Cheryl Eddy

The Milky Way’s Densest Star Cluster Looks Like A Dazzling Glitter Bomb

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the Arches Cluster, thought to be the densest star cluster in the Milky Way. This visually striking cluster is about 25,000 light years from earth, and is a relative youngster, astronomy-wise, at two to four million years old. More from NASA and the European Space Agency:…

Newborn Baby Tapir Struts In Stripes

This South American tapir was born May 19, but he could have been born over tens of millions of years ago, since scientists believe these animals, now endangered, haven’t changed much in the interim. The little fella — pictured with mom Ivana; he doesn’t have a name yet — lives at the Prague Zoo. National…

A Teen’s Sketches Come To Life During Her Affair With Mom’s Boyfriend

The trailer for The Diary of a Teenage Girl, adapted from Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel by first-time director Marielle Heller, is here. Doe-eyed Bel Powley stars as Minnie, with Kristen Wiig as her mother and Alexander Skarsgard as Monroe, aka Mom’s Boyfriend Who Is Into Teen Girls. Here’s a synopsis: Set in 1976 San Francisco,…

We May Soon Finally Know Which Teen Actor Is Playing Spider-Man

The mad dash to cast Spider-Man for Captain America: Civil War (and a slew of films beyond) continues, with a new report stating that producers have narrowed the field from 1,500 hopefuls to a final six. Since Civil War is already in production, we should know soon who emerges victorious from the casting cage match.…

Woody Harrelson Is An Ideal Choice To Star In Clowes Adaptation Wilson

If negotiations go as planned, Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) will write the script for the big-screen adaption of his graphic novel Wilson, with Woody Harrelson playing the cranky title character and Laura Dern as his ex-wife. The Hollywood Reporter, which notes the film is scheduled to begin filming next month in Minneapolis, summarizes the plot…

And Now, A Pair Of Dachshunds Dressed As Astro-Dogs

Or would that be cosmo-dogs? Weiner-nauts? All we know is, there was a dachshund parade in St. Petersburg, Russia, today, and these two li’l sausages were helping lead the charge. Here’s a bonus one, for all of you who were fans of a certain outrageously popular YouTube video that was everywhere last year: https://gizmodo.com/behold-the-adorable-horror-of-the-mutant-giant-spider-d-1630703670 AP…

San Andreas Is A Hit. Which Fault Will Hollywood Target Next?

San Andreas has already raked in more dough than the entire haul of last year’s tornado thriller Into the Storm. Which, in originality-starved Hollywood, means only one thing: MORE EARTHQUAKES! Which fault line will form the backdrop for the next Rock-starring disaster drama? There’s one obvious choice. The Cascadia Subduction Zone, which runs for 680…

“The problem — for writers, and for writing itself — is that it’s easier to be a ghost than to be a writer,” observes this long-form Atlantic piece on authors working within the mysterious yet staunchly business-driven world of ghostwritten book series for kids, including The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

From Sweden, Cuban Crocodiles Return To Their Parents’ Swampy Birthplace

In the 1970s, cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov was given a couple of crocodiles by Fidel Castro. The pair (named Castro and Hillary) spent time in Moscow before ending up at Stockholm’s Skansen Zoo. This week, ten young descendants of the original crocs returned to Cuba, where they’ll be released back into the wild. As ABC News…

The coldest case ever? The discovery of a 430,000-year-old skull in Spain’s “Pit of Bones” may offer “the earliest evidence of lethal interpersonal violence,” a.k.a. murder. Pieced together from 50 fragments, the skull has two lesions above one eye, implying a series of blows and “an intention to kill.”

The Town’s Mystery Deepens (And Gets Even Weirder) On Wayward Pines 

We’re up to Wayward Pines’ third episode, and despite its title, “Our Town, Our Law,” it features multiple instances where Sheriff Pope tells one of the Burkes that “this is MY town!” But whoever’s town it is, it’s just keeps getting weirder. Spoilers follow! The ep picks up immediately where last week left off. We…

San Andreas Is A Film Where Earthquakes Have A Vendetta Against The Rock

San Andreas is filled with ludicrous, special effects-laden chaos, and it paints its main character’s quest to reunite his family — an all-too-familiar disaster-movie trope — with the broadest possible strokes. But if you can put up with ridiculous science (and cheese), it’s a fun, silly summer movie. Some spoilers follow, though this ain’t a…

Particles Meet For A Charged-Up Jam Session In This Whimsical Short Film

Professor Soap — a.k.a. artist Ryan Mauskopf — has done it again. He describes his latest short film, the musical science lesson Positronic, as “a sock-puppet-rock-saga about positrons and electrons.” The vibe is charmingly retro and the instrumental is quite the snappy toe-tapper. https://gizmodo.com/this-simple-space-story-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-you-510505368

Serial Will Return For Two More Seasons With “Distinct New Stories”

If you were among the bazillions who became obsessed with Sarah Koenig’s Serial podcast, which was spun off from This American Life, time to rejoice: the popular show will return for two more seasons, during which it will report on two brand-new cases. In an email newsletter sent to subscribers, host and exec producer Koenig…

7 Notorious Killers Who Actually Went Straight

Most people who’ve been convicted of murder usually settle into prison for the long haul. But in some cases, a killer, usually one who committed his or her crime as a youth, gets released and starts over. Here are seven famous killers who got caught, and never killed again. (So far, at least.) 1) Nathan…

“It Doesn’t Go Well For The Humans” In New Jurassic World Featurette

There’s some familiar footage in this featurette promoting Jurassic World’s June 12th release, but it also offers sound bites from Chris Pratt, Steven Spielberg, and Colin Trevorrow, who says his goal is to “make adults feel like they’re kids again.” Kids chased by genetically-modified dinosaur hybrids, specifically.

In 1780, America’s First Mass Murder Was A Crime Of “Uncommon Horror”

He served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. But Barnett Davenport made his mark on early America in far less heroic way: he’s remembered as the first known mass killer, a crime dubbed “the most horrid murders ever perpetrated in this country, or perhaps any other.” Thanks to the research efforts of New Milford,…

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles Ends With A Bang, And A Stark

Lifetime’s Lizzie Borden Chronicles came to a poignant end last night with “Capsize,” guest-starring Michelle “Lady Catelyn Stark” Fairley as the fierce matriarch of the late Leslie Trotwood’s mobbed-up family. But if we’ve learned anything from this show, it’s that nobody is as fierce as Lizzie. Spoilers ahead! We’ve finally reached episode eight of this…

A Stunning, Multi-Wavelength Image Of The Solar Atmosphere

This fantastical image comes courtesy of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. It depicts a brilliant array of “coronal loops,” magnetic fluxes which form around sunspots and extend into the solar atmosphere. More from NASA: The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes…

Matt Fraction Discusses Hawkeye On Late Night With Seth Meyers

“To me, he’s like the human heart and soul of the Avengers,” comics author Matt Fraction told Seth Meyers of Hawkeye on a recent Late Night appearance. The Sex Criminals co-creator also shares some sex tips, to be followed at one’s own peril. Enjoy! https://gizmodo.com/sex-criminals-comic-to-bring-orgasm-based-bank-heists-t-1688062667 [H/t Comics Beat]