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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
Oldest preserved spider web found in amber
This is one of those stories that just fills one with awe about the ancientness of life on earth. Via The Great Orange Satan, I found this article in Wired about an amazing discovery: The world’s oldest known spider web … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Science news
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John Grant’s Bogus Science
About two years ago, I had the pleasure of happening across and reading John Grant’s book Corrupted Science. Corrupted Science deals with the systematic weakening, ignoring, and suppression of scientific reality for political purposes; examples include the disastrous Lysenkoism of … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science, Science news
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Horror writers on horror films, from Focus Features
A few days ago, I got a nice email from FilminFocus.com, the film culture website of film company Focus Features (A Serious Man, Brokeback Mountain, Coraline). For Halloween, they asked five horror writers to each list their five favorite horror … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Horror
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Renaissance Mathematicus on the blogroll!
Just a short note that I’ve added Renaissance Mathematicus to the blogroll, a long overdue addition! For those readers here who like the history of science, I can highly recommend thonyc’s blog, if you haven’t been reading it already! A … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
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12 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #17!
There’s 12 days left until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #17! It will be held at The Primate Diaries, and entries can be submitted through blogcarnival.com or directly to the host blog, as usual!
Posted in General science, Science news
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The movie 2012… stoopid before it even comes out
You know, I’m not in principle against a film based on the premise that the world will end in 2012 as prophesized by the ancient Mayans, even though the idea is complete bunk. What does bug me is that the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: Replicating historical sites, dating the universe, zombies, vampires and werewolves, oh my!
Replication. teofilo at Gambler’s House talks about an interesting proposal for preserving delicate historical sites: build exact replicas of them! Replicas of smaller artifacts could also be used to resolve disputes of ownership amongst various countries. Universe lets age clue … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Boo! The optics behind “ghost” imaging
Halloween seemed like the perfect time to talk about an unconventional sort of optical imaging, referred to as “ghost” imaging. I should point out at the beginning, however, that I’m not talking about this sort of ghost imaging: Don’t get … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
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Halloween treats 2009
It’s time again for my yearly dose of Halloween chills, courtesy of some classic horror stories! The 2007 edition can be found here, and the 2008 edition can be found here. Have a happy Halloween! The Willows, Algernon Blackwood. This … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The “curse” of success in science
(This post may seem like boasting just as much as it seems like complaining, for which I apologize in advance.) Those who are regular readers of this blog may have noticed that things have been a little quiet again for … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science
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Skulls in the Stars 