cosmic
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That cigar-shaped asteroid might be covered in organic goo
Last month's discovery of a long, thin object floating ominously through space brought about some pretty fevered speculation about the company mankind keeps in this universe. Was it an alien spacecraft? Were little green men about to visit Earth? No to both, seems to be the answer, but while researchers still aren't sure what the object -- named "Oumuamua" -- actually is, they have revealed that it appears to be covered in a thick layer of organic gunk and is icy cold on the inside.
New York planetarium to host 200-player space game tonight (video)
Got plans for this evening? Cancel them now, and do everything you can to sneak into New York's Museum of Natural History. Because tonight, the museum's planetarium will play host to a 200-person space game, courtesy of Brooklyn's Babycastles arcade. It's all part of the museum's "Cosmic Cocktails and Space Arcade" evening -- an event that seems tailor made for anyone interested in cosmology, humans, and/or hallucinogens. The showcase of the soiree is the Space Cruiser game, which promises to turn the ceiling of the Rose Center for Earth and Space into a "living, breathing, space ship where participants navigate around a beautiful fictitious universe." With the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt assuming the tripartite role of ship captain-navigator-narrator, the game apparently begins with the birth of the universe, before transporting visitors across new galaxies and through time-bending wormholes. The ship launches at 6:30 PM tonight, but unfortunately, tickets are already sold out. Head past the break, though, for a rather "duuuude"-inducing video.
TUAW's Daily App: Star Dunk
Star Dunk is a strange little mix of online basketball (you can see the basic idea here) and an interesting cosmic aesthetic. To shoot the basketball, you just touch the screen and drag until your guideline is lined up, and then you fire away and try to drop in as many shots as possible. You get bonus points for extra nice shots, and if you hit all four targets on the "backboard," you can grab power-ups as well. High scores earn you Plus+ achievements and in-game rewards, like different balls (with various useful attributes) to use. The game is a ton of fun! It's got that perfect "just one more try" feeling to it that keeps you going back for another round. And the graphics are terrific for the game's simplicity; there are lots of sparkles, and even some fun zoom angles, interspersed with ambient background music and glossy sound effects. Star Dunk is a great little title, and it's only 99 cents. So, if that online basketball gameplay appeals to you, it's a no brainer.
M-INT Kobe sports cosmically-influenced LED lighting system
In an apparent attempt to convert the average office building into something akin to a landing strip, Takuro Osaka is hitting the public with a showing of his "cosmic art" by illuminating opposing sides of the 18-story M-INT Koba building, slated to open for business on October 4th. Osaka, a professor at the University of Tsukuba and the owner of a "light art studio," led the push to have 2,880 blue LEDs installed on the building's west side, which will glow (or not) based on the amount of cosmic radiation surrounding it at any given time. The LEDs' sensors transform "cosmic energy" into pulses of illumination, ensuring a constant light show that's, um, never consistent. Apparently there's no actual utility in the smattering of lights (besides great publicity, of course), but for Osaka, it's one step closer to getting his "enlightening" artwork to a gallery where it would really shine: outer space.[Via Pink Tentacle]
