io9
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space porn
The Swan Nebula Shows The Death And Rebirth Of Superhot Stars
That silky white gas in this image of the Swan Nebula (also known as the Omega Nebula) is the remains of superhot stars, that bowed their shining heads and died. But it's also the birthplace of brilliant new stars. [ESO]
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Comment by crashedpc : ゴキブリ and 蟑螂 division: How long does it take for a star to form? Yes, I know I can google that. But I'd rather hear... 8 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
Binary Star Discovery Allows Scientists To Detect Invisible "Gravity Waves"
Stars in the early universe probably formed in pairs, like the ones in this simulation created by a group of American astrophysicists. Their finding also has staggering implications: We may detect gravity waves, which has never been possible before. More »
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Comment by nonpareil: I'm still dubious about gravity waves. I understand that if they exist, they're very weak (and tough to detect), but... 11 Responses | Other threads
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rocket porn
An Experimental Rocket Soars Over The Coast, On Its Way To A Pre-Planned Disaster
A specially designed rocket soars over Wallops Island, VA, on its way to test a new astronaut escape system for NASA's Orion spacecraft, due to start launching in 2015. Want to see the fancy new escape system? There are parachutes... More »
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Comment by VaclavKestrel: Um....if not parachutes, then what? It has to be a real technology and not a made-up one. Also,... 2 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
Helix Nebula Produces Cosmic Fireworks Display
The United States' independence day is over for the year, but a new image of one of Earth's cosmic neighbors reveals an explosive spectacle. One of the closest nebulae to us displays dramatic firework-like knots when viewed in the infrared. More »
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Comment by Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: Ok, this is weird. I went to the Seattle fireworks show (where I had kick ass seats thanks to friends... 1 Responses | Other threads
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vacation
Wish You Were Here - On The Moon
io9 is taking the day off to explode things in the name of national liberty. Also, to kick back on this moon beach, captured here in the dappled earthlight by NASA's newly-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. More »
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Comment by Julius Seizure. (the CANUCK one): Enjoy the weekend, dudes and dude-ettes. We've got a truckload of red and white frosted cupcakes left over from Canuck Day... 7 Responses | Other threads
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maps
New Map Of Our Galactic Disc Reveals Where Future Stars Will Be Born
Members of a massive galaxy-mapping project started a few years ago have just unveiled the first of several atlases they will produce of our Milky Way's galactic disc. These images of "cold dust" in the galaxy show where stars will ignite. More »
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Comment by arthurborko: This map is gonna be very useful if we ever learn to break physics and invent warp drive :-p 5 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
The Most Efficient Particle Accelerator Known To Humanity
Chinese astronomers observed this supernova, RCW 86, in the year 185 A.D. But it's still pumping out cosmic rays, and a new image shows how supernova remnants like this one are the Milky Way's "super-efficient particle accelerators." [Chandra Observatory] -
astronomy
New York Teenager Finds Weird, Introverted Supernova
At 14, Caroline Moore became the youngest person ever to discover a supernova. But months later, we're still figuring out how her find, dubbed SN 2008HA, can actually exist, since it defies everything we thought we knew. More »
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Comment by Pope John Peeps II: Unlike other supernovas, this one really doesn't like parties, and when it does go, generally just sort of sits on... 3 Responses | Other threads
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cosmic rays
Why The Sun Is A Delinquent Parent
You already know that the sun can be dangerous because of the harmful effects of UV rays, but were you aware of the problems posed by it failing to protect us from cosmic rays? More »
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Comment by 92BuickLeSabre: What can you expect the sun to do when we keep running away, coming back, running away, coming back. ... 6 Responses | Other threads
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atmospheric conditions
The Cloud That Proved The 1908 Tunguska Explosion Was A Comet
The mysterious Tunguska explosion in 1908 leveled hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest, leaving trees flattened to the ground. New evidence, based on strange, glowing clouds in the upper atmosphere, proves that Tunguska wasn't caused by aliens after all. More »
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Comment by ASquare: Don't get me wrong, I believe the scientific explanation, but let me just get this straight: the same type of... 9 Responses | Other threads
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life out there
Could X-Rays Be Creating DNA On Titan?
