Nasa

His name is Don Pettit, but I like to call him Space MacGyver. He's well known for his paper clip fixes and ingenious coffee invention in zero gravity, and we've all seen the NASA astronaut in his Saturday Morning Science videos during his first stay on the International Space ...more

This week has been pretty exciting for both Facebook and Google. Facebook announced a slew of features that seem on the surface to copy Google+. For Google+ users, a lot of improvements, updates and features were implemented, and they're seeing a lot more overall integration w ...more

This article will show you how to make a proportionally correct 1/187 (about) size Hubble Space Telescope. I tried to add as many details as possible, but it was hard at such a small size. It was really easy, but it did take a while to make. Here are some specs for the real H ...more

If you're like me, you were disappointed when NASA cut their human space flight program. No longer could children and adults in dead-end jobs dream of someday walking on the surface of the Moon or drinking floating globules of water through a straw. Homo sapiens as a species a ...more

Ever wondered what the inside of a burning rocket looks like? Well, thanks to Valve engineer Ben Krasnow, now we know. He built a homemade hybrid rocket engine that's see-through so you can actually watch how it works. And even though it's probably a really bad idea to try thi ...more

Android developer Roman Nurik, famous for his open-source DashClock widget, recently released his latest creation, Muzei Live Wallpaper. Now, live wallpapers (LWPs) may not seem like a huge deal as far as mods go, but they're a great way to add flair to your device—and Muzei a ...more

Foldit is definitely a niche game. The sole gameplay mechanic is attempting to fold complex proteins into smaller and more efficient shapes following the rules of molecular physics and biology. Points are awarded based on how small one can make the protein. Online leaderboards ...more

It's September 1st, 1859, and the Earth looks more or less like something out of an apocalyptic movie or Sci-Fi novel. All communications have failed, it's so bright outside at midnight that people are getting up and making breakfast, and people all over the world are seeing a ...more

In the wake of the recent tragedy in Japan, Southern Californians have been hyper alert to any news regarding dangerous levels of nuclear radiation drifting over from Fukushima. At this time, official statements from the California Department of Public Health and the EPA are a ...more

The release of Unity 5.6 brought with it several great enhancements. One of those enhancements is the new Video Player component. This addition allows for adding videos to your scenes quickly and with plenty of flexibility. Whether you are looking to simply add a video to a pl ...more

NASA reports that the sun erupted late last night with a large solar flare—an M8.7 class flare. The classification is calculated according to the peak flux of 100 to 800 picometer x-rays near Earth measured from the GEOS weather satellite. There are 5 letter classifications fo ...more

It's safe to say that we can call the annual ranking of AR investments a holiday tradition at Next Reality. Following our 2018 and 2017 editions of the biggest AR investments, we've expanded the list to include the top 25 this year. While there are many familiar names at the ...more

Umbra, penumbra. Not exactly abracadabra, but if you've taken an astronomy class, you know exactly what the umbra and penumbra are. And any Earthling would agree that the umbra is the best place to be during a solar or lunar eclipse. When the Sun, Earth and Moon are precisel ...more

If you're looking to spruce up your iPhone's home screen, look no further than Aerial Wallpapers, a Tumblr blog that specializes in bringing you the most unique and breathtaking aerial photographs from across our planet, filled with both natural and artificial scenery. João P ...more

Lions and tigers and bears are just a few of the animals that Google users can now bring into their physical environments. Less than a month after previewing augmented reality capabilities in Search at Google I/O, Google has begun to roll out support for embedding 3D content ...more

Some of you have already seen the superbness of tonight's "super moon", but for those of you in the western half of the United States, there's still time to ready your cameras and enjoy March 19th's super full moon. It's the biggest full moon in almost 20 years, the last one a ...more

Throughout this NR50 series, we have talked about the incredible growth the augmented and mixed reality space has seen in the last year. More devices, software, developers, and use-cases seem to arrive daily. For this growth to have occurred, it took the work of many people, f ...more

Since the days of Archytas, rocket propulsion has been the Holy Grail of aeronautics. Thanks to Galileo's inertia, Newton's laws of motion, and the "father of modern rocketry," Goddard, space is not a complete mystery anymore. Rocket-powered aircrafts have evolved from the fir ...more

Note: This shower is only visible in the Northern Hemisphere. The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of my personal favorites, mainly because of the amount of meteors it produces. You can sight more than 100 meteors per hour- that's more than 1 meter per minute. Even though that ...more

I'll have to post up some pictures of astronomy-related papercraft models that I have made at some point, but for now here is a link to a few different papercraft models of the planets. I need to go back through my resources because I know there are a bunch of sites out there ...more

Like gas on an open flame, rumors and whispers have flared up in recent months around hopes of augmented reality smartglasses from Apple. But among all the false leads and unsubstantiated chatter, we finally have a credible report that some sort of Apple AR smartglasses are ac ...more

Seeing an aurora in person is one of the most amazing spectacles you could witness in the skies above. But what about the skies below? The current space crew on the International Space Station experienced auroral activity from Earth's orbit, and were even able to fly directly ...more

Hi, all! After building my 20:1 TARDIS, I wanted to build another spaceship, but this time, I wanted to build a real one. I wanted it to be a well-known rocket, but more importantly, I wanted it to be a huge rocket. The Saturn V Rocket was designed in the early '60s by Werne ...more

Wired posts a gallery of the original models of now iconic devices, with some fun tech-fetish facts. Did you know the first cell phone weighed a whopping 4.4 pounds? Or that the world's first super soaker was invented completely by accident? Examples below; click through for W ...more

WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects. Thanks to all of our active moderators and ...more

PopSci has compiled an amazing list of 30 college labs that would tempt anybody to re-enroll. If you know any high school juniors or prospective grad students, pass this along. They just might reconsider their initial choices. 30 courses are pictured below, click through to P ...more

Remember how the bad guys in Scooby Doo would always use cut-out portraits to spy on people through walls? Well, unless your landlord is super cool, you probably shouldn't start cutting holes in your wall just yet, but you can make a higher tech version, thanks to NASA employe ...more

Popsci has posted 2009's most amazing scientific images, and there's quite a few great ones in there. A few of our favorites below, click through for all 62. In short, Cow Farts. "Scientists measure methane at the source: In a lush pasture near Buenos Aires, this cow and its ...more

Forget backpacking through the Himalayas— Google lets you enjoy the vistas from the comfort of your own home with Google Earth. Forget about snorkeling on your next trip to the Bahamas— you can go under the sea without even getting wet with Google Ocean. Forget about stargazin ...more

How about a laser? One that is strong enough to nudge debris out of earth orbit. That's what NASA contractor James Mason wants to do, and his lab simulations suggest that the idea is possible. Mason wants to use a 5kW ground-based laser and a ground-based 1.5 meter telescope t ...more

A new technological movement without the technology itself is just an idea sitting and waiting. Once the technology is present in the equation, movement forward can begin. This is how many of us see the head-mounted displays (HMDs) and smartglasses that have recently entered t ...more

Traditional media institution The New York Times continues to break new ground in its augmented reality news coverage, this time with a 3D volumetric capture of model Ashley Graham. The feature, part of the publication's coverage of New York Fashion Week, serves to shine a li ...more

Location services provider Mapbox is giving developers a means for building location-based AR apps and multi-user experiences with its new Mapbox AR toolkit. Mapbox AR provides developers with 125 million locations, business information from Foursquare and Factual, and live l ...more

At Apple's yearly event, the World Wide Developers Conference, the tech giant finally announced their decision to enter the augmented reality space. Through adding basic AR functionality to the beta release of Xcode 9, the development environment for Mac computers, as well as ...more

Earlier this year, NASA reported on findings that might point to water, and microbial life, on moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. Named Europa and Enceladus, those moons contain large oceans under their icy surfaces, which many speculate could hold microbial life. On Earth, l ...more

Welcome back, my fledgling hackers! Hacking has a long and storied history in the U.S. and around the world. It did not begin yesterday, or even at the advent of the 21st century, but rather dates back at least 40 years. Of course, once the internet migrated to commercial use ...more

While much of the world is currently in some form of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) gives us all the opportunity to see virtual content while stuck in our homes. In addition to installing mobile AR apps or playing with camera effects on Facebo ...more

In the arms race between ARKit and ARCore, Google scored a big win with the announcement of its Cloud Anchors shared AR experiences platform at Google I/O on Tuesday. A developer session held on Wednesday offered more detail on how multi-user experiences built via Cloud Ancho ...more

This week, there's a lot going on in the skies above, with at least one event per day! There's also an equinox, which only occurs about twice a year! March 14: NASA will be launching five rockets to study the jet stream on the east coast- if you live there be sure to look for ...more

We've seen all the Magic Leap One glamour shots, and we've even shown you a bit of what it looks like to view augmented reality on the device. But there's something else us super geeks appreciate more than anyone else: the grand unboxing! I met Magic Leap's Enjoy representati ...more

The age of personal flight has finally arrived. You can now purchase your very own jet pack for the extremely high price of $75,000. The Martin Aircraft Company Jetpack gets 30 miles to the tank, sails along at 60 mph, and can reach heights of almost 8,000 feet. Oh, and bonus: ...more

Measuring the distance from the Earth to the moon doesn't require NASA equipment. The ancient Greeks did it, which means 2,000 years later, you can do it, too. It works something like this: "Many people have held up a round object and let it block the Sun. Most of the time, ...more

There are a number of ways to give your productivity a kicktstart, from taking a break from your distracting smartphone to just taking a break, plain and simple. Yet finding the motivation to start working doesn't require any effort at all—just a little bit of green. Bring Na ...more

In honor of Earth Day tomorrow (woo!), visual artist Justin Brice Guariglia has released a new augmented reality app that lets you experience climate change from wherever you're standing. The app, named "After Ice," finds your current position through geolocation and then put ...more

Developers can now publish augmented reality experiences that are viewable through the experimental version of Chrome and ARCore. Google announced the release of the WebXR Device API last month for VR experiences in Chrome version 67. Now, Google has made the WebXR Hit Test A ...more

The tradition of using cutting edge technology to prepare for missions in space, in this case, augmented reality, continues with a new team of international astronauts slated to board the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. On Tuesday, European Space Agency ast ...more

LOOOK, a Seattle-based mixed reality and development studio, can now peer into the future with their new geotechnical engineering visualization application for Microsoft HoloLens. Developed in partnership with BCG Engineering, a geotechnical consulting firm based in Vancouver ...more

On June 23, National Geographic will begin welcoming visitors to the world's first outdoor planetarium in Quebec, Canada, where an augmented reality experience overlaid on the night sky will replace the projection systems of traditional facilities. Visitors at Québec's Observ ...more

Windborne microbes shifting in the snows of the great ice sheet of Greenland may be able to neutralize some of the industrial contaminants oozing out of the melting ice. Greenland is a long way off, and we tend to dismiss what happens there as not impacting us here — out of s ...more