Neil deGrasse Tyson spoils Christmas by delivering science fact checks on Santa Claus

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't letting the holiday cheer stop him from providing scientific fact checks to cherished Christmas stories.

In a series of Christmas Eve tweets, Tyson looked into the scientific aspects of the Santa Claus myth and found many elements of it were not grounded in physical or biological reality.

For instance, Tyson explained why Santa's one-night journey around the Earth to deliver presents would be a physical impossibility.

"For Santa to deliver gifts to all world's Christians in one night requires hypersonic speeds through Earth’s lower atmosphere, vaporizing his reindeer and sleigh," he wrote.

Tyson also criticized the Christmas mythology behind Santa's famous reindeer.

"Santa doesn’t know Zoology," he wrote. "Both male and female Reindeer grow antlers. But all male Reindeer lose their antlers in the late fall, well-before Christmas. So Santa’s reindeer, which all sport antlers, are therefore all female, which means Rudolf has been misgendered."

That said, Tyson did give Santa credit for making sure prized reindeer Rudolf had a red nose because "of all colors, Red Light penetrates fog best."

Tyson also tried to apply the myth of Santa Claus to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

"Something Einstein’s Theory of Relativity never considered: Maybe Santa’s Reindeer are stationary, and it is we who fly past them on Christmas Eve," he speculated.