Hasta La Gadget!

This image reminds me of an ovum—a female egg. But it’s not inside anything on Earth. It’s floating in the vastness of space about 9,000 light years from here, in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It’s the Tycho supernova remnant. More »

Ever wonder what the universe was really up to 5.5 billion years ago? It was almost certainly expanding, but now with a new Harvard-developed technology called Arepo, you can watch the beautiful, violent unfolding of the universe for yourself. Just don’t think too hard about it. You might suffer a nervous breakdown trying to justify your existence. [Harvard via PhysOrg via Engadget] More »

It’s more the little sad to many fans of space travel in the US that the space shuttle program has been retired. Right now American astronauts have no way to reach the International Space Station or leave Earth other than catching a ride with astronauts from other countries on their spacecraft. Another depressing final milestone in the shuttle program has been met this week with the last multiple shuttle shuffle of the program.

The space shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour met nose-to-nose briefly for the final time for photos as they were moved between the vehicle assembly building and orbiter processing facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Atlantis was moved for the final time to be transformed from a flight-ready shuttle to a display to be put into a museum.

Presumably, the transformation has to do with removing any potentially hazardous materials from the shuttle. Atlantis should be delivered to the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex where it will spend the remainder of its days starting this November 2. Endeavour will end up at the California Science Center once it’s made museum-ready.

[via CollectSpace]

I am no astronomer or scientist for sure, but this side of the occasional solar flare; I’ve always presumed our sun to be round. Scientists have recently announced that the shape of our sun is rounder then they previously believed. The scientists also said that the sun is squashed more often than previously believed, making it wider in the middle than at the poles.

Previously, astronomers presumed the shape of the sun changed along with its solar cycle. The thought was that the flow of matter inside the sun, and in its atmosphere, would shift over time due to magnetic activity and in turn change the shape of our star. It sounds strange but researchers have apparently been challenged for the last 50 years to accurately measure the sun’s shape.

NASA scientists using my Solar Dynamics Observatory have measured the solar shape over a two-year period spanning 2010 through 2012. During this period, the sun evolved from a minimum sunspot activity to a maximum sunspot activity during its solar cycle. Researchers on the project discovered that the sun’s slightly flat shape with a wide equator and a shorter distance between the polls is surprisingly stable and almost completely unaffected by the solar cycle.

The implication of this discovery is that the shape of the sun is controlled by fundamental properties of the star rather than by magnetism, which can vary significantly. Despite being slightly flattened, the scientists say that the sun is still rounder than they theorized. Future research on measuring the shape of the sun more accurately will help scientists determine how oscillations deep inside the sun manifest on its surface.

[via CBS News]

Scientists discover our sun is rounder than they thought is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Have you ever thought about running a triathlon? And are you a big nerd? Well, you’re reading Gizmodo so chances are you’re at least half way there. Next year, for the first time ever, the Kennedy Space Center is going to open their gates for an awesome sporting event. More »