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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: Phytoliths, Hubble bubbles, computer-generated hypotheses, and plasma shields
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Past lives caught in the dust of trees. Alun at AlunSalt describes a little-discussed botanical and archaeobotanical phenomenon called … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news, [Etc]
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We’ve moved… to Scientopia!
********************* And now, for some big news — this blog is moving! Skulls in the Stars is relocating to be a part of a new blog collective, Scientopia.org! This collective consists of a number of ex-Sciencebloggers and a number of … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
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Optics basics: lasers!
One of my goals in blogging has been to run a series of posts covering the “basics” of optics, namely those concepts that form the basis of an understanding of the more advanced topics investigated by researchers today. Though I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Optics basics
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The Discovery Place does optics!
This post involves a little bit of boasting! For the past month, the Discovery Place science museum in Charlotte has been displaying a small interactive optics exhibit targeted at 8-14 year-olds as part of their “Explore More Stuff” series. The … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Personal
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Weird science facts, March 14-March 27
Several months ago, I started a “tag” on Twitter called #weirdscifacts, in which I am chronicling in short form various little oddities about the people, events, and phenomena of science. I’ve vowed to do these facts daily for a full … Continue reading
ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: WEIRD science, copycat suicides, square quantum mechanics, nanophobia and Mars’ oceans
Are most experimental subjects in behavioral science WEIRD? “Weird” here is an acronym, but also reflects the idea that the representative samples in behavioral science aren’t really that representative of humanity as a whole. Michael Meadon of Ionian Enchantment discusses … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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5-way formation skydive!
It occurred to me, after some discussion on Twitter, that I haven’t posted any skydiving videos for a while! Part of the problem is that I haven’t had that many videos taken over the past half-year; the other part of … Continue reading
Release the kraken! (1790)
This is a science topic that isn’t really my field, but it’s just so charming that I had to post about it. While browsing through the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1790, I found a note titled, … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science
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Cerenkov sees the light (1937)
This particular post serves a double purpose: highlighting an important event in the history of physics and highlighting an important moment of my personal interest in said history! The event in question is the publication of a letter in the … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: why no wheels?, GADZOOKS!, butterfly faces and gravity’s existence
Why no wheels? At Gambler’s House, teofilo endeavors to explain why ancient cultures throughout the Americas didn’t make use of the wheel — even when they understood its principles! Acro-tastic! (with additional GADZOOKS!). Over at we are all in the … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Skulls in the Stars 