Scientists at NASA recently used the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes to study the atmosphere of a Saturn-sized planet 700 light years away. What their spectrographic study found is that the planet, known as WASP-39b, has a ton of water in its atmosphere—three times the amount that Saturn has. WASP-39b is part of the Virgo constellation. It sits 20 times closer to its star (named WASP-39) than Earth is to the sun....
At the Vertical Gun Range at NASA Ames Research Center, located at Moffett Federal Airfield in Silicon Valley, researchers from the other side of the country recently fired marble-sized rock projectiles into a pile of vacuum-sealed pumice powder at about six times the speed of the average bullet, 5 kilometers per second, or about 11,200 mph. The goal was more than just a bit of high-velocity fun. The experiment explores how meteorite impacts could have brought water to Earth, burying the life-giving liquid in the planet during the asteroid bombardment that helped shape our world....
Tanks observed at a North Korean tank competition reveal a number of questionably useful upgrades to the tracked fighting machines. The upgrades, which consist of strapping extra machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and surface-to-air missiles are apparently meant to offset military advantages in enjoyed by U.S. and South Korean forces.The upgrades were observed at the Korean People’s Army Tank Crews’ Competition 2017. According to Pyongyang’s Rodong Sinmun news site, the competition consisted of tank crews competing in a variety of events, including driving, gunnery, and navigating obstacles....
A Kansas man is receiving the ire of the scientific community for his decision to sell a skeleton of a young T. rex on eBay. Fossil hunter Alan Detrich posted the relic on the auction site hoping to attract the attention of a wealthy collector.A number of people in the scientific community fear that instead of keeping the specimen on display in a museum for public enjoyment and research, the baby T....
View full post on VimeoThe Last Jedi put up a valiant effort to claim the award for most breathtakingly beautiful film in 2017, but that honor still remains with Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. From the direction, cinematography, acting, and pacing, the film is a complete masterpiece. But like most big budget sci-fi films, the VFX team had its work cut out for it, and Rodeo FX, the company behind the dystopian visuals in 2049, didn’t disappoint....
Rising sea levels are perhaps the greatest long-term threat posed by climate change. Scientists predict that gradual yet inevitable rises, estimated at about 4mm per year, “will double the frequency of severe coastal flooding in most of the world.” Consider the millions of people living in coastal cities and you begin to comprehend the devastation ahead. Add waves, storm surges, and other extreme weather events into the mix—which are exacerbated by warming oceans—and those remote estimates quickly resolve into a global humanitarian crisis....
Drones, meet counter-drones. After last month’s unwelcome intrusion of a quadcopter onto the lawn of the White House (flown by a drunk federal employee, it turned out), the Secret Service has been readying its countermeasures for drone invasions of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Agents will run drills in which they fly some drones of their own to figure out the best way to swat them out of the air.Details are otherwise scarce (so let’s just go ahead and speculate on the anti-aircraft firepower), but the “tightly controlled” operation should help the White House figure out what to do about snooping drones....
The hype surrounding fidget spinners crashed and burned almost as quickly as it peaked. A therapeutic device that was once seen swirling and twirling in the hands of kids and adults is now virtually nonexistent — almost as if it was yet another case of the Mandela Effect. And now anyone who has genuinely found fidget spinners to have helped them probably wouldn’t be caught dead playing with one if only to avoid stares from strangers who think the toy is worthy of ridicule....
The roads are filled with irresponsible drivers. Even if you claim to follow all the rules when behind the wheel, there’s still a chance that you encounter texters, tailgaters, frantic lane changers, and the worst: drivers who don’t check their blind spots when switching lanes but still have the gall to point their finger at you in the event of a collision.Don’t wait until you get the short end of the stick in a he said, she said situation....
In a new study out today, scientists may have taken another key step toward explaining how genetic materials—and life—may have first formed on the Earth. The molecule is question is called formamide. It’s pretty simple; the molecular formula is NH2CHO. It’s incredibly abundant in our universe, appearingin absurdly huge interstellar clouds, and is believed to be a vital component of almost all infantile, planet-forging star systems. And some researchers think formamide could have a key player in the origin of life....
