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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
Weird science facts, December 14 — December 20
Whew! It’s gotten quite tricky to turn up unused #weirdscifacts, even though I’m sure I’m hardly scratching the surface. Nevertheless, I’m still going strong! 641. Dec 14: Dolphins playing with humpbacked whales??!! We’ve seen interspecies cooperation in previous weird science … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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My 1000th skydive!
Well, I finally did it — I made my 1000th skydive! On the 18th of December, 2011, my friends came out to join me in celebrating this milestone. The video is posted below. We had done a practice jump (number … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Sports
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The Giant’s Shoulders #42 is out!
The 42nd edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, the history of science blog carnival, is up at PACHSmörgåsbord! In it, you can see maps of the Moon that date back to the 17th century, how to write the square root of 2 in … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Sir Edmond Halley takes a dive! (1714)
If you study enough history of science, you learn that the things that scientists are most famous for are often not their only work of interest — or even the most fascinating thing they’ve done! The significance of a scientist’s … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
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Weird science facts, December 7 — December 13
Here we are again, with a week’s worth of #weirdscifacts! 634. Dec 07: Think your appetite is big? The black swallower can eat fish up to 3x its size! (h/t @sfriedscientist) A picture of this nightmarish fish, with a full … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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No “Weird Fiction Monday” this week!
Once again, life & work have conspired to keep me from writing (or editing) fiction! I’ll try and post some new weird tales next Monday.
Posted in Fiction
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Mireya Mayor’s “Pink Boots and a Machete”
In my studies of historical figures, I’ve reserved a special spot in my heart for those people whose lived their lives, for lack of a better word, “awesomely”. My criterion for such “awesome” people is to imagine them arriving … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Women in science
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Weird science facts, November 30 — December 6
Another week of non-stop Twitter #weirdscifacts! How much more can I go on??!! I hope for another few months, at least! 627. Nov 30: Bertholdia trigona, the tiger moth that can jam a bat’s echolocation with ultrasound! Bats seek their … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Open Lab 2011: the finalists announced! (and I’m one of them!)
I got a spot of nice news yesterday: the finalists for Open Lab 2011 were announced, and one of my posts will be included! For those who are unfamiliar, The Open Laboratory is a collection of the “best” science writing … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Science news
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Weird Fiction Monday: Away From It All
It’s time for Weird Fiction Monday, when I post stories that I’ve written — both new and old — for the entertainment (hopefully) of my readers! As always, I note that I haven’t done extensive editing of the tales here, … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
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Skulls in the Stars 