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Neil deGrasse Tyson Tweets About the Real Science of 'Interstellar'

by Alex Billington
November 10, 2014

"Experience Einstein's Relativity of Time as no other feature film has shown." He speaks! Bring on the science. Famed astrophysicist and "Cosmos" host Neil deGrasse Tyson has finally started speaking up about Interstellar, firing off a barrage of tweets late on Sunday night after the sci-fi movie opened in theaters worldwide on Friday. He suddenly started tweeting "In #Interstellar" facts and figures, pointing out the science and noting at the end that this isn't his opinion on the film, so much as just some observations. But most of it is very positive, defending Christopher Nolan's space opera and it's very real science. Read on.

He points out many details and facts about the science and reality of the movie, and says some funny things. This is one of my favorites: "On another planet, around another star, in another part of the galaxy, two guys get into a fist fight." I feel like it's missing "and this would only happen in a Christopher Nolan movie."

Here is the full batch of tweets from Neil deGrasse Tyson discussing the real science seen in Interstellar:

In #Interstellar: All leading characters, including McConaughey, Hathaway, Chastain, & Caine play a scientist or engineer.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: There’s a robot named KIPP. One of the Executive Producers, a physicist, is named Kip. I’m just saying.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: And in the real universe, strong gravitational fields measurably slow passage of time relative to others.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: Experience Einstein’s Relativity of Time as no other feature film has shown.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: Experience Einstein's Curvature of Space as no other feature film has shown.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

Relativity. Gravity. Quantum. Electrodynamics. Evolution. Each of these theories is true, whether or not you believe in them.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: The producers knew exactly how, why, & when you’d achieve zero-G in space.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: You observe great Tidal Waves from great Tidal Forces, of magnitude that orbiting a Black Hole might create

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: You enter a 3-Dimensional portal in space. Yes, you can fall in from any direction. Yes, it’s a Worm Hole.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: They reprise the matched-rotation docking maneuver from "2001: A Space Odyssey," but they spin 100x faster.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: Of the leading characters (all of whom are scientists or engineers) half are women. Just an FYI.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: On another planet, around another star, in another part of the galaxy, two guys get into a fist fight.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar, if you didn’t understand the physics, try Kip Thorne’s highly readable Bbook “The Science of Interstellar"

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

<-- Click on the book to get a copy of Kip Thorne’s The Science of Interstellar.

In #Interstellar, if you didn’t understand the plot, there is no published book to help you.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

In #Interstellar: They explore a planet near a Black Hole. Personally, I’d stay as far the hell away from BlackHoles as I can

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

And of course, he ends with a reminder that this isn't really his opinion - just "highlighting the science" of it:

REMINDER: Never look to me for opinions on new films. All I do is highlight the science one might or might not find in them.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014

For updates beyond these just follow @neiltyson on Twitter, as he might be adding more later. Previously, he mentioned that his podcast StarTalk Radio Show will have an episode with guest Christopher Nolan.

Interstellar is directed by British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, of the films Doodlebug, Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises. The screenplay is by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, based on scientific theories by Caltech astrophysicist Kip Thorne and follows a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage. Matthew McConaughey stars in the film which Paramount Pictures releases on November 7th. For more information and to see a visualization of the stars, visit interstellarmovie.com. Or follow @Interstellar.

Once you've seen it and have your thoughts to share about it, don't forget to Sound Off on Interstellar here.

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