Showing posts with label Neil deGrasse Tyson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neil deGrasse Tyson. Show all posts

Cocktail Astronomy | Superman's Krypton Found

Image credit: DC Comics

Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.

It's April Fools Day and this is an old story but it's great for re-sharing and impressing your friends. Because it's not a joke at all!

Back in 2012, DC Comics asked astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director, Niel deGrasse Tyson, to search for a planet that met the description of Superman's home, Krypton. Tyson did just that by taking the information known about Krypton and matching that information to known solar systems.

Merging Tyson's scientific knowledge and process with the with the rich Superman canon was a milestone to the Superman story. So much so, that DC Comics issued a press release and Tyson appeared in one of the issues (Action Comics #14, Star Light, Star Bright) to explain to Superman how he went about finding the likely location of Krypton.

In the issue, after much research, Tyson focused telescopes around the Earth on the constellation Corvus constellation. One of it's stars, LHS 2520, is Krypton’s red sun, Rao. Superman then assembles the massive amount of data and creates images of Rao and Krypton. Sadly, it is just in time to witness Krypton's last moments, an event that occurred 27 years earlier but given its distance in light years, the images were only then arriving. As another DC Comics press release states, "Krypton was located on its final day of existence".

Cocktail pairing: since Superman doesn't drink much, we're going with Tyson's favorite libation...wine

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Onward to the Edge, a Symphony of Science

What? WHAT? When did science get so frickin cool? The latest episode of John Boswell's Symphony of Science, Onward to the Edge takes us on a melodic tour of the amazing worlds in our very own solar system and in Boswell's words "reflects upon the importance and inspirational qualities of space exploration, both human and robotic." Neil deGrasse Tyson is center stage with cameos from Brian Cox (one of our 2011 Stylish Scientists) and Carolyn Porco. The release, on November 9th, just so happens to coincide with the birthdays of both Boswell and the legendary science popularizer and communicator Carl Sagan, one of our heroes here at Future-ish.




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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Big Bang Theory

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recently had a cameo on CBS's Big Bang Theory. Check out a video clip here. Let's hear it for more scelebs in primetime!

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Sceleb | Neil deGrasse Tyson

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist and the Frederick P. Rose Director of Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). While visiting the Hayden Planetarium at age 9, Dr. Tyson relates that he was "called by the universe" to become an astrophysicist. He began lecturing on astronomy at 15, and later became editor-in-chief of the Bronx High School of Science's Physical Science Journal where he also captained the wrestling team. Dr. Tyson wrestled in college, along with rowing crew and excelling in dance styles including ballroom, jazz, and Afro-Carribean. A leading astrophysicist, Dr. Tyson's criticism of string theory due to it's over-reliance upon mathematical projections rather than testable hypotheses has made him quite controversial. Dr. Tyson also led the charge to downgrade Pluto to dwarf planet classification. Dr. Tyson has been very vocal on the topic of science and religion. Describing himself as being neither an atheist nor religious, his two Natural History Magazine essays The Perimeter of Ignoranceand Holy Wars have garnered much attention. Dr. Tyson appeared in the television show Big Bang Theory in 2010 and is a frequent guest on Comedy Central's Colbert Nation with Stephen Colbert.

Future-ish added Dr. Tyson to our PISA List in 2007.

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