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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
A volcano to watch: Mount Redoubt
Via CNN, we learn that Mount Redoubt in Alaska is showing clear signs of an eminent eruption. As is always the case with forecasting eruptions, it is impossible to predict exactly when the eruption will happen; from CNN: Peter Cervelli, … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
2 Comments
Bush finally gets that monument in Iraq!
Well, right-wing pundits were convinced that Iraqis would be so grateful to Bush for liberating their country that they’d construct statues and name streets after him. It’s taken some time, but finally a monument related to Bush has shown up … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Silliness
4 Comments
Nazi zombies threaten Austin, TX!
… at least that’s what a pair of electronic road signs warned drivers on Wednesday: Station KXAN in Austin has the details. Apparently a group of enterprising prankster hackers changed the messages on the road signs to warn of a … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness
10 Comments
200k page view milestone!
I’ve passed yet another personal blogging milestone: a total of 200k page views! It seems like yesterday that I passed thet 100k mark, though it was actually last month. Thanks to my ‘spot the math errors‘ post, I’ve had over … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
3 Comments
Dick Van Dyke: Still cool
I’ve been a big fan of Dick Van Dyke for a long time, and it’s great to see that he’s still active and in the news! CNN has a nice interview with him in which he reminisces about making Mary … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
4 Comments
ScienceOnline ’09: Web and the History of Science
Before the events of ScienceOnline ’09 are completely lost in the labyrinth of my memory, I thought I’d post a few thoughts about the session that I co-moderated with scicurious and Brian, on The Web and the History of Science. … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
6 Comments
Measuring the ‘kick’ of a photon leaving a fiber!
In physics, there are a number of fundamental and seemingly simple questions which have remained a source of controversy for years, even decades. Last month, a paper was published by a Chinese research group describing an experiment which throws new … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
5 Comments
A. Merritt’s The Moon Pool
Occasionally my random impulse buys at the bookstore turn out to be unusually fruitful! After Christmas, I was looking to spend some of my gift card money and happened across a copy of A. Merritt’s The Moon Pool (1919): I … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft, Weird fiction
6 Comments
Back from ScienceOnline ’09!
Well, I’m back! I haven’t been posting much since heading off to the conference, in spite of my best intentions. Conference activities, both official and not, were entirely too distracting to get much done. The sessions were quite enjoyable and … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
7 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #7 is up!
The seventh edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at The Questionable Authority, with entries ranging from 1789 to 1971! Many thanks to Mike for putting it together! The next edition is scheduled for release on February 16th, at Greg … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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