In the week when nerds make their annual pilgrimage to San Diego Comic-Con, I couldn't resist this little tidbit on science fiction meets science fact. Last week, a poster was revealed for the upcoming Star Wars movie Rogue One. As you can see, the Death Star looms large over a surface-bound skirmish. While fully acknowledging that the Death Star doesn't exist as such and so obviously computer graphics and Photoshop were involved in rendering this image for our galaxy, one might wonder if it would be physically possible … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Objects in Poster May Be Further Away Than They Appear
dinosaurs
Science in Review: Aviaries Are Frightening in the Dark
I've been to Jurassic Park. I don't mean I've seen the movie; I mean that I have been to a place where you can see living dinosaurs in simulated habitats. The sign outside says National Aviary, but that's just to keep the crowds to a manageable size. Birds are the closest living relatives to Tyrannosaurus rex, and you can even think of them as the dinosaurs that survived extinction by going small. The notion that birds and dinosaurs are related is only meaningful within a framework of common descent. Otherwise, … [Read more...] about Science in Review: Aviaries Are Frightening in the Dark