New York City’s Metro Transit Authority is still plugging away on its giant project to bring the 7 train into far west Manhattan, and the scope of the construction is just as awe-inspiring as ever. The MTA just put out a crop of new pictures on Flickr, and we just can’t help but see a slight comparison to a certain, classic Half-Life level of old.
This picture might look like an incomplete map of the world, but it is in fact the highest resolution view ever of all the world’s plant life, mapped out by NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite.
This amazing image shows how messy space can be, as two galaxies collide and deform each other— creating new stars as gas and dust are pushed and pulled in all directions.
While you folks are doing your Saturday thing and maybe checking out ol’ Giz now and then, somebody’s gotta write it. That somebody is me, and this is what it looks like. From a cursor’s-eye perspective anyway.
On first glance, you probably thought these images were four different pictures stitched together with Pic Stitch for Instagram or something. I don’t blame you, it looks like a perfect windowpane. But what’s crazy is if you look closer, these four images are actually just one single photograph. What.
Who doesn’t love a good fireworks show? People the world over—from Beijing to New York—set off pyrotechnics to celebrate everything from home runs to national independence. Mexico has a similar celebratory tradition, they just don’t even bother launching the pyros—intentionally, that is.
Those spikey deals look pretty menacing. It wouldn’t be a bad guess to think that they’re abstract art meant to invoke a Medieval torture aesthetic. But that’s way off. The infinitely repeating barbs are part of the anechoic chambers at the Technical University of Denmark. Basically they absorb sound and electromagnetic waves so scientists can test wave-emitting devices for things like volume and clarity. And they look badass doing it.
Some people claim to have a great view from their bedroom window or work desk. Their claims are worth nothing compared to the view the astronauts in the ISS get.
The NSA’s high-tech, new school surveillance system has been getting a whole lot of attention lately, but their old-school digs are worth a look as well. The agency has been around since the 1950s, originally tasked with cracking wartime codes, the NSA’s gear has always been cutting edge, and the old stuff is amazing and funny to look at now.