Over at New Scientist, there's an intriguing article about how x-rays from the sun could be stirring up the molecular soup on Saturn's moon Titan - and ultimately create DNA. Recently researchers simulated Titan's atmosphere in the lab to see what it would take for the moon - whose atmosphere makes it similar to Earth in some ways - could ever cook up life as we know it. More »
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Comment by xoforoct wishes he lived in chasm city: This experiment seems to be missing some data... Obviously, it is not as if after you hit the 7 million year... 1 Responses | Other threads
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mad chemistry
Nano Droplet of Acid Solves Ozone Depletion Mystery
Last week a group of scientists reported in Science that they had created the tinest droplet of acid ever produced on Earth. It was created within a superfluid helium cluster at 0.37 kelvin. Observing this ultra-small acid drop allowed researchers to study how such droplets interact with water in our atmosphere to create chlorine which eats up ozone. Until this experiment, nobody had understood how chlorine could be created in the cold wastes of our upper atmosphere. Now we know it's via the interactions between acid and water ice, which then erode holes in our ozone layer. Which leads to more ultraviolet spectrum hitting the planet, which leads to genetic mutations in many life forms. More »
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Comment by R.O.A.C.H. needs to blow up the Moon! (w/ lazers!): So... We can all be superheroes now? 3 Responses | Other threads
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afternoon reading
13 Ways of Looking at Apollo
The anniversary of Apollo's historic landing on the moon is coming up next month, and everyone from science historians to poets are reminiscing. Writer Matthew Battles has a fascinating essay about how space travel prepares us to be cyborgs. More »
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Comment by Whyaduck: Agreed, that's a great image. So much of the literature/media is dedicated to the hardware and the astronauts, we... 2 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
What Makes Young Galaxies Stop Growing?
Eventually a galaxy has to grow up and settle down, and stop throwing superheated gas around all over the place. And now astrophysicists have figured out how the glowing "superblobs" around galaxies help to make this happen. More »
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Comment by Lord XIII: Just a small question: How the hell the superheated gas scapes the black hole in the center of the young... 3 Responses | Other threads
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mars
Definitive Evidence Of An Ancient Lake On Mars
Water on ancient Mars may actually have been abundant: Scientists have speculated about ancient rivers and lakes for years. But a team at University of Colorado at Boulder announced this week the first "definitive" evidence of a lake on Mars. More »
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Comment by Meirelle: Decepticon: So they MIGHT start digging by the time I die in like 2075 or something... 4 Responses | Other threads
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lunar exploration
NASA's New Moon Missions Hope To Crash And Burn
Don't be too concerned when you hear that latest NASA launch has crashed into the surface of the moon; it doesn't mean that everything's gone wrong. The entire point of one of the two missions is to do just that. More »
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Comment by LittleDragon: I can spend $580 million dollars in new and interesting ways and advance mankind in space. I would be herald... 11 Responses | Other threads
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space disasters
Warp Drive Could Suck Our Entire Planet Into A Black Hole
The good news is, Italian physicists think it's possible we could travel faster than light by creating a kind of "warp drive," encasing a spaceship in a bubble and warping space, so that space itself travels faster than the speed of light. And the spaceship, safe in its bubble, could "surf" that wave of space. The bad news? The warp drive could turn into a black hole that would incinerate the ship, and suck Earth inside. That's according to physicist Stefano Finazzi of Italy's International School For Advanced Studies: More »
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Comment by TheDarkWayne: Uhm, that's exactly how space travel works in Mass Effect. They stimulate "element zero" with an electrical current, and it... 3 Responses | Other threads
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planetary collision
Mercury To Blame For Solar System's Collapse, Mars-Earth Collision
When our solar system's orbits all break down and planets are crashing into each other, we'll know exactly who's to blame: a tiny ball of rock called Mercury. Chaotic factors in Mercury's orbit could destabilize the whole solar system. More »
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Comment by Belabras: May I be the first to say it: We must destroy Mercury before it destroys us! 7 Responses | Other threads
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space elevators
Scientists Design The Next Best Thing To A Space Elevator
Scientists in Canada have designed a cheaper, easier way to build mankind's millennium-old dream of a stairway to the heavens: use balloons. More »
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By MeganComment by TrollSlayer: Canada has scientists? Sorry. I'm always just a little skeptical when anything, not boring, comes out of Canada. 28 Responses | Other threads
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exclusive
Discover The Secrets Of Ron Moore's 10-Year Space Probe
Ronald D. Moore's long-awaited Virtuality airs June 26, and we've got exclusive concept art showing the inner workings of the deep-space probe Phaeton and its various modules — including a super-detailed diagram explaining the physics of the ship. More » -
concept art
The Electric Rocket That May Put A Robotic Inchworm On The Moon
Here's the "underdog" electric-powered rocket that just may conquer the Moon and win Google's $30 million Lunar X Prize. The Lunatrex rocket uses a slow-but-steady approach, taking months instead of days to reach the Moon. More »
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Comment by frankenstoen: Perhaps the next Google X-Prize should be a contest for removing orbital space junk. 5 Responses | Other threads
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astronaut glamor
Will We See A New Age Of Astronaut Glamor?
