iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It's a new blog day! Today in #CosmicStories we take a look at Moonless Nights - the science and SF of losing Earth's Moon, and why it fascinates us so much. Including work by Savage, Shaw, Stephenson. Pfeffer and others. Also Space:1999. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... Comments always welcome.

Title and link to blog with background image of the Moon.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Time for a new blog post! Today in Cosmic Stories we're looking at the other side of the dark sector: Dark Energy. Including work by Baxter, Landis, Brin, Niven and others. Comments always welcome! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys... #ScienceandSF #Physics #Cosmology

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy Anniversary, Star Trek! Always such a fascinating universe to explore for #science in #sciencefiction. And such a huge influence on so many scientists, physicists and astronomers! #StarTrek60 #Astronomy

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Time for a new #CosmicStories #ScienceandSF blog post! Today I'm going to the dark side with the first of two entries on the dark sector, looking at the #sciencefiction of Dark Matter. Featuring work by Baxter, Reed, Bayley and others. Comments always welcome. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Title and link to blog, with background image of colliding galaxies.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#CosmicStories is all about the connection between #sciencefiction and #science, #astronomy in particular. In today's new blog, we take a look at what attendees of this year's @royalastrosoc.bsky.social #NAM2026 conference thought of using SF for science communication. warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog with background image of survey.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The #eclipse today was a lot of fun. Sorry if you missed it... but you can still read about eclipses in science and science fiction!

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

It's a new blog day! This time in #CosmicStories, I'm looking at the #ScienceandSF of eclipses, transits and alignments - Syzygies. Featuring works by Heinlein, Fearn, Blish, Aldrin, Barnes, Lemkin, Asimov and others. Comments welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Image of total solar eclipse, with title and link to blog.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

New #ScienceandSF blog! Today in #CosmicStories, we have a guest post. Astrophysicist Anwesha Sahu discusses her introduction to #sciencefiction and explores the television series #AlienEarth. Comments welcome! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog with background image of author.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

It's a new blog post day! Today in #CosmicStories, I'm looking at the #scienceandSF of game tournaments and gamester cultures. Featuring Banks, Star Trek, Cowper, Doctor Who and others. Comments welcome. warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog with a board game in the background.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

It's a new blog day! Today in Cosmic Stories I take a look at the science and SF of adapting humans to new environments - to use James Blish's term pantropy, or Changing Everything. Featuring Stapledon, Bujold, Anderson and others. Comments welcome! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog with background image of centaur-like humanoid.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

It's time for a new #CosmicStories blog! Today we're looking at a tale of two black holes - a case studies in the #ScienceandSF of the movies Interstellar (2014) and The Black Hole (1979). Comments always welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Title and link of blog, with background image of a black hole from Luminet (1979).

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

New blog day! Today in #CosmicStories, we take a look at the #ScienceandSF of Internal Medicine - microsurgery carried out inside the human body. Featuring works by Skidmore, Anderson, Malzberg, Asimov and lots of Fantastic Voyages, amongst others. Comments welcome! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog, with background image from Fantastic Voyage (1966)

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Time for a new #CosmicStories blog post! Today we're looking at the #ScienceandSF of human habitation under Earth's oceans. Featuring examples from Clarke, Asimov, Eklund, McLaughlin, films and television such as VTTBOTS and SeaQuest DSV. Comments always welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStorie...

Title and link to blog with image of an underwater city from Dome World by Dean McLaughlin.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

New blog day! Today in #CosmicStories, I look at the #scienceandSF of sleep, dreams, rest and relaxation. Featuring Star Trek, Doctor Who and works by Orwell, Le Guin, Ballard, Bradbury, Spider Robinson, Karen Russell and others. Comments always welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Image of woman unable to sleep, together with title and link to blog.

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stanway

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey @beamjockey.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

It's the last day of April, and so I am in a rush to commemorate the centennial of AMAZING STORIES, which made its debut with the April, 1926 issue. With a chilling cover by Hugo Gernsback's long-time illustrator, Frank R Paul. 1/n

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

In today's new #CosmicStories blog, I take a look at the context and lasting legacy of J W Dunne's "An Experiment with Time" in #ScienceandSF. Featuring work by Blish, Heinlein, Priestley, Bayley, Evans, Boswell and others, and 1970 television series Timeslip. warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys...

Title and link to blog with image of a young Dunne as a distinguished military man with waxed moustache in the background.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

In case anyone missed it on Easter Sunday....!

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

New blog! Today in Cosmic Stories, I'm following up on an April Fools paper I wrote, and taking a look at Prescience, Precognition, Extrapolation and Inspiration in science fiction and how it relates to science and scientists. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stanway

arXiv bot (astro-ph) @krxiv-astro-ph.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Where to Search For Life: Evidence from narrative sources with established predictive efficacy arxiv.org/pdf/2603.28883 Elizabeth R Stanway.

arxiv.org

https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.28883

arXiv abstract link

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

New blog! In today's #CosmicStories, we look at the #ScienceandSF of Snowball Effects - exponential growth phenomena with unfortunate consequences. Featuring work by Heinlein, MacLean,Harrison, Keeler, Red Dwarf and a surprising amount of #StarTrek! www.warwick.ac.ukcosmicstories/snowball-eff...

Title and link to blog against a chessboard background.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

In case anyone missed it at the weekend...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

It's a new #scienceandSF blog day! Today in #CosmicStories I'm looking at the history of Planet X - outer solar system planets in #astronomy and #sciencefiction. Featuriong stories from Campbell, Cooper, Hasse, Baxter, Space Patrol and others. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... Comments welcome.

