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Media Platforms Design TeamMilky Way. Credit: NASA.An extraordinary sight just a couple of decades ago, new exoplanets have become commonplace. To date, the Kepler telescope has scoped out thousands of new worlds: some confirmed, some unconfirmed, some living in their system’s “habitable zone,” and some seemingly too fried or frigid to support life. But while discovering these far-off orbs might not be the landmark achievement it was in the 1990s, the litany of exoplanets now allows astronomers to extrapolate how many worlds there are in the entire galaxy....

Media Platforms Design TeamOnline astronomy platforms have revolutionized a traditional hobby, one in which trekking to a dark spot in the country with a star map used to be the ultimate stargazer experience. Some online sites post images from powerful telescopes around the world; others let viewers take control of the scopes. They all offer novice celestial viewers a look at the galaxy that even the best home telescope will miss....

It turns out you’ve been looking at the Eagle Nebula, aka the “Pillars of Creation,” all wrong. But don’t worry: the European Space Agency is here to get you on the right path. Thanks to the Very Large Telescope in Chile, ESA has some new insight into the structure. That includes the fact that the tallest of the pillars, in the rear, is a staggering four light years across. As the 3D image demonstrates, you’re not really looking at one structure here but a series of clouds in the nebula, with some regions overlapping in weirder configurations than scientists had previously thought....

Rajat Mittal, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University, had a common household problem: crickets in his basement. He tried sticky traps. He tried everything to get them out. But then, something struck him about the creatures he couldn’t quite get with a newspaper or shoe. “The more I saw them, the more I realized they’re quite amazing in terms of their jumps,” Mittal said. “They seemed to jump and seemed to land on their feet....

Media Platforms Design Team12:01 am, Jan. 10–2007 CHRYSLER ASPEN What looks to be a rebadged Dodge Durango turns out to be just about that. The Chrysler grille and front clip, plus unique side panels do the trick. This is a Chrysler design with enough differences from the Durango to make you take a second look. Engine offerings are 4.7- and 5.7-liter V8s teamed with a five-speed automatic transmission. Side airbags are standard for all three rows of seats....

The last thing a fighter pilot wants to do is eject, and it’s not just because they’re abandoning the ship to a fiery demise. The turbulent process of ejecting puts pilots at serious risk of injury. Once those rockets fire under the seat, they blow a person up and out of the cockpit with enough force to seriously bruise both shoulders on the harness straps and possibly break collarbones. And you better tuck in your knees and elbows, because if anything hits the side of the cockpit on the way out, it’s coming off....

Falling into a 60-foot crevasse might sound scary. It is. But if you live through the experience and have a GoPro, you’ll also have some footage as a souvenir. A cherry on top of being lucky enough to get out with your life. View full post on YoutubeA crevasse is a deep fracture within glaciers, formed through stresses in the substrate of the ice. Some are invisible, covered in snow, but the one in the video is clearly seen from afar....

Duffel bags are the unsung heroes of your luggage collection. Not only are they capable of hauling a ton of your belongings with their roomy interior, but they also allow for complete portability thanks to their compact structure. It’s this hybrid of utility and versatility that makes them the perfect accessory, whether you’re going on a weekend getaway, a business trip, or a journey across the globe.Jared Morse, an outdoorsman hailing from Utah, created one from the ground up instead, and Kodiak Leather was born....

Are you being bugged?To find out, the first step is to consider carefully whether you are sufficiently interesting to warrant surveillance. If you’re a crook, a cheater, or a keeper of political or corporate secrets, the answer may be yes. But if you’re just a regular Joe, run through this handy checklist: Did you recently snarf down one or more of those slightly odd-tasting cookies you found in your teenager’s backpack?...

He may hate net neutrality (and love silly mugs), but Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, acknowledged Monday that he doesn’t completely hate us. In a press release issued by the FCC, Pai demanded that the phone industry do something to stop the absurd number of robocalls we all get every day. From the announcement:“Combatting illegal robocalls is our top consumer priority at the FCC. That’s why we need call authentication to become a reality—it’s the best way to ensure that consumers can answer their phones with confidence....

