Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ take note. ‘Star Trek’ is now Hollywood’s ultimate shared universe

Shared universes go back way further than Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and co sitting down for some post-Chitauri shawarma. Superheroes have been moonlighting in each other’s comic books for decades, while Cheers regulars frequently paid Frasier a visit in Seattle. It wasn’t until Marvel Studios launched the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), however, that the concept started to gain serious mainstream traction.  By incorporating the contrasting adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow into one gigantic, overarching narrative, Marvel successfully blended cinematic spectacle with the “must-watch-every-episode” ethos of…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 123 —The Mighty Perseids

The Mighty Perseids – Meteors are Coming! – YouTube Watch On On Episode 123 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest host Isaac Arthur talk with astronomer Steve Fentress about the Perseids meteor shower. Each year, there are a handful of impressive meteor showers, and one of the largest and best this year will be the Perseids. The quarter moon will set just before midnight, when the shower activity peaks, and if you’re in a dark spot expect to see maybe 50-60 shooting stars per hour.  Steve Fentress,…

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10 of Futurama’s smartest science references and gags

When “Futurama” first beamed onto planet Earth in 1999, it was no surprise that a TV series co-created by “The Simpsons” mastermind Matt Groening was packed with smart references to pop culture and current affairs. But beyond the conveyor belt of gags about “Star Trek” and the state of planet Earth, the show’s team of writers — many of whom are science graduates — have also managed to squeeze in plenty of ingenious references to physics, mathematics and other branches of the sciences. Below we’ve picked out √100 (okay, 10)…

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‘Alien: Romulus’ is just 1 week away. Watch 2 new terrifying clips to get ready (video)

We only have seven more days to wait until director Fede Alvarez’s highly-anticipated sequel “Alien: Romulus” makes us once again scream in outer space. The film will introduce us to the abandoned outer space slaughterhouse that houses a hive of extraterrestrial biomechanical beasts known as xenomorphs. With just one week to wait, a new pair of sneak peeks help whet our appetites for this seventh entry in the storied sci-fi horror franchise. The first recently-hatched teaser titled “10 Days” attacks your senses with a haunting sonic cue replicated from Ridley…

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Watch an exclusive clip from Hulu’s ‘Solar Opposites’ Season 5 (video)

With due respect to “Futurama,” one of Hulu’s funniest adult animated shows over the past few years has been “Solar Opposites” and its wacky gang of marooned aliens on our Big Blue Marble adjusting to life amid humans. With four seasons already in the can after a successful 2020 launch, 20th Television Animation’s irreverent sci-fi series from executive producers Mike McMahan (“Star Trek: Lower Decks“) and Josh Bycel (“Happy Endings”) returns on Aug. 12 with a 12-episode fifth season. To reignite fan enthusiasm and bring everyone back up to speed,…

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Big news! ‘The Orville’ is getting a 4th season, actor confirms

At the recent “Star Trek” Las Vegas convention, actor Scott Grimes, who plays Lt. Gordon Malloy on “The Orville,” revealed to a small — and stunned — crowd that season 4 of the show is set to begin pre-production at some point early in 2025.  Absolutely no one was expecting this, so no video of the big announcement seems to exist on social media. But it has been confirmed on The Planetary Union Network: ‘The Orville‘ Official Fan Podcast. Moreover, that same group wrote on Reddit, “Seth [MacFarlane, the show’s…

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Photographer recreates NASA’s epic Artemis 1 launch with Lego (video)

LEGO Artemis SLS Rocket Toy Photography | How It’s Made? – YouTube Watch On To glance at the images above, you’d be hard pushed to not think you were looking at a real rocket launch. But they’re actually works of art, created by Benedek Lampert using Lego’s NASA Artemis Space Launch System set. By using some clever photography techniques — and the use of some rather nifty lighting — he’s been able to create an incredible likeness without ever stepping foot near the actual NASA Artemis 1 launch. The similarity…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 122 —No City on Mars?

No City on Mars? – A Debate on Human Expansion and the Popular New Book, ‘A City on Mars’ – YouTube Watch On On Episode 122 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Dale Skran, COO and SVP of the National Space Society, and video producer Isaac Arthur about the realistic prospects for space settlement. It’s been said that Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, and that’s certainly the assertion of the popular 2023 book, “A City on Mars” by Kelly…

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Test your space debris catching skills in new game released by Astroscale

Space sustainability company Astroscale has launched a computer game that allows players to test their space debris catching skills in a simulation based on one of the company’s real missions.  The Space Protector game comes in different difficulties and can be played on a desktop computer or via a game console. Based on Astroscale’s planned COSMIC mission, which will attempt to remove two old, defunct British satellites from orbit later this decade, the game allows players to control a robotic arm to capture an errant piece of space junk. Astroscale,…

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Never played the Borderlands games? Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Borderlands movie

After several delays, the live-action Borderlands movie is right around the corner. While you might be curious about the Eli Roth-directed sci-fi romp, it’s easy to feel confused by the trailers if you don’t know anything about the universe nor the games serving as source material. With this primer, we hope to illuminate why we hope this flick is at least somewhat decent at bringing the Borderlands universe to life. The Borderlands video game franchise transports players to Pandora, an unruly, barely colonized planet at the edge of the known…

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