Author Archives: Alex R. Howe

Unknown's avatar

About Alex R. Howe

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

Television review: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s long awaited sequel to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage premiered on Sunday. For those of you who have not seen it, you can watch the full episode on the website. My feelings … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Science, TV Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The new Cosmos series premiers!

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

In 1980, the great astronomer and popular science figure Carl Sagan (top) premiered the acclaimed PBS series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which introduced millions of people to the wonders of the universe for the first time. It remained the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Current events, Science | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The new Cosmos series premiers!

Another look at names

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

A while back, I wrote about the various resources I use to select names for characters. Now, I’d like to add one more: the Baby Name Wizard Blog. This blog is about much more than helping parents name their kids. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , | Comments Off on Another look at names

Planets abound!

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

It’s always fun when a government agency uses the word “bonanza” in a press release. NASA’s Kepler space telescope spent mission spent three and a half years observing distant stars in our galaxy looking for planets crossing in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Planets | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Planets abound!

Book review: Empire State by Adam Christopher

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

The Empire State: a dystopian parallel-universe version of New York City, a dark, twisted reflection of the island of Manhattan, stranded alone behind impenetrable walls of fog. It is a tiny, gray, dreary world where Prohibition, Wartime rationing, and intrusive … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Bill Nye, Ken Ham, and how science works, part 2

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

In my last post, I talked about the recent debate between creationist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum and evolutionist Bill Nye “The Science Guy”. In that post, I noted that there has been a trend … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Bill Nye, Ken Ham, and how science works, part 1

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

Last week, the world saw a rare sight: a creationist debating an evolutionist in public. Bill Nye “The Science Guy” has a degree in mechanical engineering, is an agnostic, and believes in evolution. Ken Ham has degrees in environmental biology … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The great, unrecognized American holiday

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

Credit: BrokenSphere (Wikipedia). 1hol·i·day noun \ˈhä-lə-ˌdā, British usually ˈhä-lə-dē\ 1 :  holy day 2 :  a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically :  a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, General | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The great, unrecognized American holiday

Book review: Iron Winter by Stephen Baxter

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

The year is 1315 A.D. The Wall of Northland has stood firm for over 8,000 years, keep the ocean out of what we know as the North Sea. Now, at the dawn of an early industrial era, Northland stands with … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Book review: Iron Winter by Stephen Baxter

In the sky: supernova in M82!

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

The little arrow in the picture is pointing to SN 2014J, a new supernova in the M82 galaxy. It may not look like much in this picture, but it’s getting brighter. Here’s a more recent photo, as of January 25. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Stargazing | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on In the sky: supernova in M82!