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This close-up view of the Moon’s dark south shows its pock-marked surface, captured by the European Space Agency’s SMART-1 spacecraft. It uses 40 individual images to cover an area of about 500 x 150 km. You can see an annotated map of the same view here. [ESA]

Tell Us About A Time You Changed Your Mind

Sometimes our first impressions are completely accurate, but sometimes we surprise ourselves. Today we want to know about a time you changed your mind. Maybe it was a series of movies you were sure you would hate, or a scientific subject you thought would bore you, or a book you passed over many times before…

This Is Samsung’s First Tizen Phone

Samsung’s been playing with its Tizen operating system for some time now, looking for a way to break free of the Google ties it relies on for its Android Galaxy smartphone successes. The OS recentlywormed its way into the Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch, and now, after a long development period, there’s a Tizen phone too…

Why Are There Fewer American POWs In Today’s Wars?

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan by the Taliban, was handed over to U.S. special forces on Saturday. While most news has focused on the circumstances of his capture and return, Bergdahl’s experience also highlights a larger story: the declining number of POWs over the decades. The chart below, which…

The World’s Most Sensitive Thermometer Is Made From Light

A team of researchers has made the world’s most sensitive thermometer at room temperature, which is three times more precise than any to go before it—and it’s made of light. The researchers claim that their new thermometer is able to measure temperature with a staggering precision of 30 billionths of a degree. While it’s possible…

The Enterprise Crew Flail About Like Morons In “Star Trek Stabilized”

It’s the Star Trek TV shows’ simplest, but most effective effect — have the actors throw their bodies in one direction while shaking the camera. Redditors took the time to stabilize these shots — i.e., show what they would look like if the cameras were actually still — and the results are ridiculous. It should…

Will A Major Walking Dead Event Catch Comics Readers By Surprise?

Grant Gustin talks about upcoming Flash and Arrow crossovers. Damon Lindelof promises that The Leftovers is about mystery and not cliffhangers. And a Wire alum joins The Originals. Plus, Roland Emmerich wants to shoot two Independence Day sequels back-to-back. Spoilers now! Top image: The Walking Dead Independence Day 2 and 3 In the press release…

What Does the Rx on Prescription Drugs Mean?

The phenomenon of ubiquitous prescription drugs is a relatively new experience in human history. However, its common abbreviation, ℞, has deep roots in the relatively distant (and some even claim ancient) past. Recipe for Wellness While there are a few commonly put forth explanations as to how we ended up with the ℞ symbol, it’s…

The really rather good RSS client Reeder has just received its first update for Mac since Google Reader got axed. It’s available on the Mac App Store for $10.

Asus Transformer Book V: A 5-in-1, Android-Windows Phone, Tablet and PC

ASUS has just announced one of its most unusual products yet: a 5-in-1 device that’s a phone, tablet and PC, which runs both Windows and Android. No, really. At its fullest, the Transformer Book V is a 12.5-inch Windows laptop. Detach the keyboard, and it turns into a Windows tablet. Tug on the odd bulge…

Rumor: Leaked OS X Images Could Reveal the iOS-Like Future of the Mac

Ahead of today’s WWDC keynote, where Apple will reveal its latest and greatest offerings, a set of leaked OS X images purport to show what we can expect from Apple’s desktop OS update. We’ve been expecting OS X to see a large-scale aesthetic reboot overseen by Apple design chief Jony Ive. Late yesterday, a thread…

WSJ: Google Spending $1 Billion on Satellites to Cover Earth in Wi-Fi

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google plans to spend over $1 billion on a fleet of satellites that will be used to provide internet to parts of the world that currently lack digital connections. According to “people familiar with the project,” Google will use 180 “small, high-capacity satellites” that will orbit the Earth…

Reckless biker escapes death five times in just a few seconds

Those Russian kids may be crazy but, if they fall from the top of those buildings and towers, it will be their problem. One day, they may make a mistake, fall, splat against the ground, and that would be it. This reckless biker, however, is playing with his life and the life of others, at…

Goodbye, Hello, and Thank You!

In May, you spent 11,575,989 minutes ogling astronomy and physics, learning about disasters and planetary science, and otherwise indulging in the eclectic topics of the Space site. My 90 days as a Recruit have been intense and fun, but are over. But I’m not leaving; I’m just changing job titles. Here, check out Supernova 1006!…

Crazy spinning giant Thai rocket is the awesomest thing

I don’t really know what’s going on in this video: It starts out with a group of people gathered around an object which then cuts to people fleeing the circle because mad men are lighting the object which then turns into a thick smoke monster threatening Earth and then out pops the coolest rocket thing…

666 Park Avenue Is A Modern-Day Rosemary’s Baby

I watch all my TV online, so I completely missed 666 Park Avenue when it aired on ABC from September 2012 to July 2013. I only stumbled across it recently when I was trawling the bottomless pit of B-grade horror that Netflix has. To my surprise, the show wasn’t complete garbage. In fact, it was…

Michael Jackson: Slave To The Rhythm

Until recently, I was one of those people who refused to believe that Michael Jackson was really dead. I know, I know, I’m probably crazy, but look, I grew up on the guy’s music, OK? Michael recently made a comeback with Xscape, a posthumous album containing previously unreleased material that’s about a gazillion times better…

The F-35 Fighter Plane Is Even More of a Mess Than You Thought

The US military’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft is proving to be a pain in the neck in more ways than one. Not only did the Pentagon spend almost $400 billion to buy 2,400 aircraft—about twice as much as it cost to put a man on the moon—the F-35 program is 7 years behind schedule…

Need a Movie Tonight? Watch Nebraska

Update: Sorry for the pump fake but Nebraska is not actually streaming on Netflix (right now), but you can catch it on Google Play, Amazon, or iTunes, for a price. We apologize for the tease. If your Friday night plans include wine and your couch, I’d like to humbly submit Nebraska as a potential candidate…

EPA To Propose 30% Cut In Carbon Emissions By 2030

The Environmental Protection Agency will present a draft rule Monday that seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants 30% over 2005 levels by the year 2030, according to anonymous sources briefed on the plan. Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel This is a big deal. The New York Times calls the rule “the…