Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 1010
Aug 25, 2015
Ceres’ Four-Mile Tall ‘Pyramid’ Is Closer Than Ever, Still Puzzling
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: space
The closer we get to Ceres, the largest object in our solar system’s asteroid belt, the stranger it becomes.
In June, NASA released a photo of Ceres, taken by the Dawn spacecraft from 2,700 miles away, that showed a several-mile high “pyramid” protruding from the dwarf planet’s otherwise generally smooth surface. And a new photo, taken last Wednesday from only 900 miles away, shows the mountain is four miles high and has a perimeter of previously unseen, reflective streaked slopes.
Aug 24, 2015
Laniakea is made up of about 100,000 galaxies with a total mass about 100 million billion times that of the sun
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: space
Laniakea is made up of about 100,000 galaxies with a total mass about 100 million billion times that of the sun.
Image via Beyond Our Sight.
Aug 21, 2015
Life on Jupiter’s moons? Juice may hold the key — CNN.com
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: space
Aug 20, 2015
Here’s A Book That Adds a Fascinating New Dimension to Posthuman Space Opera
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: cyborgs, entertainment, space
By now, the stories of humans transcending their limitations in space have become pretty much ubiquitous. We’ve had space cyborgs, space immortals, and tons of other posthumans in space. But the new novel Edge of Dark by Brenda Cooper still represents a fascinating new approach. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00?tag=lifeboatfound-20…
Aug 19, 2015
This Is the Curiosity Rover’s Newest Selfie—and There’s Something Unusual About It
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: robotics/AI, space
The Curiosity rover has snapped a brand new self-portrait and, like any good newbie selfie-taker, it’s figuring out its best angles—not only to show itself off, but also to show us something new about the Martian landscape it lives on.
This newest selfie was made, like the others, by stitching together panoramic shots from the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager. But by dropping to a low-camera angle and not an overhand shot like before, we’re suddenly able to see the full surrounding horizon. Essentially, we’re seeing not just Curiosity in this selfie; we’re also seeing what Curiosity sees. That view becomes even more pronounced in this second version of the selfie, this one with the horizon wrapped entirely around the robot:
Aug 19, 2015
This cool Christmas tale features love, spaceships, and scary meteors
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: entertainment, space
Anomaly is an unusual Christmas tale, set in the late 60’s, which tells the story of a group of people connected by the same astrological event: A frightening meteor that will enter and exit the atmosphere. It is weird and sad and hopeful and just really interesting to watch.
Anomaly is an independent short film directed by Dan DiFelice & Salomon Lightelm. The film rose up to $60,000 in its Kikstarter campaign but it looks as gorgeous as if they had spent two million. Great post production houses like The Mill and Framestore also collaborated in the project. We featured Anomaly here the same day it was released on the Internet and we are very happy to have it on the Sploid Short Film Festival.
Aug 19, 2015
Get Ready To 3D Print Your Own Satellites In Space — By Neel V. Patel | Inverse
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: 3D printing, satellites, space
“A California startup called Made In Space wants to make 3D for use in orbit. The idea is to give consumers the opportunity to allow their own satellites to be built right there, several hundred miles above Earth’s surface. Plans are in motion to send up a printer capable of accepting printing instructions from the public and building whatever someone on the ground has in mind.”
Aug 19, 2015
The Martian (2015) Theatrical Trailer
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: space, space travel
Theatrical Trailer for The Martian. During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Aug 19, 2015
Forget rockets: This ‘space elevator’ could launch you into orbit
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: space
A Canadian company has clinched a patent for a 12.4 mile-high “space elevator” that could launch astronauts and tourists into orbit.
The free-standing tower would essentially be inflated, supported by a series of gas-pressurized cells, and serve as a docking platform for space planes that could launch cargo, tourists and satellites directly into lower orbit.
Thoth Technology, the Ontario-based company behind the invention, told CNBC the elevator could transport 10 tons of cargo at approximately seven miles per hour, with passengers able to reach the top of the tower in about 60 minutes. Passengers could then board a space plane that could reach lower orbit without the need for costly a rocket launch.
