earth

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

It's only 42 light years away, it could have liquid water, and it's more than seven times bigger than our planet (in mass). So once we destroy this one, we're all set.

This latest super-Earth is called HD 40307g. It may sound like a tax form, but it's almost guaranteed to be paradise. It's right in a sweet spot orbit around HD 40307, a smaller star than the sun in the constellation of Pictor, where liquid water is possible. And the IRS can't reach you.

Three exoplanets were already known to orbit the star from observations up to 2008 but they are likely too close for liquid water. A new study of the data by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in Britain revealed an additional three planets, with the farthest about as far from the star as Venus is to our sun. … Read more

Google Earth 7 for the desktop landed today with features familiar to anyone who has used the mobile version recently, including new 3D imagery and a virtual tour guide designed to highlight interesting places around the world.

Google said its virtual tours are available for more than 11,000 sites around the world, including popular attractions like the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, and St. Peter's Basilica. The tours, which show up as thumbnail images underneath the map view, suggest nearby places worth exploring and offer relevant information.

Meanwhile, the new version includes 3D imagery for a bunch of places … Read more

Roughly 25 trillion miles (or 4.3 light years) from home, astronomers have found that the Alpha Centauri star system hosts a planet with a mass similar to that of Earth. Galactic geeks may recall references to this star system in "Star Trek," "Avatar," "Transformers," and countless other fictional entertainment.

The planet, officially named Alpha Centauri Bb, orbits Alpha Centauri B and took more than four years of observing to fully classify. … Read more

MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif. -- About 60 miles southwest of Las Vegas, in a mine some 500 feet deep, the beginnings of an iPhone come to life.

But the sleek, shiny iPhone is far, far removed from the rocks pulled out of this giant hole, which looks like a deep crater on the moon. A very deep crater. The ground is covered with rust-colored boulders, rocks, and pebbles. The walls etched with striations in varying shades of black, are notched, every 75 feet or so, creating steps that only a giant could use to climb out of the pit.

The base … Read more

EarthLink can now offer its Internet customers a high-speed connection through Clearwire's 4G broadband network, the companies announced today.

The agreement allows EarthLink customers to access the service through Clearwire, which runs its own 4G WiMax network. The deal also opens the door to Clearwire's planned 4G LTE network, the companies said in a statement.

EarthLink was a major player in the late 1990s as one of the largest Internet service providers supplying dial-up Web access. But as consumers moved to broadband services largely provided by the big telcos and cable companies, the company saw its user base … Read more

If you're looking for a bit of an escape on a Friday afternoon, you can probably get away with it thanks to some more updates to Google Maps and Earth.

Google announced today that it's rolling out an "extensive refresh" for its high-resolution aerial and satellite images, which are viewable on both Google Maps and Google Earth.

The aerial collection will be updated in more than 20 locations across the United States and Europe while satellite imagery is being boosted in over 60 regions worldwide.

Furthermore, the image collection is going to include new 45 degree … Read more

Imagine being able to navigate our own biological tissue much in the way Google Earth allows us to zoom in on our own backyards. Only instead of mailboxes and fences, you could spot, say, rogue cancer cells.

Researchers out of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands may be making such a future possible by stitching together molecular- and cellular-level images of biological tissues into truly gigantic composite images.

One such landscape -- of a zebrafish embryo -- consists of 26,000 images, is 281 gigapixels, and boasts a resolution of 16 million pixels per inch.

The researchers explain their … Read more

Middle-earth buffs now have something to rejoice about -- Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson announced today that his movie adaptation of "The Hobbit" will be a trilogy rather than the previously announced two-part sequel.

He made the announcement on Facebook, saying that while he was editing the first and second movies in the series, he realized how much of the story was being left out.

"We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life," he wrote. "All … Read more