meteor

Did you miss out on this year's keen Orionid meteor shower or the super perigee moon? Don't fret, as a mega meteor shower this Thursday evening could appease those craving an extraterrestrial event.

Set your alarm for 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, as that's when the Geminid meteor shower peaks. It could deliver dozens (or even hundreds) of visible meteors per hour until about 3 a.m. on December 14. Keep your eyes (and scopes) toward the constellation Gemini for the best view of the shiny shower. … Read more

Around this time of year, the Earth passes through a trail of space debris left over from Halley's Comet's 76-year orbit around the sun, giving us a prime angle to a spectacular shooting-star show.

The Orionid meteor shower's peak -- expected to last from 10:30 p.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Sunday across most of the U.S. -- could produce up to 25 meteors per hour, says Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Check in with star-gazing Web site Spacedex to see when Orionid specifically occurs near you. … Read more

Back in March I wrote about a skee-ball-type game called 10-balls 7 cups that was surprisingly fun. It had great sounds and graphics, and the gameplay consisted of a flick of your finger to send the ball down the alley and a tilt of your iPhone to redirect the ball into the cups. I said at the time that the only problem I had with this simple yet fun game was that the silly prizes you could buy at the end with your points didn't have pictures.

I just received word that longtime Mac gaming publisher Freeverse has gotten … Read more

Tonight the land rush begins for Facebook usernames and URLs. We'll tell you all about that. Also, Microsoft gets petulant and removes all browsers from its European versions of Windows, which makes Opera mad. And Macs get more worms and trojans.

Today is end of analog TV in U.S. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10262022-94.html

Microsoft to sell Windows 7 without IE in Europe: Odd and unnecessary http://mashable.com/2009/06/12/microsoft-windows-7-internt-explorer-europe/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10262630-56.html… Read more

TUCSON, ARIZ.--For more than a week now, I've been on Road Trip 2007, my journey around the Southwest visiting various science and technology-related sites, and I've been having a great time.

I've toured the nearly-hidden tunnels that go underneath the Las Vegas Strip, and braved my fear of heights on the Grand Canyon Skywalk. And I've peered into the Earth's past, and a scary future, at Arizona's Meteor Crater.

All the while, I've also been ferrying around a box full of high-tech gadgets to review, and I've been road-testing them as … Read more

METEOR CRATER, Ariz.--Don't call this a hole in the ground. It hurts the guides' feelings.

Instead, call this the best-preserved meteor crater in the world. And to look at it, how could you think anything else?

About 50,000 years ago, a 150-foot-diameter chunk of rock slammed into the Earth about 26 miles from what would eventually become Winslow, Ariz., pulverizing the ground and leaving this 4,100-foot-wide crater. It is a sight to behold.

I flew over it once, on a flight from New York to San Diego, and I thought, holy cow, what is that?

Now, … Read more

WINSLOW, Ariz.--I'm standing on a corner in...

Well, if you're an Eagles fan, you get the picture.

Actually, I've just arrived in this town near the Meteor Crater--which I'll be visiting Sunday for a story and photo gallery for my Road Trip around the Southwest--after a long day on the road, and much of it was spent navigating through a heavy rain storm.

At first, it was odd that the outside temperature was dropping precipitously from the high-90s into the 70s and then the 60s.

But then it started to rain. A notable … Read more