skip to main content

Astronomer throwdown

Discover how Neil Tyson's green laser skills sparked discussions on time travel. Find out more about Gary Lyons' involvement too!

Written byPhil Plait
| 1 min read
Follow on GoogleGoogle News Preferred Source
Placeholder image

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Posted almost without comment:

Placeholder image showing Earth from space with an alert icon and the message ‘This image is no longer available.’

From here via here. Rumor has it this was done by Gary Lyons, but I cannot seem to confirm this or find an email address for him. In my defense, though, I didn't try very hard. I leave it to my devoted minions if the interest motivates you. My friend Fred Bremmer tells me that Gary Lyons did indeed make this. The original is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150651175025753&set=a.476615725752.248737.562230752&type=1. Also? Neil would win. He's like 15 cm taller and has 20 kilos on me. [Edited to add: Hmmm. When that picture was taken I was holding, and using, a 1/2 Watt green laser that was powerful enough to ignite a pack of matches and pop balloons. That might even the odds.]


Related Posts: - In which I disagree with cartoon Neil Tyson - Great Tyson’s ghost! (featuring my greatest Photoshoop ever) - Paper Plait - Neil Tyson and I talk time travel

Meet the Author

Related Topics

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe