Monthly Archives: September 2012

Book review: Existence by David Brin

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Alex R. Howe

Science fiction author David Brin, perhaps best known for his novels, Startide Rising, and The Postman, delivers a cornucopia of big ideas in his latest epic, Existence, published by Tor Books. The story begins sometime around 2050, when astronaut Gerald … Continue reading →

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Comet watch

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Alex R. Howe

This is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), currently out past the orbit of Jupiter. Believe it or not, all of those letters and numbers actually mean something. The C/ means that it is a long-period comet, originating in the very distant … Continue reading →

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The weirdest planets

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Alex R. Howe

At this writing, 838 planets outside our Solar System—exoplanets—have been discovered, with thousands more possible planets waiting to be investigated. Yet the study of exoplanets is one of the youngest fields in astronomy and in all of science. In fact, … Continue reading →

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Welcome to my world

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Alex R. Howe

I’m a full-time astrophysics graduate student, a part-time science fiction writer, and now a blogger. In my day job, I study everything from planets to clusters of galaxies, but when I’m not probing the mysteries of the cosmos or imagining … Continue reading →

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