an amazing, interconnected system that is constantly changing and adapting. The theoretical cornerstone to understanding this system … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections, post-Halloween edition: Godzilla slime molds, fossil ghost hippos and a Venice vampire
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. It’s the day after Halloween, but I can’t resist sharing a few posts that are of a more creepy … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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The Lady of the Lake… a scientific ghost story
Ghost stories are somewhat passé in our modern, technical world — many of the mysterious phenomena that used to fill people with fear in past eras have been demystified thanks to our better knowledge of science. The phantom lights in … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Horror
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A visit to Mount Hope Cemetery
While in Rochester, NY for the Frontiers in Optics 2010 meeting of the Optical Society of America, the wife and I had a little free time available to take a tour of the lovely and venerable Mount Hope Cemetery. Founded … Continue reading
Posted in Cemetery, Travel
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Weird science facts, September 12-September 25
I’ve been at the OSA Frontiers in Optics meeting in Rochester this week, and haven’t had any time to get blogging done (the absence of wifi in the convention hall and the crappy wifi in the Hyatt didn’t help). Nevertheless, … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: eye jumping, Mesa Verde water control and Saudi Arabian volcanoes
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. (I’m out of town at a meeting this week, and didn’t have as much time to read all the … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Kitty fostering breakthrough!
As I’ve noted in a previous blog post, my wife and I have been fostering a brother/sister pair of cats, named Mandarin and Mango, for the past several weeks. Some more recent pictures, first of Mandarin at play: and of … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
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Skulls in the Stars 