What would it take to re-energize our excitement about space exploration? Maybe if astronauts start getting treated like movie stars. Here's a step in the right direction: a Louis Vuitton ad featuring Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell. [WWD via TheFrisky]
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Comment by JakeBlues: It would probably help if our country wasn't flat broke. Oh, and if a good portion of this country wasn't anti-science... 5 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
Rare Supernova Is Nearby But Invisible
In the galaxy M82 (pictured), a mere 12 million light years from Earth, an enormous but invisible supernova has disturbed its local volume with massive shockwaves. The supernova, the closest to Earth in the past five years, can only be detected via radio waves. More »
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Comment by The Curse of Millhaven: Wait: a huge, gaseous explosion that is detectable by radio? Has anyone made sure that Rush Limbaugh is okay? 12 Responses | Other threads
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concept art
Insect Astronauts Encounter Strange Creatures And A Disaster
It is often difficult to study megafauna, especially when you are so small that pretty much every creature is larger than you are. Nevertheless, a band of brave insectoid-suited scientists is studying this alien planet, and now you can see it through their eyes. More »
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Comment by Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: They're not insects, they're people. Look at the last picture, that's a man. Also, they listen to Earth human music.... 4 Responses | Other threads
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life on mars
Mars Landers May Have Erased Evidence Of Life
Have the Mars landers not only failed in identifying signs of life on the red planet, but also accidentally been destroying them all along? Scientists are beginning to suggest that may be the case. Oops. More »
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Comment by avconsumer2: At least it wasn't like that episode of TNG where they launched a probe and accidentally ignited the atmosphere. /geekoff 4 Responses | Other threads
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meet the new boss
Why We're Excited About Charles Bolden
The US administration has finally nominated their choice for future NASA Administrator, and it's a former shuttle pilot with administrative experience who seems to understand what NASA is all about. How soon can he start? More »
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Comment by bendandflex: maybe nasa wont keep changing thier mind about their primary goals every couple of years and actually do something for... 5 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
All The Colors You Bled Into the Sky
Aptly called the Heart Nebula, this gory glow is located in the constellation Cassieopia. More »
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Comment by Edouard Eldred: Please tell me I'm not the only one who can see the shape of a person in the bottom right... 19 Responses | Other threads
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ufos
Will the US Government Finally Admit There Are Aliens?
A whole batch of videos are circulating on YouTube from NASA - they show UFOs zooming around the space shuttle and space station. Is this the beginning of the alien renaissance? More »
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Comment by Spaceboy: Insert Austin Powers quote here. That's pretty exciting, though. I've come to realize that they only way I'll see long distance... 11 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
My God, Texas Is Full Of Stars!
This time-lapse fish-eye-lens photo of the night sky over Texas is incredible, thanks to a red-lens filter that allows us to see the galactic core of the Milky Way rising up at the end. [Gizmodo]
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Comment by BongoFury: The stars at night/are big and bright/CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!deep in the heaaarrrrrt of Texas! 6 Responses | Other threads
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solar porn
Is NASA Acting Out Danny Boyle's Sunshine For Real?
