Astronomers Spot a Record-Breaking Supernova

An exceptionally bright supernova discovered last month appears to shine brighter than 500 billion Suns. That’s twice as luminous as the previous record—but because it’s low in hydrogen, scientists are confused as to where this exploding star got all its energy. Above: The remnant of star SNR E0519-69.0, a different supernova than the one recently…

Is it possible that we could get an allergy-free peanut, that still tastes like a peanut? That’s just one of the projects detailed in the USDA’s newly-released Tech Transfer report, detailing some of the unlikely ways their research has been showing up out in the world.

Check Out This Gorgeous Frog and Learn a New Word

This is Microhyla pulchra, otherwise known as the beautiful pygmy frog. It seems to be doing okay in the wild—it may even be an invasive species—but that’s tough to confirm because of its unique biological ability: crypsis. First, some from facts: It lives in southeast Asia. Although the frog is small and it lives in…

The Fantastic Four Comic-Con Footage Is Here and It’s on Fire

Because it’s full of the Human Torch, see? Yeah, you get it. There’s not a ton of new footage here, but it does contain the first we’ve heard of Doom and the Thing talking and oh my god are they really not modulating Jamie Bell’s voice at all? It’s so weird to see and Thing…

Guillermo del Toro Wants To Make A Jabba the Hutt Movie!

A second Wreck-it-Ralph is happening! Toby Kebbel talks Doom’s origins in Fantastic Four. How long will it be until we see more footage from Deadpool? Plus, Arrow’s return gets a title, Barry Allen gets an updated costume in The Flash, and Rob Thomas discusses how he wants Veronica Mars to return. Spoilers now! Star Wars…

New Horizons Has Made its Closest Approach to Pluto!

After nine years and over 3.26 billion miles, the New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto earlier today. Assuming it survived the encounter, the probe is now drifting away from the dwarf planet as it heads deeper into the Kuiper Belt. Above: NASA posted this image of Pluto earlier this morning to its…

Get Your Ass to Mars With This Total Recall Art

Artist Chris Skinner made this gorgeously detailed poster for a Cult Cinema Sunday screening of Total Recall. Get a closer look below. On Skinner’s Instagram, you can see a bunch of behind-the-scenes art photos, like this one for the Total Recall printing process: Contact the author at [email protected].

Astronaut Scott Kelly is developing quite a relationship with aurora.

A Robot Saves a Scientist In This Amazing Video Game-Themed Short

You would be completely forgiven for thinking that Boltron Ninja Massacre was a real vintage video game that you somehow missed — that’s how good it looks. And the music? Also perfection. [via Wine After Coffee] Contact the author at [email protected].

io9 Newsstand: Do All The Needs of The Many Outweigh Those of The Few?

This week’s stories are about the push-pull between honoring tradition and celebrating the new, about how hard it is to make peace with your past, and about how good it feels to make men pay for being pigs. This week’s stories also all come from the same source: Uncanny Magazine. I know I just encouraged…

Welsh Government Responds to UFO Questions in Klingon

When Welsh politician Darren Mill asked economy, science, and transport minister Edwina Hart whether she had discussed UFO sightings at Cardiff airport with the Ministry of Defense, or considered funding research into the reports, a Welsh government spokesperson responded pithily, in Klingon. “jang vIDa je due luq,” the statement read. “’ach ghotvam’e’ QI’yaH devolve qaS.”…

Falling Skies Deserves Some Credit For This One Super-Effective Moment

There was a lot wrong with last night’s Falling Skies episode—including an over-reliance on plot hammers and zany twists—but the show at least tried to do real character development. And this moment shows when they absolutely succeeded. In a nutshell, last night’s Falling Skies had the Second Mass up against it, with swarms of brand…

Our Spoiler-Free First Impressions of Campy Slasher Comedy Scream Queens

Scream Queens’ Jamie Lee Curtis is perfection. On the gory new campus comedy from Glee’s Ryan Murphy, the horror legend plays a deliciously arch, newly-promoted Dean of Students who haaates sororities. We saw the first episode, and wondered: can the rest of the show keep up with Curtis? We’re cautiously optimistic. The show, described at…

“Mocha” Was a Place, Is a Flavor, and May Be a Scientific Innovation

Have you ordered a mocha lately? Do you realize that “mocha” shouldn’t actually mean “chocolate-flavored-coffee,” and instead should mean really, really expensive coffee? And that someday, it could mean the best decaffeinated coffee in the world? For me, mocha always meant a combination of chocolate and coffee. That’s what most of the world thinks of…

It’s an El Niño year! Kindasorta. At Wired, Nick Stockton gauges the state of 2015’s El Niño, which NOAA has thus far described as “weak,” reminding us that “the storm has stood everyone up the last two times it promised to come knocking.” (He also limits himself to two Chris Farley references, which is commendable.)…

Tomorrow Night’s Episode of Zoo Will Be a Total Game-Changer

We talked to Zoo executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Josh Appelbaum in the CBS pressroom at Comic-Con. And while they were coy about revealing any specifics, they did hint that episode three—which airs tomorrow—will offer insight into why OMG ANIMALS ARE ATTACKING. Here’s what they told us: At the end of the third episode, it’s…

Watch The Supernatural Panel Fail To Answer A Question About THAT Death

You might have thought that the cast and crew of Supernatural would be prepared to answer a question about the somewhat gratuitous and unpleasant death of a fan-favorite character last season. But watch this video of their Comic-Con panel, and see for yourself. (The relevant portion starts at 35:00.) Spoilers ahead… A fan asked, “Considering…

Season Three of Masters of Sex Goes Full Soap Opera, Forgets Science

Last season’s finale saw William Masters and Virginia Johnson developing (with a lot of self-experimentation) a new treatment for sexual dysfunction. That was in 1961. The third season jumps us forward to 1965, when the pair are about to release Human Sexual Response, their first book on human sexual physiology. The very first scene makes…

Is the Ice on Pluto Slippery Enough for You to Fall On?

It’s been a good day for Pluto and its fans: Already, we’ve learned that we were underestimating its size (sorry, little friend!) and that those ice caps atop the almost-planet are made of methane and nitrogen ice. But what would stepping out on that ice be like? Perhaps not quite how we’re used to. In…

These Rings Were Discovered in 1855—But We’re Still Puzzling Over Them

These are called Liesegang rings. You’ve probably seen them on paper, in rocks and cliffs around you, and in test tubes. They were first discovered back in 1855, and we’re still working out the details. Learn (roughly) what makes these things happen. Liesegang rings are, in the grand tradition of science, not named after the…