Awesome Space

In theory, energy consumed by a black hole is trapped forever. But it turns out it might be possible to harness the rotational energy of a spinning black hole to do everything from powering civilization to creating the biggest explosive device ever. Kurzgesagt explains.

Using data and imagery captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA compiled this wondrous look at our Moon, showing off details of its surface, its North and South poles, its massive craters, what might lie beneath its crust, and locations astronauts have visited.

“Do not bring the Nightflyer back to Earth.” Syfy’s upcoming TV show is based on the eponymous novella by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, who describes its setup as “a haunted house story in space.” Premieres Fall 2018.

On a clear night in Los Angeles, the makers of the accurate solar system scale model decided to take their powerful telescope around the city to share an up-close view of the moon with strangers. A heartwarming and inspiring act.

(Loud) Here’s two minutes of porn for rocket junkies, as private space exploration company Blue Origin tests out one of their BE-4 rockets which can produce 550,000 lb-ft. of thrust. And if you think that looked powerful, keep in mind that this was just at 65% of full throttle.

The upcoming science fiction thriller Prospect is about a woman and her father trying to mine gems in a toxic alien moon filled with dangerous inhabitants. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they end up violently engaging with other miners and with each other.

The largest privately-built rocket successfully took flight from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying test cargo in the form of Elon Musk’s red Tesla Roadster into space. As exciting as the launch was, the dual rocket booster landing was simply stunning. Skip to 28:39

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has been capturing high-def images of our sun for more than 7 years. Here’s footage captured by two of their systems – the larger one showing visible light, the smaller one showing extreme UV light, and the line graph displays sunspot activity.

Kurzgesagt sums up the Great Filter – a possible answer to why we’ve never detected the presence of aliens. It could be something that prevents life from developing. Or something that ends civilizations before they have a chance to expand beyond their planet.

As of 2012, by NASA’s count there are 809 manmade objects on the Moon. You can find the full list here. Spacecraft make up the bulk of our moon litter, but Half as Interesting points out that we left a wide variety of “artifacts”, including poop.

AstroReality offers a set of colorful 3D printed models of the Solar System’s planets – plus Pluto. Each sphere measures about 1.2″ in diameter. Get AstroReality’s augmented reality app and to view add-on effects like Saturn’s rings or the Earth’s atmosphere.

Astro-photographer Adrien Mauduit traveled to different countries and used some of the latest equipment to capture unbelievable views of various galaxies. The soundtrack makes the sights even more epic. Check out Adrien’s first compilation here.

Photographer Jesse Watson captured some stunning time-lapse imagery of a recent launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The visuals are a stark contrast to the crummy dash cam video that’s been going viral.

A fascinating simulation created by a team of scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The animation approximates the movements of smoke, sea salt, and dust as they traveled around the globe due to storms and wind currents in 2017. Original video here.

The crew of Expedition 53 on the International Space Station couldn’t order delivery, so they decided to make some pizzas for themselves. We assumed all of toppings would just float off in the microgravity environment, but with enough sauce, they seem to stick pretty well.

While there have long been promises by space agencies that they would build a manned base on the moon, it has never come to pass. Life Noggin explains why the Earth-orbiting satellite that we first landed on in the 1960s has proven so difficult to colonize and sustain life.