Space & Spaceflight

Why Astronauts Were Banned From Drinking Wine In Outer Space

The story behind NASA’s brief embrace of extraterrestrial sherry is a curious one. In the early seventies, the agency’s focus was shifting from short, Moon-focused missions to the possibility of longer-term inhabitation of space. A revamped menu was among the most pressing challenges: food on the Gemini and Apollo programs came in dehydrated cube form,…

Space & Spaceflight Nicola Twilley

It’s Hard to Believe These Majestic Light Pillars Are Actually On Earth

Winter does all kinds of weird things to the sky, including make it look like we live on an exotic alien planet circling Vega. NASA just posted this mind-bending 360º view of light pillars in Finland. The agency describes the spectacle: The spherical panoramic image mosaic maps a view from Siilinjärvi in eastern Finland. Flat…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

There’s a Solar Eclipse Happening Now That Can Only Be Seen From Space

This is a photo of what’s happening right now above our heads. It’s a solar eclipse near the moon. You just can’t see it, because you’re not in space. In-space solar eclipses are fairly common, but they’re not always caught on camera, and they’re not readily visible to us Earthlings. Besides, there’s always room in…

Space & Spaceflight Leslie Horn

This Insanely Loud Sound System Can Actually Kill You

Being shot into space puts spacecraft under extreme stress—but did you know that the sound of the rocket launch can damage a craft? Inside the Large European Acoustic Facility, engineers recreate the incredible noise of a launch to make sure satellites can survive it. According to the ESA, “no human could survive” the sound. First…

Space & Spaceflight Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

The Subtle Art of Time and Space in Animation

Norman McLaren, a pioneer of 20th century animation, once said that “what happens between each frame is more important than what exists on each frame.” But what the hell did he mean? This video, by TED Ed, explains how tiny differences in timing and spacing—qualities provided by differences between frames rather than the frames themselves—can…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

There’s a Massive River of Hydrogen Running Through Space

An astronomer from West Virginia University has discovered a never-before-seen river of hydrogen flowing through space—and it could explain why spiral galaxies keep up their pace of star formation. Working at the National Science Foundation’s Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, astronomer D.J. Pisano has spotted a tenuous filament of hydrogen steaming through space and…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

What a Rover Looks Like After a Decade on Mars

Curiosity is the hip name in Mars-rovin, but the Opportunity rover was doing it long, long before. Just yesterday Opportunity hit its ten-year anniversary on Mars—it left Earth ten years ago in July. Not bad for a mission intended to last a mere three (Earth) months. In celebration it sent back a selfie. https://gizmodo.com/10-years-ago-opportunity-rover-began-a-90-day-mission-t-693893908 This…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer

17 Vintage NASA Photos of Exploration in the Space Age

Pictures of space are thrilling. Period. For All Mankind is a new exhibition at London’s Breese Little Gallery, highlighting a treasure trove of vintage NASA photos taken from 1964 to 1983. It’s pretty wonderful to see these faded, full-color visuals from a time when the bold explorations were just getting started. We’re so used to…

Space & Spaceflight Jordan Kushins

A Combination of Volcanic Smog and Sunglint Is Breathtaking

You’re looking at a picture of the Vanuatu Archipelago in Australia, shrouded in vog—a word used to describe the kind of volcanic smog which is formed when gases from a volcano react with sunlight, oxygen and moisture. The results are stunning. You can see the vog as a light blue-gray plume which arcs from the…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Wet Dwarf: Astronomers Spot Water In Our Asteroid Belt

Liquid water is considered the single most important factor in our search for extra terrestrial life, so the recent discovery of vaporous H2O spewing from a dwarf planet here in the solar system has Earthbound astronomers over the moon. “This is the first time water vapor has been unequivocally detected on Ceres or any other…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola

Virgin Galactic Doesn’t Have FAA Permission to Fly You to Space

If you’re one of the 700 or so people who bought tickets to fly to outer space on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic rockets, don’t pack your space bags just yet: Smithsonian notes that the company doesn’t have the Federal Aviation Administration permit required to take passengers to space. Hope you folks got traveler’s insurance. Or…

Space & Spaceflight Bob Sorokanich

There’s More to This Image of Saturn Than Meets the Eye

Although it might look like a lot of the other images you’ve seen of Saturn, there’s far more to this picture than meets the eye. https://gizmodo.com/the-most-beautiful-photo-of-saturn-youve-ever-seen-1447226686 Actually, it’s an infrared image captured using a special filter which only allows light polarized in a single direction to hit the sensor. That allows researchers to understand more…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Scientists Discover Water in Stardust and It Suggests We’re Not Alone

