New Research Explains Why The Aurora Has Sudden Bursts Of Brightness Http://futurism.com/links/new-research-explains-aurora-sudden-bursts-brightness/

Kryptos is an encrypted sculpture by the American artist, Jim Sanborn, that is located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication on November 3, 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the encrypted messages it bears. Of the four messages, three have been solved, with the fourth remaining one of the most famous unsolved codes in the world. The sculpture continues to provide a diversion for cryptanalysts, both amateur and professional, who are attempting to decipher the final section. The sculptor has given clues on several occasions.

The solved messages can be read here: [x]

(Fact Source) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

7 Things That Happen When You Go To Space

Told Through Astronaut Scott Kelly’s Tweets

Astronaut Scott Kelly is currently spending a year in space. Most expeditions to the space station last four to six months. By doubling the length of this mission, researchers hope to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. During this one-year mission, Kelly is also participating in the Twins Study. While Kelly is in space, his identical twin brother, retired NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly, will participate in a number of comparative genetic studies.

Here are a few things that happen when astronauts go to the space station:

1. Your personal hygiene takes on a different form:

2. Sleeping arrangements might take some getting used to:

3. Internet services will remind you of the 90s:

4. You never have to do laundry:

5. You get to become immersed in a range of different cultures:

6. All of your water is recycled…yes…that means urine too:

7. You get to see the Earth like never before:

Follow Astronaut Scott Kelly’s Year in Space mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Four Common Wing Shapes in Birds

There are four general wing shapes that are common in birds: Passive soaring, active soaring, elliptical wings, and high-speed wings.

Passive soaring wings have long primary feathers that spread out, creating “slots” that allow the bird to catch vertical columns of hot air called “thermals” and rise higher in the air.  Examples of birds with this wing type include eagles, most hawks, and storks. These Bald Eagles are classic examples of birds with passive soaring wings:

Active soaring wings are long and narrow, allowing birds to soar for a long time. However, these birds are much more dependent on wind currents than passive soaring birds. Examples of birds with this wing type are albarosses, gulls, and gannets. These California Gulls show good examples of the active soaring wing type:

Elliptical wings are good for short bursts of high speed. While they allow high speed, the speed cannot be maintained. Examples of birds that have this wing type are crows, ravens, blackbirds, sparrows, and thrushes such as the American Robin. These Common Ravens are good examples of birds with elliptical wings:

High-speed wings are long and thin, but not nearly as long as birds with active soaring wings. As the name suggests, birds with this wing type are incredibly fast, but unlike those with elliptical wings, these birds can maintain their speed for a while. Examples of birds that have this wing type are swifts, ducks, falcons, terns, and sandpipers. This Forster’s Tern is a good example of a bird with high-speed wings.

(http://www.birds.cornell.edu/education/kids/books/wingshapes)

DARPA wants your crazy robot pitches

Watch The Martian (2015) Full Movie

Watch The Martian (2015) Full Movie

The robots sent into Fukushima have 'died'

Not good...

The remote-controlled robots that were sent into the site of the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan have reportedly ‘died’, thanks to incredibly high amounts of leaked radiation destroying their wiring.

The robots - which take years to manufacture - were designed to swim through the underwater tunnels of the now-defunct cooling pools, and remove hundreds of extremely dangerous blobs of melted fuel rods. But it looks like that’s not going to happen any time soon.

In 2011, one of the most severe earthquakes in recorded history triggered a 10-metre-high tsunami that crashed into Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to several meltdowns that killed nearly 19,000 people and destroyed the homes and jobs of 160,000.

Lasers could rapidly make materials hotter than the Sun

London UK (SPX) Nov 17, 2015 Lasers could heat materials to temperatures hotter than the centre of the Sun in only 20 quadrillionths of a second, according to new research. Theoretical physicists from Imperial College London have devised an extremely rapid heating mechanism that they believe could heat certain materials to ten million degrees in much less than a million millionth of a second. The method, propose Full article

Australia’s using drones to protect its coasts from sharks

Synthetic Muscles

Huntsville AL (SPX) Dec 31, 2015 Muscles are miracles of nature. They convert energy into motion more efficiently than any gasoline engine or electric motor. They’re extremely resilient and even heal themselves. Instead of degrading with use, our muscles become stronger the more we work them. Researchers have long sought a way to recreate that miracle in prosthetics. So far, no one has succeeded. But Lenore Rasmussen, Pri Full article

We normally post our tech news roundups on Fridays, but due to turkey, football, and lots of napping, we’re publishing it today instead. Enjoy!

1. The right drones for everyone this holiday season Love is in the air, and here’s a list of UAVs you can use to catch it. There’s never been a better reason to sit around while your relatives drone on and on. Really. With gifts like these the holidays will fly right by. via: Quartz

2. New tech can wirelessly charge your electronics with a standard Wi-Fi router There’s a good reason your Wi-Fi router is always shooting dirty looks at your laptop’s power cord. But rather than stoop to their level, routers everywhere are taking up the slack. Try to be sympathetic when your power cord finally winds up jobless. It’s bound to come as a shock.         via: BGR 3. The Pickle Index is a Delightfully Weird, App-Driven Novel Like No Other Immersive multimedia experiences are becoming more and more advanced every day, but there are plenty of people who still use monomedia to get their virtual realities. With The Pickle Index, techies and bookworms will finally have something to talk about if they’re both forced to interact with other humans. via: WIRED

4. Circuit Board Tattoos That Actually Work Will Make Your Cyborg Fantasies Come True Do yourself a favor and only get tattoos in languages that you understand. Otherwise you might end up with a bunch of spurious output, and it’s going to take forever to find that missing comma. via: Gizmodo