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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
Nick Mamatas’ Sensation
I hadn’t thought about it much before, but secret societies have long been a reliable element in weird fiction of all varieties. These societies range from the legendary Illuminati to the very real (and less sinister) Freemasons, to fictional … Continue reading
Posted in Weird fiction
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Weird science facts, July 27 — August 2
Time for your weekly dose of weird, courtesy of my Twitter #weirdscifacts! 501. July 27: Sand tiger shark: only shark known to adjust its buoyancy by burping! I don’t know about you, but I never thought to put the words … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Infinity is weird… even in infinity mirrors!
Even very simple optics can reveal very interesting and surprising phenomena, if one looks carefully enough! I was recently looking into the optics of a so-called “infinity mirror”, which in its simplest incarnation is simply two parallel mirrors on opposite … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Optics
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Weird science facts, July 20 — July 26
Here are the week’s #weirdscifacts from Twitter! This marks the 500th weird fact I’ve done, as well! 494. July 20: A migration strategy for some snails: get eaten by birds? How did snails manage to spread across so many islands … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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John Jacob Astor’s A Journey in Other Worlds
The exploration of old and relatively unknown science fiction can be rewarding on many levels. In addition to seeing the author’s vision of the future, one also gets a snapshot of the accepted science of the time, usually riddled with … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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Weird science facts, July 13 — July 19
Back from Toronto, and working on some more posts. In the meantime, here are the past week’s Twitter #weirdscifacts! 487. July 13: Half he, half she. A rare chimeric butterfly has been born in London. (via @lucasbrowers) 488. July 14: … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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The Giant’s Shoulders #37 is out! (The Wunderkammer Edition)
The Giant’s Shoulders #37 is up at Providentia, and is a veritable cabinet of curiosities! Many thanks to Romeo Vitelli for putting together an excellent edition of the carnival! The next edition will appear on the Longitude Blog on August 16th. Entries are … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Spiders and the electric light (1887)
(Digging through my archive of historical papers for short topics to blog about while I’m away on business.) In the modern era, we are very conscious of the impact of humanity on nature — even though we are often very … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science
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Weird science facts, July 6 — July 12
Currently out of town at a meeting in Toronto, as the following picture should hopefully demonstrate: Nevertheless, the Twitter #weirdscifacts must go on! Here are the previous week’s posted facts: 480. July 06: In 1875, William Lowthian Green, eventual Hawaiian … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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A short travel note…
I was hoping to queue up a few blog posts for the next week, but didn’t manage to find the time to do so. I’m traveling to Toronto for a meeting for the next few days, so the blog will … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Travel
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Skulls in the Stars 