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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 visit to Mount Hope Cemetery, 2022
This week, I attended my first in-person scientific conference since 2019. I went to Optica’s Frontiers in Optics in Rochester, NY, a city near and dear to my heart, since I did my PhD there, as well. I had a … Continue reading
Posted in Cemetery, Travel
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“Invisibility” has a cover and a release date!
Of course, my publisher never tells me these things, but the cover for my next popular science book, on the history and physics of invisibility, has been made public and the book has a release date! It was a challenge … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Invisibility, Personal
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Lake of the Dead, by Andre Bjerke
It’s time for me to get back into blogging about weird fiction! I really fell off in my reading over the past few years, due to the stress of political turmoil, the pandemic, and life in general. Fortunately, I’ve been … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Jupiter and its moons
This past Monday turned out to be a rather rare event for skywatchers: the planet Jupiter’s closest point of approach to the Earth since 1963! This was the coincidence of two situations. The first is the planet being in opposition … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Science news
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Missed my blogiversary again!
Well, it turns out I missed a big anniversary for my blog — again! August 14th marks 15 years of me blogging, which is pretty amazing considering this was really just going to be a minor thing that I experimented … Continue reading
The oldest falling cat explanation
So when writing my book Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, on the history and science of how cats land on my feet, I attempted to track down the oldest explanation in print that attempted to explain why cats seem to … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, History of science
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From “The Fireside Sphinx”
My apologies for my relative quietness on the blog lately — I’ve been quite busy with work, which has left me little energy for detailed blogging! However, I rediscovered a small story about cats that amused me, and that I … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Silliness
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Skulls in the Stars 