Author Archives: Alex R. Howe

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About Alex R. Howe

I'm a full-time astrophysicist and a part-time science fiction writer.

Court Rules “Happy Birthday” is Public Domain!

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

“Happy birthday to you…” It’s a song with five unique words besides the name of the recipient, and everyone’s sung it at every birthday party for as long as anyone can remember. Surely, you could never get in trouble for … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Returns with a Bang

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

Doctor Who kicked off its “9th” series this weekend with “The Magician’s Apprentice”. I have just four words to say about that. Out. Of. The. Park. This episode was epic–easily Peter Capaldi’s best performance as our favorite time-traveling alien and … Continue reading →

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Science and Sociology in Archangel

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

I reviewed Archangel by Marguerite Reed last week. I enjoyed the book, but I felt that it wasn’t living up to its potential at a couple of points. Notably, it raised a number of social issues and questions that I … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Archangel by Marguerite Reed

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

I can’t remember the last time I just picked up a book from a bookstore bookshelf without knowing anything about it besides what was on the back cover. In fact, of the many book reviews I’ve written on this blog, … Continue reading →

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High Frequency

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

A Short Story Author’s Note: This story was written at the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement. However, I think many of the themes involved are still relevant. I also want to credit the fiction and nonfiction writings of … Continue reading →

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Planet or Not? How About “Planetoid”?

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve argued that Pluto shouldn’t be a planet, and I’ve also argued that we don’t know enough to rigorously define the word “planet”. Now, I want to take a closer look at how and why we divide our own Solar … Continue reading →

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How to “Define” the Word “Planet”

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

So the IAU has declared that Pluto is not a planet. I agree with this assessment, but I also think that the IAU’s definition is poorly written. So how should that word “planet” actually be defined? It’s not simple.

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Why Pluto Really Shouldn’t be a Planet

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

(But the IAU is Wrong, Too.) In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted that Pluto was not a planet, just months after the New Horizons spacecraft was launched with a mission to…visit the last planet that had never been … Continue reading →

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More on Pluto: Nitrogen Glaciers and a Hazy Atmosphere

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

NASA has released its final batch of findings and images of Pluto from New Horizons until the main bulk of the data starts downloading in September, and there’s a lot more interesting stuff to see. Most of Pluto’s appearance is … Continue reading →

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NASA Discovers the First “Earth-Like” Planet for the Third Time

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

There’s been buzz in the news about the latest planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, Kepler-452b. It’s being hailed as a major discovery. It’s the first ever Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of a…boy, this sounds familiar, … Continue reading →

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