Title and link to blog, with background image of a mysterious planet.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

New blog! Today in #CosmicStories we're looking at sonic weaponry and devices in #scienceandSF and their impact in "The Walls of Jericho". Featuring Rudyard Kipling, Transformers, WH40K, Star Trek and many others, as well as a certain Doctor's famous screwdriver. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

It's a Bonus Blog day! To celebrate a full FIVE YEARS of Cosmic Stories this week, I'm posting a slightly more reflective biographical piece as the first in a new occasional series on #ScienceandSF - Scientific Journeys. www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStorie... Comments or other responses welcome!

Large figure 5 against a background of exaggerated astronomical phenomena, generated by AI tool NightCafe

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

In case anyone missed it at the weekend...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

#bbcolympics Why do the track markers in the speed skating arena keep going flying? Is this not a hazard?

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

New blog day! Today we're looking at uses of Lagrange Points in science and SF, featuring Forward, Baxter, Clarke, Space: Above and Beyond and many others... including a nod to @beamjockey.bsky.social and a recent story by Sean McMullen. Comments always welcome. www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStorie...

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stanway

Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

The UK is set to cut its budget for astronomy research by a third. Since the few high-profile projects they are likely to continue to support, like ELT, tend to be the most expensive, it means even more drastic cuts to the rest of the field. It is effectively the end. 🧪🔭 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

ras.ac.uk

Proposed budget cuts a catastrophe for UK astronomy

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Today in the #CosmicStories blog, we take a look at the #ScienceandSF of #Exoplanets through the lens of a case study: #StarTrek and its spin offs. Featuring #astronomy, #ScienceFiction, desert worlds, water planets, giants, and lots of Star Trek. Comments welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Strange New Worlds

Exploring the science behind depictions of Exoplanets in the Star Trek universe.

https://www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstories/strange_new_worlds/

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

In case anyone missed it at the weekend! Also features #DoctorWho, #StarTrek, #Stargate and Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London, as well as the _other_ E E Smith.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

New blog! Today in #CosmicStories, we take a look at Clarke's Third Law: technologies indistinguishable from magic in #ScienceandSF. Featuring Arthur C Clarke, Roger Zelazny, Jack Vance, Babylon 5, Tolkien and others. Comments always welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Title and address of blog, with image of a technomage from television series Crusade

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

New blog! Today we take a look at Sailing to the Stars with solar sail ships. Featuring examples from Niven and Pournelle, Forward, Clarke, Anderson(s), Ken Liu, Star Trek and others. Comments welcome! www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...

Title and link to blog: Sailing to the stars - solar sails in science and SF
https://www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstories/sailing-to-the/

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

In case anyone missed it last week!

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Do I know anyone in a scientific or technical role (or retired from one) who feels like writing a short (~1000-2000 word) entry for an occasional series of bonus blogs on personal relationships with science fiction?

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

New blog post! With Christmas looming, today in #CosmicStories, I'm taking a look at the #ScienceandSF of Holiday Worlds. Including work by Smith, Hast, Russ, Asimov, Doctor Who, Star Trek and others. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstories/out_of_this/ Comments welcome!

Title and link to blog, with image of a binary sunset in background.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

In case anyone missed it at the weekend...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

New blog! Today in #CosmicStories I'm going to take a deep dive. I'm considering Doctor Who serial "Robot" as a case study of representations of robot intelligence, science and scientists in the 1970s. www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStorie... (correct link!) #DoctorWho #ScienceandSF #AI

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Apologies for the broken link! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/phys... The shortcut warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... works too. I really should learn not to post before coffee in the morning!

warwick.ac.uk

doctor_whos_robot

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

New blog! Today in #CosmicStories I'm going to take a deep dive. I'm considering Doctor Who serial "Robot" as a case study of representations of robot intelligence, science and scientists in the 1970s. https;//www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStories/doctor_whos_robot/ #DoctorWho #ScienceandSF #AI

Image from 1974 BBC serial "Robot", in television series Doctor Who. With title and address of blog.

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stanway

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey @beamjockey.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

I'd missed that! Must have been before I boarded the Stanway Express with other followers. Amazing that a parody written by two goofy grad students in the summer of '77, based on a rather obvious pun, has still been cited in AD 2025. And such company! Hugo Gernsback! Tom Swift, Jr! Thunderbirds!

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

In case anyone missed it yesterday :)

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

New blog! Today in #CosmicStories, I'm looking at the #ScienceandSF of think tanks and scientific hothouses i.e. intensive science research centres. Featuring Eureka, Doctor Who, Star Trek and work by Asimov, Higgins, Smith and others www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... Comments always welcome

Title and link to blog with background image of building from television series Eureka.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

In case anyone missed it yesterday...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

New #CosmicStories blog post! Today, we're looking at #SpyFi - the glorious overlap between espionage, #ScienceandSF and what it tells us about how science is perceived. Featuring The Man from UNCLE. The Avengers, James Bond and others. www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie... Comments always welcome!

Title and link to blog, with a background image from The Man from UNCLE.

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

In case anyone missed it at the weekend...

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Elizabeth Stanway @tiylaya.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

It's a new #CosmicStories #ScienceandSF blog day! I'm returning to home ground of #astronomy with a look at Habitable Exomoons. Featuring Star Trek, Star Wars, Avatar and works by Asimov and Chambers amongst others. www.warwick.ac.uk/CosmicStorie... Comments welcome!

Picture of an Earth-like and Saturn-like world with title and address of blog.

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