On Episode 116 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with the team behind the Space and Things podcast. In the world of space podcasts, the Space and Things podcast is a keeper (along with ours, of course). The brainchild of Emily Carney, founder of the Space Hipsters on Facebook, and singer/songwriter Dave Giles, Space and Things brings us some premiere guests in the space sector. Subjects are always compelling, and as we well know, that takes work. We’ll dive into the intricacies of creating–and maintaining–a…
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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 115 —Our Friendly Mr. Sun
On Episode 115 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about the sun and solar activity cycles. We see the sun every day as it rises and sets… it’s one of the few constants in life. But it’s a very dynamic body, throwing minor temper tantrums regularly. As it happens, we’re at the peak of its 11-year cycle of activity and there’s a lot going on! Dr. Alex Young, the Associate Director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, joins…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 114 —Starliners & Starships
On Episode 114 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about the launches of Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Starship. Well, we waited, we waffled, and we joked… but Boeing’s Starliner finally made good! Seven or so years after their projected crewed flight date, the second provider of crew delivery to the International Space Station finally succeeded in sending two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS. Despite a few problems with (sigh) valves, helium tanks, and thrusters, the mission appears to be going swimmingly.…
Read MoreTerrifying new ‘Alien: Romulus’ trailer unleashes the facehuggers (video)
Following a stunning teaser trailer released back in March, Alien: Romulus is kicking things up a notch with its second trailer, which is full of facehuggers, acid blood and zero-gravity thrills. The Alien movie series has been a fun one to follow over the decades, with the quality going up and down, the mythology being expanded in often contradictory ways, and the fearsome xenomorphs clashing against the extraterrestrials from the Predator franchise outside of comic books and video games. After Ridley Scott’s planned prequel trilogy was denied a conclusion and…
Read MoreIs ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ already canceled? Breaking down the rumors
The Star Wars fandom is a fidgety one to say the least. Following the divisive reception (despite stellar box office performances) to the sequel trilogy of movies and some ups and downs in the quality of the Disney Plus shows, the conversation surrounding any new live-action Star Wars release is a bit tense, and The Acolyte is now on everyone’s mind. Lucasfilm and Disney have yet to comment on the series’ future (creator and writer-director Leslye Headland has season 2 ideas), something that probably won’t happen until the first season,…
Read MoreThe ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ series finale is a mixed bag (review)
Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Star Trek: Discovery” season 5, episode 10 Here we are, six years, eight months and six days later, and, to paraphrase a well-known “Star Trek” alum, Oh my, the world has drastically changed during that time. And so has “Star Trek.” You may remember that, way back on Nov. 2, 2015, news trickled out that CBS was going to reboot “Star Trek” in some way, shape or form, giving producers a year or so to put something together before the show’s 50th anniversary in September 2016.…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 112 —Mars on Pause?
On Episode 112 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Rob Manning, Chief Engineer Emeritus of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about Mars exploration and, in particular, Mars Sample Return. As we discussed in episode 107, that project is in a bit of trouble. Rob was the Chief Engineer of every Mars rover up through Perseverance and the overall Chief Engineer on Perseverance, and he has some unique insights on how we have explored Mars, why it matters, and what the future holds… especially with regard to returning…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 111 —The Big Glass Wars
On Episode 111 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Dr. John Mulchaey, Director of the Carnegie Observatories, about the threat to completing two new giant astronomical observatories. Welcome to the Big Glass Wars! That’s right, just when you thought you’d heard it all, turns out there’s hot competition among a few countries to stay on the cutting edge of optical astronomy, and to do that, you need a great big hunk of glass to gather light from distant galaxies and stellar systems. Enter the Carnegie Observatories…
Read More‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ reinvigorates an aging ‘Apes’ franchise (review)
One of the most underappreciated and longest-running franchises in Hollywood history is “Planet of the Apes,” that imaginative science fiction property which began with the Charlton Heston-led classic from 1968 directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Adapted from the 1963 French novel by Pierre Boulle, the plotline centered around astronauts crash landing on a planet in the far future where intelligent simians rule the world and humans are mute feral creatures subjected to all kinds of cruelties. The twist ending of course is that this is no remote alien world,…
Read MoreThe history of the Jedi Order in ‘Star Wars’
One of the core pillars of Star Wars is the Jedi and their mysterious connection to the Force, but we’ve only seen fragments of their illustrious order’s history on the big screen. Watching the Star Wars movies in chronological order, we see them at the height of their power, fall into near extinction, and rise once again. Now, with the new live-action series The Acolyte on Disney Plus, we’re about to learn how the Sith plotted in the shadows against the Jedi prior to the events of The Phantom Menace.…
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