Author: NeRD

Strap on a VR headset like a Facehugger with ‘Alien: Rogue Incursion’ — the 1st-ever ‘Alien’ VR game

NeRD

With the rush and the whirl of the holidays, it might have been easy to miss an invasion of the bold new VR video game, “Alien: Rogue Incursion.” Arriving on Dec. 19, 2024 from Survios in cooperation with 20th Century Games, this tactical sci-fi survival release for PlayStation VR2, PCVR via Steam, and Meta Quest 3 (Feb. 13, 2025) and was highly anticipated as an enveloping “Alien: Isolation“-type adventure all wrapped up nicely in a next-generation virtual reality environment. Critical reviews have been mixed, but mostly positive. But since this…

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Best of 2024: Total Solar Eclipse in Indianapolis

NeRD

NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA photographer Joel Kowsky captured this image of the Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe. The NASA Headquarters photo team chose this image as one of the best from 2024. See more of the…

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Newly uncovered oxygen reaction could aid the search for alien life

NeRD

Scientists have discovered a new way oxygen can form in carbon-dioxide-rich atmospheres of worlds beyond our own —- challenging assumptions about how we should search for life on other planets, and possibly about the origins of life itself. “Most of the search for life, or life signatures, on other planets is actually proving that whatever we observe can be generated through means that do not require life,” David Benoit, a senior lecturer in Molecular Physics and Astrochemistry at the University of Hull’s E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics who was not…

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Space debris crash in Kenya village believed to be from leftover rocket hardware

NeRD

Kenya Space Agency (KSA) officials in Nairobia, Kenya, East Africa, are reporting that on Dec. 30 a large metallic ring roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter and weighing some 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) fell from the sky, reportedly “red-hot” and crashed into Mukuku village, in Makueni county – in the country’s south. Investigators think the object is space debris, believed to be rocket leftovers that came crashing down, reportedly within the village at roughly 3 p.m. local time. The KSA “secured the area and retrieved the debris, which is…

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Panasonic Leica Summilux DG 15mm f/1.7 ASPH review

NeRD

Key specs Type: Prime lens Focal length: 15mm (30mm equivalent) Maximum aperture: f/1.7 Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds Weight: 4.06 oz / 115 g Dimensions: 1.42×2.26 in / 36×57.5 mm Filter thread: 46mm Release date: March 2014 In the fast-paced world of photography where new kit is constantly released, you may wonder where a 10-year-old lens fits into the equation. The Panasonic Leica Summilux DG 15mm f/1.7 ASPH remains a fantastic prime lens for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras thanks to its compact size, light weight, and solid overall performance.…

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‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’: the 25 best ‘Trek’ callbacks from the show’s five-year mission

NeRD

It’s a wrap. Or should that be a warp? The final episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks has aired and with it, the USS Cerritos’s five-year mission to explore strange corners of canon, to seek out new gags and comedic situations, to boldly go where no “Star Trek” has gone before has come to an end. So, in honor of the voyages of Starfleet’s second contact specialists, we’ve picked out 25 of the best ‘Trek’ callbacks from the show’s five-season run — everything from whales in Starfleet to the infamous…

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Image of the Day 2024 Archive

NeRD

Space can be a wondrous place, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it! Take a look at our favorite space pictures here, and if you’re wondering what happened to today in space history don’t miss our On This Day in Space video show here! Suni beaming with an Astrobee (Image credit: NASA) Wednesday, December 18, 2024: What could be better than NASA astronaut Suni Williams floating aboard the International Space Station with Bumble, the blue, bunny-eared Astrobee. Bumble is one of three cube-shaped robo-helpers developed by NASA to assist…

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January’s Night Sky Notes: The Red Planet

NeRD

3 min read January’s Night Sky Notes: The Red Planet by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Have you looked up at the night sky this season and noticed a bright object sporting a reddish hue to the left of Orion? This is none other than the planet Mars! January will be an excellent opportunity to spot this planet and some of its details with a medium-sized telescope. Be sure to catch these three events this month. Martian Retrograde Mars entered retrograde (or backward movement relative to…

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Red and Green Aurora Move Through Earth’s Atmosphere

NeRD

Peering through the window of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this image on Oct. 7, 2024 of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft as vivid green and pink aurora swirled through Earth’s atmosphere while the International Space Station soared 273 miles above the Indian Ocean. Visit Dominick’s photography on station to experience the wonders of space through his eyes, enriched by his remarkable journey of orbiting the Earth 3,760 times. To see a short-term forecast of the location and intensity of the next aurora check this…

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