Reading Time: 6 minutes If life existed on Earth, my ten-year-old self figured, then it had to exist elsewhere. If our Sun had oodles of planets and moons whizzing around it, then other stars had to have them as well. And on those planets, who knew what might exist? It seemed far more likely to me that at least some other planets hosted life — and more than that, intelligent life — than that none possibly ever could.
astronomy
Posted inGeneral
Black Holes, Theories, and Being Wrong (LSP #196)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Years ago, I used to be so scared of being proven wrong. In my old (authoritarian) crowd, if someone got discovered to be wrong, that meant they were vulnerable to attack — and inevitably they got attacked. But in science, it’s okay if something turns out to be wrong.
Posted inGeneral, Science
A Whole Bunch of Stars are Born (LSP #194)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Hi and welcome back! I was looking at a video recently of a new simulation called STARFORGE. (Yes, it’s in all caps like that!) STARFORGE offers researchers valuable new insights into the formation of stellar bodies — like stars. It’s just mind-blowing to imagine the distances and time involved in this kind of simulation. And […]
Posted inGeneral, Science
We Are Stardust: A New Astronomy Discovery (LSP #184)
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hi and welcome back! I’ve always been interested in astronomy, and some of the news from that end of the science-o-sphere has been getting my attention of late. A recent paper in Science discusses how a team of astronomers have detected the precursors to known life in space — and in greater amounts than anybody previously […]
Posted inSpace
“Astronauts Talk Disclosure of Extra-Terrestrial Contact”
Reading Time: < 1 minute This video was linked to me as a friend of a friend created it, by all accounts. It’s ironic as I am finally listening to Carl Sagan’s A Demon-Haunted World right now that deals explicitly with this sort of claim. Disclaimer – I have not watched this video yet, but am about to. It’s like […]
Posted inGeneral
Roll to Disbelieve Science Super Special! (#7)
Reading Time: 3 minutes As you gaze out across this wonderful planet of ours today, please enjoy these science-related past posts from Roll to Disbelieve.
Posted inUncategorized
The Super Blood Wolf Moon Is Coming!
Reading Time: 6 minutes In yet another episode of the evangelical parade of Endtimes guesses, a Super Blood Wolf Moon comes our way soon. With it, we can also expect yet another Christian Rapture scare. This time, though, things are different.
Posted inSpace
A Christmas Comet and Mythical Merriness with the Star of Bethlehem
Reading Time: 3 minutes ‘Tis the season yet again, and snow has finally begun to fall in New England. The holidays are upon us, and the skies have been filled with celestial wonders. Last week the Geminid meteor shower came, with meteors appearing out of the constellation of the twins about once a minute. Just the other night we […]
Posted inReligion
Another World, Another Time: The Dark Crystal Returns
Reading Time: 10 minutes Join me for a rabbit-hole trip to the land of the Dark Crystal–and a look at why this newest prophecy of doom is, well, doomed to failure, just like all the other ones Christians have ever made.
Posted inUncategorized
Upcoming Talk at MIT on Science, Religion and Astronomy
Reading Time: < 1 minute This Monday, February 27th, I will be giving a talk for the Secular Society of MIT as part of a lecture series they are starting called Course 0. This will be a part of helping people engage in critical thinking on the subjects of science, religion, secularism, and many intersecting cultural areas. As is usual […]