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ScienceSpaceVideo: Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo in Action
We all know the Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo can actually fly. Now, Wired has an exclusive video of the plane in action, further squashing any skepticism of the plane. https://gizmodo.com/first-virgin-galactic-white-knight-ii-photos-5029950 This video is from an April 20 test flight over the Mojave desert. According to Wired, the plane suffered a tail strike and some rudder control … Continued
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ScienceSpace
Today Is Space Day
Today’s not just the day Wolverine slashes through theaters and our souls, the day we can drink bacon martinis since it’s the weekend and we don’t have swine flu yet: It’s Space Day. https://gizmodo.com/10-gadgets-that-can-protect-you-from-the-swine-flu-pand-5235782 It’s the 12th annual Space Day, even, which is held every year by NASA and Lockheed Martin. The theme this year … Continued
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ScienceHealth
10 Gadgets That Can Protect You From The Swine Flu Pandemic
According to the CDC, the regular flu has killed 13,000 people since January—but the Swine Flu kills like 1% of that and everyone is freaking out. These gadgets can bring you peace of mind. If there is one bright spot in this whole Swine Flu mess, it’s that bacon is not affected. Whew! And I … Continued
By Sean Fallon -
ScienceSpace
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Antimatter
Discovery Channel compiled a mind-frakking list of 10 things you didn’t know about antimatter—the stuff that, when mixed with matter, powers the warp engines of Star Trek. And this excerpt made my brain dizzy: Each type of particle has its antiparticle, leading to some inevitable cosmic quandaries. First, we’re surrounded by matter; where did all … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
ScienceSpace
Space-Based Solar Panels May Be Used for Energy-Saving Good or Catastrophic Evil
A Californian power company is looking at launching giant, reflective solar panels into space to beam clean energy back to us on Earth. But the tech was originally designed for Bond-villain-like weather control. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company, servicing northern California, has signed a contract with Californian-by-way-of-Armenia company Solaren for the latter to provide … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
ScienceAnimalsCat vs. Printer: The War of the Ages
In round 2 of Cat vs. Printer, we have to raise the electronic fist of the printer in victory. The cat takes (invisible) punch after punch, only striking back rarely and feebly. [via Geekologie] https://gizmodo.com/cat-kos-printer-in-vicious-boxing-match-5048489
By Dan Nosowitz -
ScienceSpace
Hubba Hubba Hubble Desktop Backgrounds
NASA is preparing the final—and very risky—Hubble maintenance mission. They have released an interactive site to explain it, which includes some of my favoriter favoritest Hubble images ever, ready for desktop background use: https://gizmodo.com/hubble-repair-mission-more-risky-than-you-would-ever-im-5046276 NASA also released a new image to commemorate the space telescope’s 19 birthday. This is Arp 194, a system containing several … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
ScienceSpace
Happy Birthday, Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Telescope was carried into orbit on this day, April 24th, back in 1990, which makes it 19 years old. Now it can finally legally drink alcohol in Ontario! The Hubble Telescope has taken countless stunning, amazing pictures of deep space since entering orbit. Check out a few of our favorites in the gallery … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
ScienceSpace
Milky Way Could Taste Like Raspberries, Astronomer Says
Those drunks scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy are at it again. While looking for amino acids in the Sagittarius B2 region they found how the galaxy tastes. It wasn’t chicken. Instead of amino acids—the building blocks of life—they found ethyl formate, which is the molecule responsible for the taste of raspberries. … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
ScienceSpaceEarth in HD from the Space Station
Today is Earth Day, you hippie treehugging commies you—you too in your jet, Al Gore—and to celebrate NASA has posted high definition video of our home planet from the space station. Ain’t it pretty? https://gizmodo.com/how-long-will-our-world-last-yes-we-are-screwed-5219598 In celebration of Earth Day, NASA presents images of Earth captured by cameras aboard the International Space Station. Traveling at … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