Award-winning space photographer Thierry Legault traveled to Florida to take this picture of the Space Shuttle Atlantis passing in front of the sun. And click through to see Atlantis and Hubble meeting in the sunshine. More »
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Comment by prometeum: Is the sun supposed to look this big from earth? I'm not sure... 2 Responses | Other threads
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aliens
SETI Picks Up Regular Laser Pulse Emanating From Space
Astrophysicist Ragbir Bhathal works with SETI to scan the skies for possible communications from extraterrestrial intelligences. Unlike most SETI facilities, which look for radio signals, Bhathal's looks for laser pulses. And now he's found one. More »
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Comment by reddingofish: Any news on the folks that are listening to gravity waves? I did a little web searching and found... 14 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
Watch Atlantis Rendezvous With Hubble - Live Feed, Right Now!
It's live on NASA TV right now . . . Atlantis will rendezvous with Hubble in about 20 minutes. (via NASA TV)
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Comment by Smeagol92055: R.O.A.C.H.: Oh damn it all! No streaming video allowed at work! THIS IS AN HISTORIC MOMENT YOU PHILISTINES Someone describe it to... 8 Responses | Other threads
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space
Two Space Shuttles Prepped For Launch, In One Of Their Very Final Missions... To Probe Our Cosmic Origins
Later today, Space Shuttle Atlantis will be lifting off from Florida for the last ever servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Today's mission also marks the 30th mission for the Orbiter, which first launched in October of 1985 with STS-51-J. More »
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Comment by OlavRokne: I'm kind of glad to see the end of the Shuttle era -- not because I'm anti-shuttle, but because it... 3 Responses | Other threads
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solar exhaustion
The Sun Is Weaker Than It's Been In 80 Years, Apparently
Fueling fears about the dimming sun, scientists are predicting that the current solar cycle is not only running a year or so late, but will also be the weakest cycle since 1928. Solar disaster! More »
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Comment by Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: I'm more worried by that picture. Our sun has turned green! 9 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
View From The Vacuum Organism Farms Outside My Domed Habitat On Rhea
Wish you were here! More »
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Comment by Roklimber: Why, oh why, wasn't I born in the 23rd century? 5 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
This Sparkling Galaxy Hides A Stellar Secret
This spiral galaxy, NGC 2841, is helping NASA solve a huge mystery: why do galaxies look so smooth, with such an even distribution of stars? More »
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Comment by crashedpc : ゴキブリ and 蟑螂 division: Mmmm... strawberry/blueberry black milk. 5 Responses | Other threads
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space day
Celebrate Space Day With The Shuttle Astronauts And An ISS Webcam
Today is the 12th Annual Space Day, an event that's jointly hosted by NASA and Lockheed Martin, held each year on the first of May. This year's theme is titled : 'Celebrating Human Space Flight: Past, Present and Future'. More »
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Comment by Alexis Brown: Did anyone ever go to Space Camp? That picture took me back. Not that I would do anything as nerdy as... 1 Responses | Other threads
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space pornographers
Pack Your SPF-5 Billion: We're Going To The Sun!
We're sending not one, but two probes to the sun in the next few years. Hopefully making first contact with the super-hot aliens who have been watching us from inside the solar coronas. Gallery below. More »
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Comment by Kevin Jones: Sunshine is on my Netflix list. Should I just wait for the reality show? 9 Responses | Other threads
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ufos
Last Week's UFO Sighting at Giza Pyramid Set to Hippie Music
Really, doesn't cliched music from the 1960s make every UFO sighting more believable? The bright green lettering, helpfully explaining the blob you're seeing, enhances the realism too. via Real UFOs
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Comment by van_line: how many cameras are in circulation right now? Between cellphones and handheld cams shouldn't we have more images of... 4 Responses | Other threads
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space porn
Billion-Year Old Starburst Helps Us See Deeper Space Than Ever Before
It may have happened aeons ago, but the self-destruction of a star 13.1 billion light years away has just been seen by scientists, giving them their farthest look into the universe yet. More »
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Comment by eXo: If the universe is expanding, and this happened relatively quickly after the initial big bang - wouldn't this be relatively... 10 Responses | Other threads
space
San Francisco, 2:02 AM
Fri Jul 10
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