Yearly Archives: 2013

In the sky: the Perseids

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The most reliable and visible of the dozens and dozens of meteor showers that occur over the course of the year is the Perseid shower. The Perseids occur every year in July and August when Earth passes through the tail … Continue reading →

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The diamond planet (that was once a star)

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve written before about pulsar planets, planets that form from the debris left over after a supernova, or that get captured from another solar system. But PSR J1719-1438 b is not like either of those planets. It’s a fragment of … Continue reading →

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Book review: Year Zero by Rob Reid

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

So here’s the deal: aliens exist, and they’re all highly refined artists…except they all suck at music. Humans make the greatest music in the universe, but we’re terrible at all 139 other forms of art that are worth doing. A … Continue reading →

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Camp NaNoWriMo: what I learned

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Yesterday I completed Camp National Novel Writing Month with a total of 50,118 words. It was a fun month, even if it’s not something I could do all the time. Here’s what I learned. It wasn’t that hard. Don’t get … Continue reading →

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xkcd’s Time: good science fiction in a new medium

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

For the past four months, perhaps the most unique work of science fiction I have ever personally seen has been playing out over at xkcd: Time. If you don’t know about the xkcd webcomics, you should check them out. They … Continue reading →

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You’d be surprised what a planet can live through

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Just one week left for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’m still on schedule with 40,641 words. In about 5 billion years, our Sun will run out of hydrogen in its core turn into a red giant, expanding by about 200 times until … Continue reading →

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Why Hollywood has it wrong

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve mentioned before how Hollywood movies suffer from a dearth of originality and how the quality control system in the industry is breaking down. But the biggest problem in this “year of the sequel” is not that there are so … Continue reading →

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Names, part 2

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Even when you have lots of resources to find them, names can be hard to get right. One of my recent experiences was particularly nerve-wracking. I’ve been planning my current project for Camp NaNoWriMo for a while now: a science … Continue reading →

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Comet ISON update

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken new images of Comet ISON, a sungrazing comet that, it is hoped, will become the brightest comet in living memory this December. The video above is probably the best look we’ll get at ISON … Continue reading →

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Names, names, names

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Names are hard. Your characters’ names are often the reader’s first impression of them. They have to sound just right–not just right in general, but right for the character and right for the setting, and they probably shouldn’t share the … Continue reading →

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