Ron Miller, Author at Gizmodo

RIP Mark Rogers, Creator of Samurai Cat

Mark Rogers, the artist and author who created Samurai Cat, passed away last weekend while hiking with his family. I knew Mark off and on for many decades (he was godfather to one of my brother’s children). He was an extraordinarily talented artist and writer whose abilities were only exceeded by his graciousness. And he…

Books & Comics Ron Miller Feb 6

Unusual Brown Dwarf Star Has Red Skies

Brown dwarfs are not quite stars and not quite planets. They are much larger than gas giant planets but fall just short of being large enough to trigger hydrogen fusion. Thus the name “brown dwarf,” because they are dark bodies, not generating enough energy to glow like a star. One brown dwarf with the catchy…

io9 Ron Miller Feb 6

Victorian Children’s Book Illustrations Could Be Pretty Racy (NSFW)

Children’s books from a century or more ago enjoyed the work of some of the most prestigious illustrators of the time: everyone from Gustave Dore and Arthur Rackham to H.J. Ford and William Robinson. Some of the art they created probably would have horrified Disney and there’s no way their art would make it onto…

io9 Ron Miller Feb 3

A Gallery of Never-Before-Seen Concept Art from David Lynch’s Dune

After posting my little memoir about working on Dune, a lot of people asked to see more of the pre-production art. I have a couple of hundred images, far more than I could post here, so I decided on a selection that showed how the look of the movie evolved from conception to completion. https://gizmodo.com/i-made-the-spice-flow-my-work-as-a-concept-artist-on-l-1509730566…

Movies Ron Miller Jan 31

2014 is the 30th Anniversary of David Lynch’s Dune

David Lynch’s Dune premiered thirty years ago. Sometime in 1983, I was sitting in my studio, wondering where my next cheeseburger was coming from, when I got a call from Raffaella de Laurentiis’ office. “We’re making a movie of Dune. We think your paintings of Mars in the book, The Grand Tour, look a lot…

Movies Ron Miller Jan 27

The Greatest Rocket Scientist Who Ever Lived

A fringe thinker is someone who thinks outside the box. Sometimes they even invent their own box and then think outside of that. Astronomy and astronautics have certainly had more than their share of these people, who range from the usual UFO nuts and hollow earth enthusiasts to mathematical geniuses who have proved that everything…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 24

The Lawyer and the Scientist Who Predicted the Atomic Bomb in 1915

H.G. Wells has long been given credit for inventing the idea of the atomic bomb. He not only described it in his 1914 novel, The World Set Free, but also coined the name. But there was a far more obscure novel, published that same year, which should really be credited with the most realistic prediction…

Books & Comics Ron Miller Jan 21

How the reactionless space drive could send nuclear subs into orbit

In 1956, Astounding Science Fiction gushed about the wonders of a reactionless space drive invented in 1956 by Norman L. Dean. It could propel a converted atomic submarine into space, editor John W. Campbell wrote. He added, “The modern nuclear submarine is, in fact, a fully competent space-vehicle . . . lacking only the Dean…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 14

New Model Shows Exoplanets May Have Oceans and Continents

A new exoplanet model developed by Nicolas B. Cowan of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics and Dorian Abbot of the University of Chicago, has shown that some “super-earths” may resemble our planet a lot more than previously thought. According to the model, these planets may have oceans and continents. By definition,…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 13

Who Invented the Rocketship?

The entire idea of traveling into space to other worlds can be given a specific date: January 7, 1610. It was on that evening Galileo Galilei first observed the satellites of Jupiter and realized that the planets were worlds just like our own. Until then, the heavens were thought to be no great distance from…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 6

New Year’s Day on Mars

On January 1, the Curiosity rover celebrated its 500th sol (Martian day) on Mars. A few days earlier, it snapped an incredible new photo of 18,000-foot Mt. Sharp. Here is the entire panorama, a mosaic created from several individual images taken by the Mastcam on Dec. 26, 2013 (Sol 494). To celebrate Curiosity posted this…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 2

Robert Goddard’s Secret Plan for the Future of Humankind in Space

On January 14, 1918—six years before he began the world’s first experiments with liquid fuel rockets—Robert H. Goddard wrote an essay called “The Ultimate Migration.” He asked a friend to keep it in his safe, hidden in a sealed envelope labeled “Outline of Certain Notes on High-Altitude Research.” Illustration, “Exploring Harpalus,” by Chesley Bonestell In…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 1

