Death Valley is one of the harshest environments on the planet, but you wouldn’t know it if you happened to visit last month. As weeks of El Niño-fueled rains percolated into the soil, thousands of dormant seeds were awakened, and the barren landscape bloomed into an ocean of wildflowers.

I just bought the first car I've owned in 13 years and decided to break it in properly over the weekend. Ingredients for this adventure included: Death Valley, being naked around your friends and a bunch of crusty hippies, hot springs, Unimogs full of twinks, mushrooms and 125 miles of off-roading.

On a dried-up lake bed in Death Valley are dozens of rocks that have puzzled us for decades. The rocks have each left a dusty trail, evidence of some unknown force propelling them forward. Scientists have now finally observed the rocks moving and settled on an explanation: Thin ice and a gentle breeze.

We've seen how New York City might appear were it suddenly transported to another planet, but what would, say, Manhattan look like if it were transplanted somewhere else right here on Earth – Death Valley, for instance, or the Grand Canyon? Well... it would look something like this.

Temperatures could hit 129 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend in California's deserts, the National Weather Service warns, while Phoenix should see 118 and Las Vegas will reach 117—heat levels rarely seen even in the scorching Southwestern U.S.

We really take the night sky for granted these days. Between light pollution and Top Gear reruns it's hard to remember that the stars are out there all the time. But they are and in Death Valley you can see them looking badass whenever you want.

Okay, stop what you're doing and hit the play button on this unspeakably beautiful new time-lapse video filmed last month in Death Valley.

Gizmodo reader Gavin Heffernan just finished this really beautiful day and night time lapse of Death Valley's dunes. "Though we almost froze, we got some amazing stars, geminid meteors, star trails, planets, and even a UFO," he says:

Here are some things that might make this week's television worth watching, in spite of the Thanksgiving lull: 1) Donald Glover playing an animated rapper named Alpha Dog. 2) A brutal look at how astronauts might survive crash-landing on Mars. 3) Two new Adventure Time episodes! 4) Lady Gaga takes over Thanksgiving!…

As the fall TV season starts to lurch to a halt, many of your favorite series are ramping up to a thunderous conclusion. The big mysteries on Fringe are thickening, and a new Walking Dead clip will just increase your apprehension about what's to come. Meanwhile, just how far will General Krell's troops go on Star…

This week sees the launch of two exciting new television shows. Green Lantern gets an animated adventure show from the guy who helped put DC animation on the map. Meanwhile, Sir Ridley Scott explores the history of science fiction. Plus Primeval returns to American TV! And Terra Nova does something unutterably cool…

It's November sweeps, which means the shocking twists are coming fast and furious on your favorite TV shows — including a terrible decision on The Walking Dead, and some uncanny twists on Fringe. But meanwhile, Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer is guest-starring in the worst piece of television you'll ever see. Ever…

It's not just Walking Dead rocking the zombie scares this week. Instead, there's a zombie outbreak on Adventure Time, plus the truth about aliens and the undead. Max Brooks and friends explain the history of zombies, and Ving Rhames fights a zombie apocalypse. Basically, it's wall-to-wall zombies!

This week on television, Robot Chicken returns. And two Lost writers take us to a fairytale land with Once Upon a Time. There's one new Marvel superhero show, plus the return of another. Two Buffy stars reunite on Supernatural. And there's gorgeous new evidence of possible life on other planets!

The Walking Dead returns to your screens with twice as many episodes as last year — and it sounds as though the road is going to be a very dangerous place this time around. Meanwhile, Malcolm McDowell and Faran Tahir both have some pretty bizarre cameos. The Matrix may provide the key to a major mystery on Fringe.

This week on television, the creators of Glee and Nip/Tuck pay homage to The Shining and Rosemary's Baby with American Horror Story. Syfy has the season finale of Warehouse 13 and the season premiere of Sanctuary.