Neil deGrasse Tyson has already made it clear he doesn’t care if you’re sick of him fact-checking science fiction movies, and he’s at it again with “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — the correct title, lest we run afoul of fact-checkers ourselves. As always, it’s done with love, and some of his fact-checks are more like appreciations. (Did you spot the Romanesco broccoli in Ray’s meal at Maz Kanata’s?) And it’s worth pointing out that at least one of the movie’s errors is something screenwriters J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan got wrong on purpose. For decades, scientists have pointed out that when Han Solo brags in the original “Star Wars” that the Millennium Falcon did the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, he’s employing a unit of distance, not speed. In the prequels, George Lucas corrected the mistake, measuring the distance between Tatooine and Geonosis as less than a parsec. But in “The Force Awakens,” the Kessel Run is back, and finishing time is still being counted in parsecs, although there’s some dispute about whether it was 12 or 14. Given “Star Wars” fans’ dislike of the prequels, sometimes it’s better to get things wrong.
My promised observations of @StarWars Episode VII #TheForceAwakens follows (with only mild spoiler alerts).
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, I’m reminded that Red & Blue teams cooperate with one another. Rare in American Politics.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, BB-8 is waaaaay cuter than R2D2.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
I guess I did just demote R2D2 to “Dwarf Cute” status. No hard feelings though.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, BB-8, a smooth rolling metal spherical ball, would have skidded uncontrollably on sand.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens the TIE fighters made exactly the same sound in the vacuum of space as in planetary atmospheres
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, if you were to suck all of a star’s energy into your planet, your planet would vaporize.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the energy in a Star is enough to destroy ten-thousand planets, not just a few here & there.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, once again I felt isolated and inadequate for not understanding Wookiee-speak.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the lead character snacks on what includes Romanescu Broccoli, nature’s only fractal food.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Never seen Romanescu Broccoli? Fractal Earth food befitting a tale of long ago and far, far away. pic.twitter.com/NZDkWpeqOB
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the Storm Troopers still run as though they’re carrying a full load of poop in their diapers.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, apparently Wookiees don’t age, or they age much slower than human actors do.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the starry skies were unfamiliar. As they should be, a long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Unashamed of inanity, #TheForceAwakens repeats the Millennium Falcon boast of completing the Kessel Run in “under 12 parsecs”
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
( A Parsec is an obscure unit of distance in Astrophysics, equal to 3.26 Light Years. Neither has anything to do with time. )
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Both at age 19, my wife saw @StarWars in 1977 & our daughter saw #TheForceAwakens in 2015. I don’t know what that means.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
With next year’s @SuperBowl 50 the NFL abandons Roman Numerals, leaving @StarWars as the last bastion of this counting system
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Finally, inspired by @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, here’s my list of the best Hollywood Aliens and why: https://t.co/dbifvoeDJU
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
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