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Libya’s Dunes Look Like a Rusty Steel Plate From Space

It’s only a month since the the European Space Agency lofted its Sentinel-2A satellite started beaming back images from space—but it’s already producing some amazing images, like this one of Libya. In this stunning image, you can see the deep, rustry red-and-orange sand dunes of the country. [ESA]

Come on In, GIFs! It’s Party Time

Quit your hesitating and come on in, GIFs! We’ve been waiting on you. What have you been doing this week? Tell us about summer vacation schemes, news from your life, plans, confusions, cares, and whatever else is on your minds and screens these days, using our common tongue around these parts: The interpretive GIF.

Extreme Droughts Weaken Trees’ Ability to Soak Up Carbon

There’s a mystery inside trees upon which the fate of coastal cities, threatened by rising sea levels from climate change, may depend. Each year, the Earth’s forests take up about one-quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans, effectively slowing the speed and severity of global warming. They lock up most of this carbon in…

New WikiLeaks Cache Reveals a Decade of U.S. Spying on Japan

A new series of documents released by WikiLeaks reveals a list of 35 high-profile targets in Japan that the NSA has spied on since 2006. The slew of new documents reveals that the USA has been spying on “conglomerates, government officials, ministries and senior advisers.” Those include: the Japanese Cabinet Office; the executive secretary to…

The Kodkod is the Cutest Cat You Never Knew Existed

The kodkod is the smallest wildcat—smaller, even, than the average house cat. It’s a tiny, Andean pocket panther that takes tree-dwelling to a whole new level. Everything about this cat is small and high up. It is the smallest cat in Americas, and it has the smallest range of any cat in the Americas. The…

He Killed His Girlfriend … And Planned to Make Her His Corpse Bride

No less an authority than the Weekly World News dubbed Forrest Fuller the “Groom of Doom” for the grim plan he set in motion after jealously stabbing Jodie Myers to death in 1994. She’d told him she wanted to start seeing other people, but the New Jersey man had other plans. Those plans were, most…

Could New Live-Action Star Wars TV Shows Really Be Heading To Netflix? 

Bruce Boxleitner says that he’s done with Tron. Stephen Amell says Arrow will never give Oliver Queen his comic book goatee. Transformers 5 gets its writers. Plus, new pictures from Batman v Superman and The Walking Dead, a new clip from Fantastic Four, and a look at the cool spaceships of The Expanse. Spoilers! Tron…

Scientists Calculate From Just How Far You Can See a Candle Flame

Your eyes are good—but how good? There’s a long-standing argument about the distance from which humans can observe a burning candle, but now a pair of astronomers has calculated an answer based on the science of how we see the stars. If you ask Google this question, you might find answers that claim the eye…

A New Kind of Masking Tape Will Save the Aerospace Industry Millions

When engineers build planes, they use heavy aluminum masking tape to cover up surfaces during production. Now, engineers at BAE Systems have created a new kind of tape that leaves the surface clean when it’s peeled away—and it’s reckoned it will save them $70 million. Unlike your usual decorating-style masking tape, aerospace engineers use a…

HBO may have killed David Fincher’s Utopia over budget issues. Deadlinereports that the show, about fans of a graphic novel and what happens when they find out about a secret sequel, has released its actors.

An Artist’s Visit to Pluto

There’s probably nothing much more exciting for a space artist than to have an entirely new world to play with! I’ve been busy ever since the New Horizons flyby creating new landscapes of Pluto based on the data that has been arriving-ever so slowly—-from the distant spacecraft. It seems that every square inch of each…

The FBI Built a Database That Can Catch Rapists (And Nobody Uses It)

For roughly 30 years the FBI has virtually ignored a system meant to help cops track the behavioral patterns of violent criminals. More than 30 years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a revolutionary computer system in a bomb shelter two floors beneath the cafeteria of its national academy. Dubbed the Violent Criminal Apprehension…

This Earth-Like View Is Actually on Mars

Rugged rock, naturally carved gullies and even a dusting of frost. This could almost be a satellite of a particularly remote part of Earth—but in fact you’re looking at the surface of Mars. If you were, somehow, there, the biggest giveaway might be that the frost isn’t actually ice, but frozen carbon dioxide. At high…

Sony, Please Make This Android Concept a Reality

Sony’s Z3 is a good phone, handicapped with a skinned version of Android that looks dated, and comes with a dump-truck of superfluous crap. Thanks to this quietly-leaked Sony Android Concept, which strips away all the junk and leaves a experience that looks plain fantastic. The Sony ‘Concept for Android’ is a stripped-back beta version…

See the Animated Take on Star Lord’s Origin From Guardians of the Galaxy

If you saw Guardians of the Galaxy and were wondering about what life was like for Peter Quill on Yondu’s ship — well, here’s your answer. This is from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Origins (shudder… Marvel should maybe not name its prequels “Origins” for a bit. It brings back Wolverine memories), which is a…

There’s a Rocky Exoplanet Just 21 Light-Years Away

NASA has proven itself to be quite adeptat finding planets lately, and this week is no exception: using the Spitzer Space Telescoe, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Lab have found HD 219134b, a rocky exoplanet ‘just’ 21 light-years away. Unlike Kepler 452-b, the recently-discovered rocky exoplanet, HD 219134b orbits too close to its star for…

Game of Thrones Is Planning on Eight Seasons

Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, said at the Television Critics Association press event today that the oft-quoted “seven seasons” plan for Game of Thrones is now out the window. Instead, the showrunners currently believe it’ll take eight years to finish the story. Here’s Lombardo’s exact quote: Seven seasons and out was never the case.…

Just 72 hours after its slightly strange virtual reality launch, the OnePlus 2 has already surpassed a million invite requests. That’s not bad for the self-styled David in the war against Goliath flagships: the Galaxy S6 Edge took nearly two weeks to rack up 5 million pre-orders. But if you haven’t jumped on the invite…

Connected States: How the Hell Did I End Up in Michigan?

Connected States: How the Hell Did I End Up in Michigan?

Boris Karloff Suits Up for Horror Duty in This Behind-the-Scenes Photo

Boris Karloff sits for adjustments to his mask while prepping to film 1953 spoof Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Despite this still, Hollywood lore suggests that Karloff only appears in the film as Dr. Jekyll, while the evil Mr. Hyde was portrayed by an uncredited stuntman. Here’s a pic of Karloff…