Warp drive is one of the many futuristic ideas proposed in Star Trek, allowing for faster-than-light travel across the galaxy. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity prevents anything from moving faster than light.In 1994, a theoretical physicist proposed a workaround: creating a bubble within space-time that would twist distances, allowing anything within the bubble to travel long distances. Many think it makes theoretical sense, but is practically unworkable.An undergrad at the University of Alabama wants to restart the conversation, and he’s focused on how much energy such a bubble would need....

Blinded by the LightMedia Platforms Design TeamHousehold blinds that merely block out sunlight are a thing of the past. Now, shades can absorb that solar energy instead of just barring it from your home. These high-tech shades have thin-film solar panels that absorb light energy while keeping your pad cool during the day. Once night hits, the juiced-up battery pack can be removed and used to charge an iPod, phone or other products via USB connection....

Where would we be without our smartphones? We use them for everything now, from browsing social media and streaming music, to navigation and playing concerning amounts of Pokemon Go. Smartphones are everywhere and everyone has one. In the US, there are 111 phones for every 100 people. Globally, there are more smartphones than people. And all those phones need a lot of bandwidth, which is why the FCC is moving to define the next generation of wireless technology: 5G....

The U.S. Navy wants to grow its fleet to 355 ship, and it may have found a way to reach that goal a full 20 years early: by keeping ships in the fleet longer. Surface ships, including frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and even amphibious ships could extend their operational lifespans while at the service beefs up its total number of vessels.U.S. Naval Institute News reports that Vice Admiral Tom Moore, head of Naval Sea Systems Command, believes the Navy could reach its vaunted 355-ship fleet by putting into practice something already done with aircraft carriers: periodically putting them into drydock for maintenance and upgrades....

Ardbeg Distillery sent some whiskey up into space, then offered a taste test of the microgravity mash liquor. Our hearts go out to the taste-testers, because it sounds awful.“Its intense aroma had hints of antiseptic smoke, rubber and smoked fish, along with a curious, perfumed note, like violet or cassis, and powerful woody tones, leading to a meaty aroma,” the report reads. It also reportedly has an aftertaste that is, “intense and long, with hints of wood, antiseptic lozenges and rubbery smoke....

We’ve all been there: You’re at the bottom of the sea floor, working away with a handheld screwdriver like a chump. Luckily, your underwater drilling needs have been answered by the Nemo V2 DIVERS Edition (DDV2-18-3Li-50) cordless drill. It’s built for commercial, research, recreational divers, and the occasional special forces op. View full post on IframeThe NEMO V2 is built for salt-water operation to a maximum depth of 164 feet. It has a built-in pressure valve and pump to pressurize the drill and comes with two 18V 3Ah lithium-ion batteries....

The Trump administration has rolled back Obama-era and prior rules regulating water pollution.Measuring and quantifying pollution is made more confusing and difficult by imprecise policy language.It’s dicey to say people “own” the waterways on their land when the water passes through and affects others.President Donald Trump’s administration has taken away a legal definition of American waterways and groundwater that attempted to group them in order to protect them under the 1972 Clean Water Act....

Media Platforms Design TeamTerminator: Salvation Director’s Cut Blu-ray (2009)Media Platforms Design TeamThe Terminator films were finished with the departure of James Cameron, Linda Hamilton andArnold Schwarzenegger. However, the popularity of the film’s characters and the intricate mythology created by Cameron demanded another movie. It’s precisely because of the films popularity, that director McG had the deck stacked against him right from the start. He immediately decided that in order to set Terminator: Salvation apart from it’s predecessors it had to evolve....

During the Cold War, the prospect of war with the Soviet Union forced NATO to consider drastic measures to keep planes flying in wartime, including using stretches of the famous West German Autobahn as temporary airstrips. The destruction of friendly airbases would have sent aircraft such as the mighty A-10 Warthog and West German Alpha Jet onto freeways to continue their mission of destroying Russian tanks.View full post on YoutubeThis Air Force news video, taken in 1984, shows NATO forces temporarily using a stretch of the West German federal highway system, also known as the Autobahn, as an airstrip for a variety of aircraft....

The U.S. Air Force sent its very best last month to the United Kingdom’s premier air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo show at RAF Fairford. The air show, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of the USAF, featured this daredevil performance by the F-22A Raptor, the only fifth generation fighter currently in operation anywhere in the world.View full post on YoutubeThe Royal International Air Tattoo, or RIAT, is the world’s largest military airshow....