Geek News

The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy , one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies . The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The featured image , digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope , superposed in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telesco pe in optical light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as M104 , spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation Virgo . January 01, 2019 via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2SpV5Zm ...

Space It's time to meet 2014 MU69. Tonight, scientists around the world are spending the holiday waiting to hear news of a historic space event. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2CJBopT"

Science Canines can detect poachers' contraband, but the job puts them in danger. To find illegal animal products, customs officials rely on trained dogs at ports. To keep the pooches out of harm's way, I built a smell-sucking machine so they can… via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2GRbKn9"

Head Trip Do you pass out when you get your blood drawn? You're not the only one. Why some folks faint at the sight of blood and others don’t isn’t entirely clear, but prior fear of blood and needles often increases the chances of passing out. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2QXhDnz"

The Witch Head Nebula Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble .... maybe Macbeth should have consulted the Witch Head Nebula. A frighteningly shaped reflection nebula , this cosmic crone is about 800 light-years away though. Its malevolent visage seems to glare toward nearby bright star Rigel in Orion , just off the right edge of this frame. More formally known as IC 2118, the interstellar cloud of dust and gas is nearly 70 light-years across, its dust grains reflecting Rigel's starlight. In this composite portrait , the nebula's color is caused not only by the star's intense bluish light but because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical proc ess causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue , although the scatterers in planet Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. December 31, 2018 ...

The Galaxy Tree First came the trees. In the town of Salamanca , Spain , the photographer noticed how distinctive a grove of oak trees looked after being pruned . Next came the galaxy. The photographer stayed up until 2 am, waiting until the Milky Way Galaxy rose above the level of a majestic looking oak. From this carefully chosen perspective, dust lanes in the galaxy appear to be natural continuations to branches of the tree. Last came the light. A flashlight was used on the far side of the tree to project a silhouette . By coincidence, other trees also appeared as similar silhouettes across the relatively bright horizon. The featured image was captured as a single 30-second frame earlier this month and processed to digitally enhance the Milky Way. December 30, 2018 via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2LLZcwp ...

Space The right kind of chemistry can lead to some strange sorts of worlds. The right kind of chemistry can lead to some strange sorts of worlds. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2CEhCvT"

Science Studying the brains of daredevils like Alex Honnold. Neuroscientist Jane Joseph was using MRI scans to study thrill-seekers' brains. Then a journalist suggested she look at free-solo climber Alex Honnold. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2SslMMM"

New Horizons at Ultima Thule When we celebrate the start of 2019, on January 1 the New Horizons spacecraft will flyby Ultima Thule . A world of the Kuiper belt 6.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, the nickname Ultima Thule (catalog designation 2014 MU69) fittingly means "beyond the known world". Following its 2015 flyby of Pluto , New Horizons was targeted for this journey, attempting the most distant flyby for a spacecraft from Earth by approaching Ultima Thule to within about 3500 kilometers. The tiny world itself is about 30 kilometers in size. This year, an observing campaign with Earth-based teles copes determined the shape of the object to be a contact binary or a close binary sytem as in this artist's illustration. New Horizons will image close up its unexplored surface in the dim light of the distant Sun. December 29, 2018 via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2QbI...

Environment The most mind-boggling statistic of the year, visualized. Less than 10 percent of all the plastic we've made has been recycled, but the enormity of that quantity is hard to really grasp. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2Q9TDrS"

Space The hole came from the inside. Earlier this week, a Russian cosmonaut who investigated the mysterious hole in the Soyuz capsule docked to the International Space Station revealed that the hole was… via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2EQAglO"

Environment It was an extreme year. In some regions, this was the first time in 37 years of water surveys that there was no cold pool. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2BJem0F"

Space What a strawberry moon? What is a worm moon? What is going on with my moon? Blue moons, strawberry moons, supermoons. For some reason your news aggregation algorithm of choice thinks you really really really want to know all about these moons. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2rYJ69i"

DIY Stop fighting over the thermostat. When the leaves turn, the battle over the thermostat begins. This year, skip the debate over the ideal temperature. Here's how to keep warm without blasting the heat. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2LEQNuu"

Technology A look back at 2018's big tech stories. Bring on 2019. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2SnWlvZ"

Technology It's 2018 and UX designers know us better than we know ourselves. Using Instagram feels increasingly terrible. But the numbers suggest the app is performing better than ever. What gives? via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2CBAlYT"

Aviation Exiting a speeding jet is no small feat. From parachutes for the balloon corps to the latest generation of high-speed ejection seats, here’s how we learned to make a swift aerial exit. From parachutes for the balloon corps to the latest generation of high-speed ejector seats, here’s how we learned to make a swift aerial exit. via Popular Science "http://bit.ly/2Q8c4x5"

NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax , NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy cluster . This impressively sharp color image shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution , drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole . December 28, 2018 via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2SlQAPi ...