MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries firmly ranks among the best mech games of all time, but at a glance, it’s also a daunting proposition for casual gamers. With the follow-up, MechWarrior 5: Clans, Piranha Games has sought to make a more accessible sequel to serve as an onboarding ramp into the BattleTech universe. What’s the BattleTech universe anyway? Launched in 1984 by FASA Corporation, it’s become a franchise that spans the original wargame, several board games, role-playing games, collectible card games, more than 100 novels (yes, really), an animated TV series, and…
Read MoreCategory: Solar System
Our solar system
NASA tests high-tech software for future mission to search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa
Artificial intelligence is being developed to provide a robotic brain for a future NASA mission to land on the icy surface of one of the solar system’s ocean moons, such as Europa or Enceladus. The autonomous software is being developed by teams of researchers who are making use of a robotic arm, mimicking that belonging to a lander or rover, and a virtual reality simulation at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Ames Research Center, respectively. Imagine that you’re a robotic lander designed to study Jupiter‘s moon Europa, which hosts…
Read MoreLearn how Pike and Number One met at Starfleet Academy in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum’ (exclusive)
It’s been pretty quiet except for the crickets in the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” frontier lately, and after a NYCC Season 3 update at Paramount+’s Star Trek Universe Panel this past October that included a thrilling clip of the Enterprise engaging with Gorn attack ships, we haven’t heard much more. No doubt a brand new trailer is somewhere on the horizon, but until that third season enters Paramount+’s streaming orbit sometime in 2025, one method of maintaining one’s interest in Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his gallant crew…
Read MoreGeminid meteor shower fills the sky with ‘shooting stars’ in spectacular time-lapse photos
Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory Photo Ambassador and member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical “Skyscapes” that connect both Earth and the night sky. This image of the Geminid meteor shower is the result of a fair amount of work consisting of aligning stars aligning and combining ten folders that each contained hundreds of gigabytes…
Read More‘Silo’ Season 2: ‘The Harmonium’: Does Judge Meadows get her wish to go outside?
If you’re any kind of fan of the fantastic Steve Zahn, and frankly who isn’t, you’re in for a real treat in this fourth episode of “Silo” Season 2 titled “The Harmonium.” Watching him innocently describe trapeze artists and exotic animals to Juliette while she’s trying to craft a breathing tube apparatus to swim down to a submerged level of Silo 17 is a sheer revelation and a true testament to his enormous range. Juliette might be a bit annoyed at his carrying on about circuses, elephants’ altruism, and…
Read More‘Our understanding of the universe may be incomplete’: James Webb Space Telescope data suggests we need a ‘new cosmic feature’ to explain it all
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have corroborated data from its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, to determine something is missing from our recipe of the cosmos. The JWST conducted its largest survey yet of the accelerating expansion of the cosmos as scientists attempt to discover why the universe is expanding faster today than our picture of its infancy, billions of years ago, says that it should. Currently, scientists theorize that the accelerating expansion is caused by a placeholder element, “dark energy,” but they really need to…
Read MoreGeminid meteor shower peaks this week: Here’s what to expect from the last big meteor shower of the year
The Geminid meteor shower is one of the most prolific annual meteor showers, impressing skywatchers year after year. It is possible to see up to 120 meteors per hour under dark conditions when the Geminids peak each year. Unfortunately for skywatchers this year, the almost full moon could interfere with shooting star-hunting efforts when the Geminid meteor shower peaks overnight on Dec.13 -14. But while the moonlight will wash out the fainter meteors, it’ll still be possible to see some of the bigger and brighter meteors, so it’s definitely worth…
Read MoreAncient cosmic collisions may have birthed the universe’s most monstrous galaxies
Astronomers have discovered that large flows of cold gas created by collisions between galaxies in the early universe may have forged some of the most monstrous star systems. The formation of ancient gigantic galaxies that bulge like footballs compared to our relatively flat spiral galaxy, the Milky Way, has confused astronomers for decades. Now, a team led by scientists from the University of Southampton may have scored a touchdown in this quest. They believe their research may finally solve this long-standing galactic puzzle. “Two disk galaxies smashing together caused gas…
Read MoreKennedy Space Center viewing gantry gaining rocket engine test sim in 2025
A countdown is underway at NASA’s Florida spaceport, ticking down the days until the public can experience a rocket engine test closer than ever before — by standing directly under the engine’s nozzle. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has announced the upcoming opening of The Gantry at LC-39, a former launch pad viewing tower that has now been renovated to become an “innovative, interactive experience” that includes a simulated test fire of a rocket engine. The reimagined attraction is slated to debut in early 2025, returning as a regular…
Read MoreSee the moon cozy up to Saturn during ‘conjunction’ today
Saturn will cozy up next to the moon today (Dec. 8), as the pair make a close approach of each other in the cold night sky. This event, known as a conjunction, occurs when two celestial objects share the same right ascension — the astronomical equivalent of longitude — and appear close together in the night sky when viewed from Earth. The half moon will pass only 18 arcminutes to the north of Saturn today, officially reaching conjunction at 3:55 a.m. EST (0855 GMT), according to In-the-Sky.org. For viewers in…
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