Orion and his belt are one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky. Seen around the world every day, it would be pretty obvious if something weird was going on, and that is exactly what casual observers and scientists alike have pounced on. Betelgeuse, one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky, has begun to dim, a common sign that a star is about to go supernova. So significant is the brightness of Betelgeuse that the entire view of the Orion constellation has shifted in its visibility. So what is happening in that corner of our night sky? Is this massive star going to be visible from space? History offers some insight.
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One internet artist gave us a real perspective at what the planets would look like if they were as close as the moon. Can you imagine taking a selfie with Saturn in the background? Or taking a SpaceX weekend ride to Pluto? Whatever the case these visuals are simply incredible.
Antarctica is one of the world's most mysterious continents. Covered in 98% ice, and the last in the world to be discovered and explored, this place is the most uninhabitable on earth, and is covered in ice that in places is almost 2km thick. First discovered in 1820 by Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, it would take until 1895 that the ice continent would be explored properly. The continent is also wrought with controversy, with multiple countries staking claims to different parts of it, with some of them overlapping.
But as the world has started to shift and the environment with it, scientists have started to witness hitherto unseen changes that had only been recorded historically in our findings in the ice. But a hole that was discovered in the center of the continent has got scientists abuzz over the developments. So what happened here? Is this natural or another example of man's effect on the global environment.
We would like to say that you can't argue with photographic evidence but some people can and DO argue that the Earth is actually flat. If you're not a government clone of a celebrity (like Tila Tequila) or if you believe in science, you'll still love these amazing pictures of Earth from outer space.
5 amazing types of robots who can, play catch, work in space, act in terrible plays, throw bricks at people, and just generally be creepy. Looks like the singularity isn't too far off.
We all see these movies where the character jumps that impossible and basically fatal jump that he may or may not make it... but, obviously they do make it and defeat the bad guy against all odds. Well, not this time. This time we have math, science and reality!
With every job comes a slew of misinformation about what it is you do all day. Wouldn't you believe it, Law and Order SVU isn't actually a terrifically accurate depiction of what forensics specialists do all day. Here's a smattering of the dumb conversations people have to have about their jobs.
The word 'robot' generally has negative connotations attached to it, but MIT's mini cheetah robots are absolutely adorable. MITBiomimetic Robotics students recently took the dog-sized robots out for a play on the university lawn, and the result was way cuter than we expected. The robots aren't designed to just be cute and play soccer - they were built with the purpose to save lives with elderly care, deliveries and emergency response.
The mini cheetahs can run up to 5 miles per hour, flip themselves over if fallen, and they're relatively cheap to make and repair. Controlled with remotes, the agility of these robots has not been seen in robotics before. The next hurdle for the team is to build cameras onto the robots, enabling them to walk around without being remotely controlled by humans. But for now, they're delighful to watch.
For the first time in history, astronomers have observed galactic winds. This is a peek into the early stages of the formation of a very, very big galaxy, and it's looking like scientists might be able to observe and record this incredible celestial phenomena like never before.
What was once a saving grace to halt the scourge of smallpox 2 centuries ago, has now struck again, this time, with cancer. CF33, or Chimeric Orthopoxvirus. US Cancer wunderkind Professor Yuman Fong made the initial discovery, while the Australian company Imugene licensed the innovation and are pushing for human trials starting next year.
There's nothing like a meme that makes you think, so here's a collection of scientific memes sure to get the blood flowing up there and make you exhale sharply out of your nose.
If you like these check the list we ran earlier this week: 37 Indubitably Intellectual Memes
Science bitch.
