In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs... we are treated to her view of this Hollywood sky-one where the stars on the right half of the scene trace the mirror image of the stars in the left half. How lazy can you get?

I was born the same week NASA was founded, so we're the same age and feel some of the same pains, joys, and frustrations.

Like a snowplow in overdrive, a supernova shockwave might sweep away any gas clouds in its path.

A television advertisement must illustrate the scientific method to substantiate any claim.... That is why stains are lifted, ring-around-the-collar is removed, paper towels become soaked, excess stomach acid is absorbed, and headaches go away-all during the commercial.

I think that intelligence is such a narrow branch of the tree of life - this branch of primates we call humans. No other animal, by our definition, can be considered intelligent. So intelligence can't be all that important for survival, because there are so many animals that don't have what we call intelligence, and they're surviving just fine.

So what is true for life itself is no less true for the universe: knowing where you came from is no less important than knowing where you are going.

Space exploration is a force of nature unto itself that no other force in society can rival.