Neil deGrasse Tyson ignites a Twitter backlash by calling out Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve

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Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson got a round of groans on Twitter this Christmas Eve for taking Santa Claus and his reindeer just a tad too literally. 

In a series of tweets, Tyson broke down why the story of St. Nick and his companions doesn't hold up under the scrutiny of science. 

Tyson said it would defy the laws of physics for Santa to deliver gifts to all the world’s Christians in one night. Such a task he said, would require "hypersonic speeds through Earth’s lower atmosphere, vaporizing his reindeer & sleigh. Just sayin’." 

Accompanying the tweet was a forest and a cloud of smoke billowing towards the sky, insinuating that Santa had been incinerated. 

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Many Twitter users lambasted him for ruining the magic of Christmas. 

"This is why people don’t like atheists. You post this on Christmas Eve?" wrote one person, adding that the timing was horrible. 

"I like that you give us the physics, but maybe, just once in a while, you should for the holiday magic?" wrote another. 

Another quipped that such comments from Tyson are the reason he never gets invited to parties anymore. 

In a follow-up tweet, Tyson accused Santa of not knowing Zoology.

Tyson noted that although both male and female reindeer grow antlers, the males lose theirs in the late fall, well before Christmas. 

"So Santa’s reindeer, which all sports antlers, are therefore all female, which means Rudolf has been misgendered," Tyson wrote. 

"Ruining Christmas one tweet at a time," replied one user. 

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Another wrote: "They also can’t fly but you go ahead and take the joy out of everything on Christmas Eve if it makes you happy."