space

Did you know a total solar eclipse occurs tomorrow? Unfortunately, unless you live around certain areas in Australia or find yourself floating in the South Pacific Ocean, you won't really see the full effect -- unless you observe the phenomenon online.

If you want to catch the rare moment where the moon passes between Earth and the sun, Space.com recommends tuning in to the Slooh space camera Web site or a live feed by Tourism Tropical North Queensland on UStream. … Read more

3D printing has captured the imaginations of just about anyone who knows what it is -- even NASA, apparently.

The space agency is using a similar technology to create precise metal parts for its next heavy-lift rocket, which it hopes will eventually help take humans to Mars.

The method is called selective laser melting, or SLM, but it's not quite the same as printing up a sweet "Star Wars" chess set out of extruded plastic. It's more of a cross between 3D printing and some high-end, defense-grade awesome tech.… Read more

NASA and the European Space Agency say they have successfully tested an interplanetary communications protocol, with astronauts on the International Space Station using it to control a Lego robot in Germany.

The protocol is called Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN), and one of its creators is Vint Cerf, who helped come up with the original Internet Protocol suite. NASA and the ESA said on Thursday that DTN may one day allow "internet-like communications" with spaceships and help support infrastructure on other planets.

"The demonstration showed the feasibility of using a new communications infrastructure to send commands to a … Read more

It has been almost 40 years since the Apollo 17 mission last landed a man on the moon. It may not take anywhere near that long before we send astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood.

Space.com reports that NASA is seriously looking at sending out a new manned moon mission with the purpose of creating a manned outpost beyond the far side of moon and eventually visiting an asteroid in 2025. This may not physically land a human on the moon, but it would establish a deep space outpost as a base for research and missions.… Read more

You may or may not know that the International Space Station is visible from Earth with the naked eye. If you didn't know, NASA wants to make sure you do. The space agency has created a service that will send e-mail and text alerts when the ISS is above your location.

It's called "Spot the Station." The system allows you to give your e-mail address and receive notices when the ISS, the third brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon, is orbiting above your area. Given that the ISS passes over roughly 90 percent of the Earth's population, most people will have a chance to spot the space station sooner or later.… Read more

Windows has a bad rep for gobbling up storage space on PCs. Ditto Surface.

The $499 32GB Surface tablet actually leaves you with only 16GB free storage space for things like music, photos, and videos, according to Microsoft documentation.

So, what's devouring all of that flash storage space? On a 32GB Surface, Windows reports 29GB available. Subtract 5GB for Windows recovery tools, then another 8GB for Windows RT, Microsoft Office, and built-in apps. That leaves 16GB for the user.

On the 64GB model, you're left with 46GB.

Microsoft does offer advice on the same FAQ page about how … Read more

SpaceSuit is an app that lets you select pictures to use for different desktops. This was a feature supported by OS X Leopard, but later versions of Mac OS X have removed this customization capability. SpaceSuit restores that option, allowing you to have a different background image for each desktop. SpaceSuit was not available in the App Store for this review, but we downloaded it from several sites on the Web.

Using SpaceSuit you can set a new desktop wallpaper by simply dragging any image over the program icon, which immediately sets the wallpaper to that image. To remove a … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- By dawn's early light today, the shuttle Atlantis was hauled out of the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building for the last time, rolling not to the launch pad but to the spaceport Visitor Complex 10 miles away, where it will go on public display next year -- the last of the iconic winged orbiters to make the transition to Earth-bound museum duty.

Mounted atop a 76-wheel transporter, Atlantis was slowly rolled out of the VAB starting at 3:30 a.m. PT, cheered on by a crowd of several hundred spaceport workers; a throng of … Read more

Ares is a graphical strategy and action game that takes place in the far reaches of the galaxy. Your mission is to reclaim the planet Earth from alien invaders, but to do that you have to handle manufacturing and resources, as well as be handy with your trigger finger to blow the enemy to little pieces. You can try Ares for free, but the full game will set you back $25.

The Ares interface is laid out with controls and status reports in a pane to the left, and the graphics in a much larger pane to the right. A … Read more