Tag: Space
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From 1979 to 2017: How we’ve changed since the Northwest’s last total solar eclipse
When the daytime sky darkens on Aug. 21, it’ll be the first time in more than 38 years that a total solar eclipse can be seen from the mainland U.S. A lot has changed since Feb. 26, 1979, when the track of totality stretched across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. But the interest in the…
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Worlds collide! Rocket engineer adds a Seafair tribute to Blue Origin on racing boat
The black feather next to Jimmy Shane’s name on the Miss HomeStreet racing boat is used by Blue Origin to symbolize the freedom of flight. The worlds of rocketry and hydroplane racing crashed together in Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Twitter feed today, and it’s all because of Jimmy Shane. Shane’s workaday job title is integration…
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Seattle science educator Dennis Schatz celebrates his asteroid – and the eclipse
Dennis Schatz is senior adviser at the Pacific Science Center. (Dennis Schatz via Amazon.com) The Pacific Science Center’s senior adviser, Dennis Schatz, has achieved a kind of fame that so far has eluded the likes of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates: getting his name on an asteroid. Asteroid Schatz joins more…
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Explore Mars like an astronaut: Mars 2030 VR experience lifts off
The Mars 2030 virtual reality experience launched today and is available for download. (Photo courtesy of Fusion Media Group) Mars 2030, a virtual reality experience that simulates living and working on the Red Planet, launched today for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Steam PC. The 3-D game has yet to be released for PlayStation…
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All along eclipse ‘zone of totality,’ small towns make big bets to cash in on total darkness
This small Wyoming town hopes its long-planned downtown square will be ready in time for the eclipse. (Bob Sullivan Photo) (I’ve just spent a month driving back and forth across America, with Rusty, as I do every summer, visiting small towns with big dreams. This summer is different, however – the dreams are literally astronomical.…
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‘Fifth Element’ squared: 5 cool ideas from the sci-fi visuals of ‘Valerian’
Valerian and Laureline (Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne) make off with a treasure taken from a virtual marketplace in “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” (STX Entertainment) Spoiler alert: We’re not giving away any major plot points, but if you want to see “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” before you…
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The internet goes all atwitter over U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s questions about Mars civilization
U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., asks about Mars’ ancient past. (House Science Committee via YouTube) What game was U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., playing when he asked Caltech geochemist Kenneth Farley whether there was any evidence of an ancient civilization on Mars? The question was an add-on at today’s House Space Subcommittee hearing on NASA’s…
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17776: A hilarious glimpse at the future of football, as seen from space
SB Nation gives a science-fiction glimpse into the future of football. (SB Nation Illustration / Jon Bois) Spoiler alert: This report doesn’t give away any major plot twists in “17776,” SB Nation’s online presentation, but if you want to stay totally in the dark, wait to read this item until after you’ve checked it out.…
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UW researchers’ ‘kidney on a chip’ will be prepped for space station experiment
The “kidney on a chip” is about the size of a credit card. (UW Photo / Alex Levine) A stack of card-sized gizmos that test the effects of drugs, toxins and weightlessness on human kidney cells is due to take a ride to the International Space Station as early as next year – and researchers…
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5 revelations about the future moon from ‘Artemis,’ the next book by ‘Martian’ author Andy Weir
The book cover for Andy Weir’s “Artemis.” (Crown Publishing Photo) The writer who made such a splash with “The Martian,” Andy Weir, is sharing the first chapter from “Artemis,” a crime caper set on the moon – and the thrills start hopping on the very first page. You can get up to speed with the exploits of…