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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
Twitter Weird Science Facts, Volume 14
Time again for a compilation of Twitter #weirdscifacts! Click below the link to find out what the heck these Japanese honeybees are doing.
Posted in General science, Weirdscifacts
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Kecksies, by Marjorie Bowen
I suspect that most people are unaware of the pivotal role that publisher Arkham House played in the history of weird fiction. Founded in 1939 by authors and H.P. Lovecraft fans August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, the original goal of … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The Hunt for Vulcan, by Thomas Levenson
Some of the most interesting stories in the history of science are those where investigations take a wrong turn. Scientific progress is filled with red herrings, failed assumptions, and wild guesses that rarely make it into the science textbooks. When … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Chuck Wendig’s Invasive
Insects have long been ready protagonists for horror and thriller fiction. A few famous examples that come to mind are H.G. Wells’ 1903 story The Valley of Spiders and Carl Stephenson’s 1937 story Leiningen Versus the Ants. In the wild and terrifying … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Light, by Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke
I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of popular science books, so I’ve recently been doing an intense amount of reading. A lot of my focus has been on reading books by people I’m acquainted with … Continue reading
A personal note
Those who have been following me on this blog or on social media recently know that I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately and have had trouble focusing on writing, or work in general. About 3 months ago, my … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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“Singular Optics” is available for pre-order!
Those who know me well know that I’ve been working hard for several years on a new optics textbook. Well, I can finally say that it is available for pre-order on Amazon! The book is Singular Optics, by me: Gregory … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Personal
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Twitter Weird Science Facts, Volume 13
Been a crazy few weeks for me, and I’ve barely had time to sit down, much less blog! But at last I’m going to catch up on compiling my Twitter #weirdscifacts! Read below to find out what this tiny crab … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Weirdscifacts
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House on Fire, by Arch Oboler
Been catching up on my huge backlog of unread fiction lately. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few horror novels rereleased by Valancourt Books, which has become an incredible source of forgotten and neglected classics. The one that I most recently … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Breaking the Chains of Gravity, by Amy Shira Teitel
Over the past few years, we’ve been treated to a stunning array of achievements in space exploration, such as the Juno Mission (inserted into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016), New Horizons (passed Pluto on July 14, 2015), and Rosetta (landed … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Skulls in the Stars 