We Like This Theory About The Simpsons, But We Don’t 100 Percent Agree

On his Bad Astronomy blog, Phil Plait puts forth a novel theory about the mysterious location of Springfield, hometown of the Simpsons. His come-to-Homer moment springs from the recent episode that featured Elon Musk (“The Musk Who Fell to Earth“), specifically a scene, pictured below, in which the SpaceX CEO is staring up at the…

Stare In Awe At This Fiery Footage Of A Solar Eruption In Progress

The Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) project satellite captured this dazzling, hypnotic footage of a solar eruption yesterday. SOHO is a joint effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA; its purpose, besides capturing incredible images like the one above, is “to study the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and…

How much do you know about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space? This detailed profile sheds light on the cosmonaut’s life and accomplishments, as well as her struggles.

Wonder Woman Movie Will Begin Filming This Fall

Get the invisible jet ready: the standalone Wonder Woman movie, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, will begin filming in the fall, with a summer 2017 release planned. Gadot will first appear in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

This Week’s Puzzle Is As Easy As Pie

You can solve this week’s puzzle with a pie (traditional or pizza) and slicer, a pen and paper, or a little math. The choice is yours. Sunday Puzzle #21: Slicing Pie One straight slice through one whole pie divides the pie into two pieces. Simple enough. A second straight cut, crossing the first, will produce…

How Can Space Travel Faster Than The Speed Of Light?

Light speed is often spoken of as a cosmic speed limit … but not everything plays by these rules. In fact, space itself can expand faster than a photon could ever hope to travel. Cosmologists are intellectual time travelers. Looking back over billions of years, these scientists are able to trace the evolution of our…

A Creepy-Cute Vintage Illustration Of A Vampire Bat

From the British Library archives comes this delightful plate from naturalist J. Leyland’s “Adventures in the far interior of South Africa; including a journey to Lake Ngami, and rambles in Honduras,” circa 1866.

Update: Science Fiction Bookstore Borderlands Will Stay Open!

Here’s a huge chunk of happy news to brighten your Sunday: San Francisco’s scifi and fantasy bookstore, Borderlands, will stay open for at least another year thanks to a successful sponsorship campaign. YAY! If you’ll recall, the beloved institution (which we here at io9 are huge fans of, for many obvious reasons … and the…

There’s Still Plenty Of Time To Celebrate World Pangolin Day!

It’s the third Saturday in February, which means … it’s World Pangolin Day! (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) This CNN post offers some ways to celebrate (get a pangolin tattoo!), with a link to this clip of Randall (the guy who let the world know that honey badgers don’t care) sharing some fun facts about everyone’s favorite…

Did an asteroid hasten the spread of black death in Europe? Dendrochronologist and author Mike Baillie says that tree rings “reveal a major event just before 1350. Something catastrophic,” similar to the Tunguska event, changed “the composition of the atmosphere and provided ideal conditions for a lethal infection to spread,” making the population more vulnerable…

Scan Reveals This Buddha Statue Has A Mummy Inside

This is no ordinary Buddha statue. As the CT scan at the right clearly shows, there’s a mummy concealed inside! This fascinating artifact is currently on display as part of a mummy-themed exhibit at the Netherlands’ Drents Museum (link also offers a glimpse of a particularly rad cat mummy). It’s the first time the “Buddha…

A World-Weary Puppy In Antarctica, Circa 1912

This poignant image (cheer up, buddy!) of a pup named “Blizzard” was taken in 1912 by Antarctic adventurer Frank Hurley, who two years later would be the photographer on Ernest Shackleton’s famed Endurance Expedition. This shot is from the First Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which set out in 1911. Over a period of years, Hurley visited…

Rumor: Taron Egerton Is Your New Han Solo

Wait, who? Get to know the name, because 25-year-old Welsh actor Taron Egerton, formerly known as “breakout star of Kingsman: The Secret Service” is rumored to be playing young Han Solo in the second standalone Star Wars film. (This builds on the rumor that the second standalone Star Wars film, slated for 2018, is actually…

Frozen Meets The Thing In This Adorably Vile Claymation Mash-Up

Animator Lee Hardcastle shares his latest creation, a lovingly gory, amazingly accurate claymation sequence that imagines what would happen if the Frozen gang enacted the blood-test scene from John Carpenter’s The Thing. The answer? Magic. Magic happens. Though it would prefer not to spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!

Why Do Cities Spark More Thunderstorms Than Rural Areas?

Some big cities, particularly those located in hot and humid environments, actually spawn more thunderstorms than surrounding rural areas. That’s the conclusion of a new study by Northern Illinois University researchers, which was published in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. The scientists found thunderstorm “births” were significantly higher on weekdays compared with weekend…

In Honor Of Lunar New Year, Here’s An Underwater Lion Dance

Happy Year of the Sheep! Here’s something you don’t see every day: divers performing a Chinese lion dance … underwater. With a big ol’ reptilian buddy providing some verrrry slow backup moves. This shot was taken at the Lunar New Year celebration February 19 at the Aquaria KLCC underwater park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP…

Simon Pegg Is A Crass Assassin In The Trailer For Kill Me Three Times

Oh jeez, you’re saying. Another hitman movie? But! Australian entry Kill Me Three Times stars Simon Pegg, noted funnyguy, as the ruthless bloke with the gun. And wisecracks. Watch the red band trailer below, and make sure not to use all your matches to set off that explosion.

The Time Travel In Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Is Probably Not Going To Make Sense

Don’t get me wrong — I’m still enjoying the hell out of 12 Monkeys. But last night’s episode confirmed what I suspected from the pilot onwards. The time travel on this show is going to follow make-it-up-as-we-go-along rules, without much regard for logic. Typical television time travel, in other words. Spoilers ahead… The main problem…

A Vintage Chart Of UFO Sightings From Around The World

From the collection of the National Archives UK, this awesomely simple chart was drawn in 1969. Some of them look like classic scifi interpretations of flying saucers … but we also see some hubcaps and hats in there, too.

The French Remake Of Hot Tub Time Machine Has A Lot More Motor Scooters

Just imagine if Hot Tub Time Machine was more sophisticated and European, and less… I don’t know what, crass and American. Yes? Then you would have something like BIS, which borrows the basic idea of HTTM, but with no hot tub. And a lot more riding around on motor scooters. Actually, this looks like some…