space

Review: View disk space, manage mounted volumes with FreeSpace Tab for Mac

As a basic snapshot of available and used disk space, FreeSpace Tab for Mac works well and easily integrates into the Mac operating system.

Once initiated through the applications folder, FreeSpace Tab for Mac starts, but has no menu to speak of. The application installs a small icon on the Mac's top menu bar. Clicking on this brings up a drop-down listing of all available drives. A bar also visually represents the space used and what remains. This is clear and easy to read, and most Mac users will have no problem finding their way. Outside drives can also … Read more

If Earth had rings like Saturn, the sky would look like this

The sunsets would be impossibly beautiful. The evening sky would glitter with a thousand silver arcs. If Earth had rings like Saturn, you'd only have to look up to get a spectacular show.

Veteran astronomy artist Ron Miller has created some stunning views of what our skies would look like if Earth were a ringed planet, and they make me want to launch a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen.

In a recent article for sci-fi blog io9, Miller presented his wild visions of a ringed Earth and what the sky would look like from various places on our … Read more

Amazon proposes a colossal biospherelike Seattle campus

The latest fad for tech companies' new office buildings seems to involve making them as far-out and avant-garde as possible. And Amazon is the newest firm to jump on that train.

The e-commerce giant and gadget maker unveiled a slew of new drawings (PDF) on Tuesday that reveal a series of colossal, mirrored, biospherelike domes alongside a taller rectangular building that could be its new campus. The designs were created by architecture firm NBBJ and also include a copious amount of green space and landscaping.

The intent behind the design, according to the project proposal (PDF), is to "create an alternative environment" where "employees can work and socialize in a more natural, parklike setting."

"The generative idea is that a plant-rich environment has many positive qualities that are not often found in a typical office setting," the proposal says. "While the form of the building will be visually reminiscent of a greenhouse or conservatory, plant material will be selected for its ability to co-exist in a microclimate that also suits people." … Read more

Crave Ep. 121: Wake up to a dancing iPhone

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This week on Crave, we take a look at Tim-e, an iPhone dock that wakes you up in the most annoying ways possible. We salute Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on making space travel cool again, and demonstrate Petswitch, which lets you put your face on your cat's visage. … Read more

Enormous asteroid to zip by Earth

A giant asteroid will pass by Earth on May 31, according to NASA, but hold off before you start browsing survival gear on Amazon.

The 1.7-mile long asteroid, labeled 1998 QE2, will come within 3.6 million miles of Earth, or about 15 times the distance between our planet and the moon. It's a golden opportunity for astronomers, who plan to extensively image the temporary visitor.… Read more

NASA's Kepler telescope crippled by technical failures

The Kepler space observatory has been a source of great wonder since it first launched in 2009. It has turned its eyes out into the great vastness of space and seen new planetary systems and potentially life-supporting planets. The telescope's original 3.5-year mission was extended into 2016, but that may now come to a halt as serious technical issues take a toll.

Kepler is able to look out in certain directions thanks to four reaction wheels that are used to point the spacecraft. As of Wednesday, two out of four reaction wheels have failed.… Read more

Having made the ISS cool again, Hadfield returns to Earth

The one-man media machine has landed.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to Earth in a Soyuz descent capsule after his six-month stint on the International Space Station, during which he became an Internet sensation.

Along with ISS crewmates American astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romaneko, Hadfield was extracted from the capsule in the Kazakhstan morning (around 10:31 p.m. ET) following a smooth descent.

Hadfield, the last to emerge from the capsule, waved and gave a thumbs-up once he was propped in a chair in the sunshine.

The trio is to be whisked off by helicopter to … Read more

Chris Hadfield sings Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in ISS farewell

How do you top months of amazing photos, demos, and tunes done aboard the International Space Station? If you're Chris Hadfield, you cover David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in a showstopping finale.

On the eve of his return to Earth, the Canadian astronaut released a beautifully done video of himself singing the 1969 classic.

Mixed with the help of staff at the Canadian Space Agency, musician Emm Gryner, and others, the cover features a somber piano intro and modified lyrics that reference the Soyuz capsule that will return Hadfield to Kazakhstan. … Read more

Skylab: America's first space base

Launched 40 years ago in May 1973, Skylab was America's first space station -- a research facility that established the standards for long duration life in orbit and gave NASA a chance to look back on Earth in ways never before possible.

The goals for the space lab were primarily to enrich our scientific knowledge of the Earth, the sun, and the stars. Experiments tackled the possibilities for the future of life in space, and the basic notions of how space affects living beings.

Skylab looked at the effects of weightlessness on man and other organisms, the effects of … Read more