A director has created a movie that you can control with your mind. If you’re a viewer of Richard Ramchurn’s films, you might put on a EEG headset, and find a different version of the film each time you watch it, depending on the electrical activity firing in your brain.Ramchurn is a graduate student at the University of Nottingham in England, and fascinated by this form of interactive film. His latest work is a 27-minute film called The Moment, which fittingly explores a dark future of brain-computer interfaces....
President Trump says he is going to shrink the size of the national monuments in Utah by millions of acres, potentially triggering a legal battle to decide the fate of America’s wildernesses.On Monday, Trump announced that his administration would reduce the size of two national monuments: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, each more than a million acres in size. Bears Ears was established by President Obama in 2016, while Grand Staircase-Escalante was established in 1996 by President Clinton....
Wearable electronics are nothing new, but the technology has been limited by the question of how to power them for long periods without toting around a bulky charge storing device. Not any longer. Thanks to UMass Amherst materials scientist Trisha L. Andrew, a battery can now be stitched directly into your lapel.Andrew and her colleagues have developed a method of weaving nylon, polyester, and a conductive silver fiber into densely twisted strands that can be sewn into textiles, creating a flexible weave of aligned electrodes....
Any rider who’s serious about safety gear usually ends up decked out like a stormtrooper. The look is technical and menacing (great for impersonating your favorite MotoGP star), but not always conducive to walking into coffee shops or mingling with the non-riding general populace.Thanks to modern gear like discreetly armored, Kevlar-reinforced jeans and fashion-forward leather jackets, you don’t have to look like a knee-dragging spaceman when you’re riding to the grocery store....
Anyplace they want, pal. And don’t ask questions. It’s disrespectful. End of column. Meet you back here next month, when we’ll help out someone who knows to mind his own business. In the meantime, pick your broken teeth up off the pavement. We don’t need any flat tires.Relax—we’re kidding. Sort of. The world of motorcycle clubs (best not to call them “gangs” unless you work for the Department of Justice) is a byzantine maze populated by diverse enthusiasts who organize themselves in a variety of ways to pursue disparate goals, all governed by an etiquette calculated to ensure everyone’s dental work remains intact....
You recognize the plaid shirts, the soothing voice. The constant calm and encouragement. Bob Vila taught and entertained homeowners for decades. But what is the first true reality-TV star up to now? Building the future of Bob Vila.When Bob Vila moves uptown—through the rain and morning foot traffic, into the cold November breeze—he does not stop talking. This is Manhattan, at 10:40 in the morning. The sidewalks on the Upper East Side, near Vila’s home, are jammed with Christmas shoppers....
In one of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, “The Big Goodbye,” Captain Picard dons a fedora as 1940s sleuth Dixon Hill. Picard found a brief escape from life on the Enterprise by way of the Holodeck, a fully immersive virtual-reality room that allowed crew members to live out any fantasy they could dream up during recreation hours. We know we’re a long way from developing Star Trek’s transporter or warp drive, but what about hyperimmersive holographic rec rooms?...
Smartwatches are still trying to find their place in the world. A good idea in theory, they haven’t quite caught on like smartphones did a decade ago. But every once in a while, there’s an amazing smartwatch innovation, such as this incredible wrist computer running Windows 98.Although the phrase “wrist computer” is often synonymous with smartwatches—after all that is basically what an Apple Watch is—this Windows 98 smartwatch creation, made by Reddit user Lord_of_Bone, is much more computer than watch....
The Global Positioning System may be free for the whole world to use, but it wasn’t always that way. Originally the satellite-based system was for U.S. military only because they developed and launched the satellites, but also feared that giving the public access could potentially harm the U.S. in combat. After all, this was a system used to help missiles find targets. So what changed their mind? The military originally had no intentions on opening the system to the public....
Media Platforms Design TeamIn-car infotainment systems are a huge headache for automakers. Think about it: An industry based on designing every detail of a car three and four years in advance is trying to incorporate technologies and programs that seem to be updated every three to four weeks. It’s an awkward marriage, and one made even more so by the fact that many in-car infotainment systems are adopting the same application-based model used by Apple’s iPhone and other mobile phones....