The First American Rocket Flight Was an Advertising Stunt

Chuck Yeager shattered the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, and the X-15 was perhaps the world’s first spaceship. But these fabulous machines hardly sprang into being from nothing. They were the products of a long evolution of rocket-propelled aircraft, whose strangest episode may have come when the very first American rocketed into the skies…

io9 Ron Miller Jan 1

The Bizarre, Human-Animal Hybrids Imagined in the 1930s

Have you ever imagined yourself with a giraffe-like neck? Tentacles instead of arms? Maybe the lower torso of a preying mantis? If you have, great French space artist Lucian Rudaux beat you to it, creating bizarre illustrations of what humans might look like if “evolution had taken a different turn.” https://gizmodo.com/the-first-science-artist-to-draw-accurate-pictures-of-m-5876668 When I last wrote…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 31

How Robert Goddard Almost Killed Space Flight

Everyone knows how Robert Goddard built and flew the first-ever liquid fuel rocket on March 16, 1926. And they are absolutely right. Everyone also knows how this paved the road to space by allowing the construction of rockets powerful enough to leave the earth. Well, maybe not so much. Before 1926, Goddard was a gung-ho…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 30

Jules Verne is the Second Most Popular Author in the World

Since 1932, UNESCO has maintained a database called the Index Translationum. It is an international bibliography of translations—that is, a list of all the books in the world that have been published in translation. The current list tabulates the cumulative bibliographical information on books translated and published in nearly one hundred of UNESCO’s member states…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 27

What was the Star of Bethlehem, really?

Did the Star of Bethlehem really exist? According to the Gospel of Matthew, a bright star appeared in the East, portending the birth of the King of the Jews. Every year around this time, we debate what astronomical phenomenon could have inspired this story. But what’s the strongest candidate? Asking what the Star of Bethlehem…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 24

Probably the Most Racist Rocket Trip Ever

Back in the late 40s, Bozo the Clown was hot stuff. He was the star of a lot of kids’ books, including one about an amazing rocket. Unfortunately, this futuristic story was also amazingly racist. The Bozo character was originally created by Alan Livingston for a series of children’s books that combined words and pictures…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 23

Gorgeous Space Wallpapers to Fill Your Holidays with Stars

I picked half a dozen or so of my favorite illustrations and made them wallpaper-sized for all of my io9 friends. I hope you enjoy…and Happy Holidays!

io9 Ron Miller Dec 20

The First Drones, Used in World War I

Unmanned remote-controlled aircraft have been around longer than most people think. The Kettering “Bug,” for instance, was developed during World War I. It was a bomb-carrying unpiloted biplane that flew on a pre-set course to its target. Once its autopilot was set, the plane was on its own. Prototypes were built and successfully tested, but…

io9 Ron Miller Dec 6

Ron Miller

RIP Mark Rogers, Creator of Samurai Cat

Unusual Brown Dwarf Star Has Red Skies

Victorian Children’s Book Illustrations Could Be Pretty Racy (NSFW)

A Gallery of Never-Before-Seen Concept Art from David Lynch’s Dune

2014 is the 30th Anniversary of David Lynch’s Dune

The Greatest Rocket Scientist Who Ever Lived

The Lawyer and the Scientist Who Predicted the Atomic Bomb in 1915

How the reactionless space drive could send nuclear subs into orbit

New Model Shows Exoplanets May Have Oceans and Continents

Who Invented the Rocketship?

New Year’s Day on Mars

Robert Goddard’s Secret Plan for the Future of Humankind in Space

The First American Rocket Flight Was an Advertising Stunt

The Bizarre, Human-Animal Hybrids Imagined in the 1930s

How Robert Goddard Almost Killed Space Flight

Jules Verne is the Second Most Popular Author in the World

What was the Star of Bethlehem, really?

Probably the Most Racist Rocket Trip Ever

Gorgeous Space Wallpapers to Fill Your Holidays with Stars

The First Drones, Used in World War I

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Hits Record Low in Its First Big Price Cut of the Year Amid 2025 Smartwatch Clearance

ICE Reportedly Acknowledges Its Use of Notorious Graphite Spyware

Intel Jumps On Board Elon Musk’s Terafab Chipmaking Project

Anthropic’s New Model Is So Scarily Powerful It Won’t Be Released, Anthropic Says

Musk Asks Court to Give Potential Winnings in OpenAI Suit to OpenAI’s Nonprofit

Pro-Iran Hackers Target Critical U.S. Energy and Water Infrastructure

‘She-Hulk’ Was Apparently One of Marvel’s Most Successful Shows

The World’s First Eye-Tracking Smart Glasses Are Intriguing and Unpolished

Noah Hawley Is Remaking ‘Terrified,’ Which Shouldn’t Happen

Unprecedented Observation Reveals 2 Supermassive Black Holes Locked in a Tight Death Spiral

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback