moon

The one percent may feel under siege these days, but at least there's one consolation to having hundreds of millions of dollars to burn: The opportunity to take a trip around the moon.

According to the Smithsonian magazine Air & Space, anyone with a spare $150 million laying may have the opportunity to hop aboard a future lunar flight.

To be sure, it's not going to be United Airlines ferrying the super rich to the moon. Rather, it is likely to be Space Adventures, the private company that for the last ten years has been taking mega-rich passengers on trips to the International Space Station. … Read more

Whether you're an astronomy buff or a werewolf or have some other interest in the moon's phases, Moonphase is a simple desktop utility that might be of interest to you. This attractive program provides detailed information about the moon that's specific to your location, even noting which days are best for fishing according to what the moon's up to.

The program's interface is maybe a little cluttered at first glance, but it's fairly easy to figure out. On the left side, an attractive graphic provides a realistic depiction of the moon in its current … Read more

Continuing its bold space plans, China has unveiled a five-year white paper that calls for putting astronauts on the moon, which would make it the first nation to visit since the U.S. last set foot there some 40 years ago.

"China will conduct studies on the preliminary plan for a human lunar landing," the State Council white paper says, also calling for deep-space exploration of planets and asteroids.

It does not give a timeline for the moonshot, but is seen as an official declaration of China's lunar goals.

The plans come as U.S. manned spaceflight … Read more

If you live in the western United States, set your alarm tonight. The total lunar eclipse Saturday morning promises to be big and bright--and we won't get another one until 2014.

It starts around 4:45 a.m. PT, when Earth's shadow will begin to fall across the moon. By 6:05 a.m., the moon will be in full eclipse mode and glowing red. One atmospheric scientist who's become adept at predicting such events expects this eclipse to be "bright red with a possible hint of turquoise." Find out more--and why the moon will … Read more

For Muslims, time, place, and direction are critical to worship. Accurate Times by the Jordanian Astronomical Society is the perfect tool for the task. This compact freeware calculates prayer time, sun time, direction, date, and other data with an accuracy of two seconds or less. It offers Arabic and English language options, accurate graphical displays, and some important extras.

Accurate Times has a simple, compact interface that is nicely configured, displaying our location and other data as well as the day's prayer times. The layout slightly resembles a telescope control panel, which (not surprisingly) it is, in a way, … Read more

If you happen to find yourself at a bar on a Monday, it's nice to hear stories that will warm the heart as quickly as your pinot noir.

This may not be one of those stories. Indeed, the tale of NASA, Joann Davis, and the tiny piece of moon rock, might make you question the content of the space between some people's ears.

As the Associated Press tells it, NASA operatives turned up at a Denny's in Lake Elsinore, Ca., in order to enjoy one of their fine Big Cheese Country-Fried Steak and Eggs.

Well, almost. In … Read more

Yoo Ninja puts you in the swift-moving shoes of a ninja on the run. As the levels automatically scroll to the right, you must tap the screen to hop from floor to ceiling and back, avoiding obstacles along the way, and moving fast enough to evade the throwing stars hot on your heels. Slow down too much and they will end your game in one fell slice. Tap the screen at the wrong time, and you could end up flying above or below a platform into the abyss. In Story Mode, you travel through 34 levels and across four different … Read more

In Moon Chaser, you are a stealthy ninja, controlling gravity, sliding along hills and valleys, and launching yourself high into the sky. Your challenge is to travel as far as you can, through different mountain stages, before the moon is completely eclipsed. Luckily, between each mountain stage, your moonlight is replenished, giving you just a bit more time to do your thing. Very similar to Dragon, Fly! and the extremely popular Tiny Wings, Moon Chaser is another addition to an already classic genre of mobile game.

By tapping the screen on declines, you can increase the pull of gravity and … Read more

Japanese plastic-model-kit company Tamiya was looking to make a splash in the Vietnamese market, so it decided to drum up some excitement with a series of ads that portray famous conspiracy theories in plastic-model-kit form.

The ads depict kits for the moon landing, the Roswell UFO crash, Elvis, JFK, and Marilyn Monroe. Marketing company Ogilvy & Mather and animation company Cirkus conspired on the project.

For us techies, the moon landing is particularly compelling. It comes complete with Neil Armstrong, a director's chair, the lunar module, movie lights, and a big sack of money.

The Roswell UFO crash kit even has a partially dissected pig. I don't know why the pig is included. Maybe someone with more UFO conspiracy knowledge can fill me in. … Read more