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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
An American in Spain, part 8: Granada and the Alhambra
The final part of the seemingly-endless photo travelogue of my (not quite so) recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7) Having exhausted ourselves with a very extensive visit … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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How well can the government spy on us via satellite?
About a week ago, NASA announced some really good and unusual news. The National Reconnaissance Office, in operation of the United States’ spy satellites, had some extra unused “hardware” to donate to the space agency: two Hubble-quality space telescopes, initially … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
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Skydives at CarolinaFest 2012!
I’ve been quite busy and having a hard time putting together some science posts. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a video of a couple of skydives I did a bit over a week ago at CarolinaFest 2012 at … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
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Laird Barron’s The Croning
I love Laird Barron’s writing! I first came across his work in the horror collection Haunted Legends; Barron’s story, “The Redfield Girls”, really stood out to me above all the others in terms of its eloquence and eeriness. Since then, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Weird science facts: April — May 2012
Though I stopped doing a Twitter weird science fact (#weirdscifacts) a day several months ago, I’m still occasionally posting facts as I come across them. Here’s a collection of a few tidbits I came across over the past couple of … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Physics demonstrations: rolling uphill
Some of the best and most enjoyable demonstrations of physics principles can be put together quite readily with very cheap materials. A good example of this was the simple version of the Magdeburg hemisphere demo I discussed previously; another example … Continue reading
Posted in Physics demos
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Philip Wylie’s Gladiator (1930)
Stories of superheroes have evolved dramatically since the appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1 in 1938. Where many of the first, like Superman, were moral, upstanding individuals striving to do good in the world, many modern heroes are flawed, … Continue reading
Posted in Weird fiction
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The Giant’s Shoulders #47 is up at The Medical Heritage Library!
A week delayed, but worth the wait: the 47th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders history of science blog carnival is up at The Medical Heritage Library! In this edition, you can read about: the politics of Isaac Newton’s knighthood, the … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Personal book page for “Mathematical Methods”
Now that the semester is over and I have some time, I finally got around to writing a short book page for my Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering textbook! This page will serve as a place to post … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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An American in Spain, part 7: the Plaza de España, Seville
Part 7 of a photo travelogue of my (not quite so) recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6) Our first full day in Seville was quite a busy one! … Continue reading
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