Stardust sounds magical enough as it is, but now scientists have for the first time observed that it contains water—which, in turn, could suggest that life is universal. The water forms within dust grains when they’re bombarded with charged winds from the sun. The chemical reaction set up by the winds was hypothesized by scientists…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

NASA’s Astronaut Escape Plan Uses Hand-Me-Down Army Trucks

This past December, a free shipment of four heavily armored vehicles arrived at NASA courtesy of the U.S. military. The Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) are all veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they’re about to embark on an unexpected second life as getaway vehicles in case something goes horribly wrong at the Kennedy…

Space & Spaceflight Sarah Zhang

The Universe’s Most Important Alarm Clock Will Wake Up Rosetta Tomorrow

Two and a half years is a long time to sleep—even for a machine. That’s how long Rosetta has slumbered in its decade-long journey towards the comet where it will land. But in the dead of the night, at 2am PST tomorrow morning, Rosetta will awaken. Here’s how its alarm clock works. Rosetta is many…

Space & Spaceflight Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

How Low Earth Orbit Astronauts Are the New Pioneers

The first element of the International Space Station (ISS) launched over fifteen years ago, on November 20, 1998. For more than thirteen years at least two human beings have been continually living off the surface of our planet. Assembly of the Space Station is now complete. It is being utilized by its crews and scientists…

Space & Spaceflight Ed Van Cise (NASA Flight Director) - Hack A Day

This Isn’t Abstract Art, It’s the Sun

It might look more like abstract art than anything else, but you’re actually looking at a series of observations of the Sun. Captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), this data was recorded to study the evolution of reconnection jets—streams of plasma that loop out an back into a star—on a small patch of…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Watch How the Rosetta Spacecraft Will Orbit and Land on a Comet

Trying to orbit a comet as it rockets through space is no easy task—but that’s just what the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is poised to do. Here’s how. https://gizmodo.com/how-europe-is-going-to-land-on-a-comet-1480478458 If all goes to plan, at 05:00 EST on January 20th, Rosetta will awake from its slumber, having been in standby during its three-year trip…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Astronomers Find a Planet Orbiting a Star Nearly Identical to Our Sun

It took six years to do it, but astronomers have discovered at least three planets circling stars in a crowded star cluster some 2,500 light years away from Earth. Even better: One of the planets is circling a solar twin, a star that’s nearly identical to our sun. The star cluster in question is known…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

Japan’s Launching a Giant Net Into Orbit to Scoop Up Space Junk

Something must be done to deal with the estimated 100 million bits of man-made space junk circling the planet, and Japan is taking the lead. But can we do? Shoot it with a laser? Invent Wall-E-like robots to collect it? Nah… let’s just blast a big net into space. Next month, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

Why Astronauts Were Banned From Drinking Wine In Outer Space

It’s Hard to Believe These Majestic Light Pillars Are Actually On Earth

There’s a Solar Eclipse Happening Now That Can Only Be Seen From Space

This Insanely Loud Sound System Can Actually Kill You

The Subtle Art of Time and Space in Animation

There’s a Massive River of Hydrogen Running Through Space

What a Rover Looks Like After a Decade on Mars

17 Vintage NASA Photos of Exploration in the Space Age

A Combination of Volcanic Smog and Sunglint Is Breathtaking

Wet Dwarf: Astronomers Spot Water In Our Asteroid Belt

Virgin Galactic Doesn’t Have FAA Permission to Fly You to Space

There’s More to This Image of Saturn Than Meets the Eye

Scientists Discover Water in Stardust and It Suggests We’re Not Alone

NASA’s Astronaut Escape Plan Uses Hand-Me-Down Army Trucks

The Universe’s Most Important Alarm Clock Will Wake Up Rosetta Tomorrow

How Low Earth Orbit Astronauts Are the New Pioneers

This Isn’t Abstract Art, It’s the Sun

Watch How the Rosetta Spacecraft Will Orbit and Land on a Comet

Astronomers Find a Planet Orbiting a Star Nearly Identical to Our Sun

Japan’s Launching a Giant Net Into Orbit to Scoop Up Space Junk

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

Scientists Found a Weird New Way to Wash Fruits and Vegetables

White House’s Mysterious ‘Covfefe Moment’ Was Stupider Than We Imagined

Gym Bros Are Pushing Mystery Muscle Drugs Doctors Barely Recognize, Study Warns

The Head of HBO Explains What it Takes to Get a ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Going

Elon Musk’s Lawyer Claims Jury’s 420 ‘Joke’ Proves He Didn’t Receive a Fair Trial

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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