SciencePhysics
Stephen Hawking Expected to Make Recovery
Super genius and physicist Stephen Hawking is supposed to make a full recovery from his chest infection, but is being kept for observation in the mean time. [MSNBC] https://gizmodo.com/stephen-hawking-rushed-to-hospital-is-very-ill-5219842
By Jason Chen -
ScienceSpace
Cassini Keeps Sending Beautiful Images of Saturn
Major Tom to ground control: I took my protein pills, I’m floating the most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today. I’m past 100,000 miles, but Saturn still looks so beautiful, anyway. The joint NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is well past its 4-year mission: It will be an extra year in June, but it … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
ScienceSpace
Largest Scale Model Rocket In History Blasts Off on April 25th
At over 36 feet tall and 1600 pounds, designer Steve Eves hopes his custom-built rocket will blast off into the record books as the biggest scale model in history when it launches on April 25th. That’s right—this 1/10 scale model of the Saturn V rocket can actually fly thanks to eight 13,000ns N-Class motors and … Continued
By Sean Fallon -
ScienceSpaceThe Sky Is Beautiful, The Sun Is Chirping, and the Birds Are Shining
A lot of people have been sending me amazing timelapses after yesterday’s beautiful view of Tokyo. The most stunning one is this travelling timelapse of space from the ground, including radio telescopes in the desert. https://gizmodo.com/mesmerizing-tokyo-timelapse-makes-me-want-to-go-back-on-5214626 It may be Pink Floyd’s Learning to Fly—some music, as we have shown this week, makes everything look better—but … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
ScienceHealth
5-Year-Old Amputee Fitted with High Performance Carbon Fiber Legs
In 2005, Ellie May Challis lost all of her limbs to meningitis. In 2009, she’s become the youngest person ever fitted with carbon fiber legs. Her original prostheses never fit perfectly, causing her pain and great difficulty when walking. So, with the financial help of their community, Ellie May’s parents took her to Dorset Orthopaedic … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
ScienceSpace
California May Get Some Power From Solar Space Cells By 2016
The idea of harnessing solar power from space has been around for a while; Asimov included it in at least two of his stories that I remember—but may finally be a reality come 2016. PG&E, the state’s largest power utility (and the one who gets my money every month), just signed a deal to get … Continued
By Jason Chen -
ScienceSpace
NASA Names Treadmill, Not Toilet, After Stephen Colbert
After almost getting a toilet named after him, Stephen Colbert will be surprised to know that he’s getting his name on a treadmill instead. Our surprise? NASA picked the EIGHTH most popular name instead. Really NASA? Really? We can see you not picking Serenity, even with its Firefly connotations, or Colbert, because it’s Colbert, but … Continued
By Jason Chen -
ScienceSpace
Gemini Suit and Other Space Memorabilia Up For Auction
If you missed the Michael Jackson auction, here is another opportunity for you to own a piece of out-of-this-world memorabilia—including a spacesuit worn during a Gemini test mission. https://gizmodo.com/gadgets-from-the-michael-jackson-auction-from-robot-he-5154579 The four day auction will take place starting on April 16 at Regency-Superior Gallery in Beverly Hills. It will feature dozens of rare items that range … Continued
By Sean Fallon -
SciencePhysics
Floating Cloud Couch Concept Doesn’t Look Physically Possible
Yeah, this is a neat image and all, but it’s a blatant example of a designer not even doing a little bit of research into how physical objects work before opening up Photoshop. Would it be cool to have a sofa shaped like a cloud that magically floated a couple of feet off the ground. … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
ScienceSpace
This Is How the Sky Would Look if Both Your Eyes Functioned as Telescopes
We can’t see most of what’s in the night sky thanks to our fleshy, inefficient eyes. But what if our eyes had the power of Hubble? We’d be able to see a whole lot more. This image is a composite of a wide region of the northern winter sky that was painstakingly put together to … Continued
By Adam Frucci