All Maths Games

Galaxies come in all shapes and sizes, from large spiral pinwheels like our own Milky Way to comparatively tiny spherical ones dense with stars. Astronomers have long known that the shape of a galaxy can tell us about its past, but for the first time scientists have confirmed another important aspect of galactic shape. It can also tell us how old a galaxy is. Cool math game s Researchers from the University of Sydney used data from the Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia to analyze 3D measurements taken of thousands of galaxies over the last several years. Galaxies are too far away for astronomers to take real 3D measurements, but we can infer their shape based on the movement of stars. The galaxies modeled by the Siding Spring Observatory cover a 100-fold range of mass, but they appear to have some consistent properties based on age. Most galaxies are compressed spheres, and the team noted that younger galaxies tend to be more flattened. This is also...

After months of uncertainty, NASA is getting a new administrator. The US Senate has confirmed Jim Bridenstine to head up the space agency. President Trump’s appointments have often been contentious, but this one has given even Republicans pause. Bridenstine currently serves as a Republican US Representative from Oklahoma, making him the first politician to take the reins at NASA. He also lacks the scientific and aerospace credentials of past administrators. NASA has been without a permanent administrator since shortly after Donald Trump took office in early 2017. Obama appointee Charles Bolden stepped down from leading NASA at that time, leaving deputy administrator Robert Lightfoot as acting director. Lightfoot is already the longest-serving interim director in the agency’s history, and he previously announced plans to retire at the end of this month. That kicked the confirmation process into high gear and pushed a few Republican holdouts to vote for Bridenstine, moving the confirmati...

Few developments in gaming have caused as much controversy of late as the integration of loot boxes. In video game parlance, a loot box is an item you can purchase in-game, either by spending real money directly or by purchasing a specific type of currency, which can then be spent on loot boxes. They became popular in free-to-play mobile titles initially, but have made the jump to AAA console titles in recent years. In 2018, several games were hammered for their inclusion of the mechanic, including Star Wars: Battlefront II, which attracted the lion’s share of the controversy and customer anger. In the wake of that event, counties like Belgium and states like Hawaii announced they would take up the issue and offer legislation that banned or cracked down on certain types of loot boxes, with some also calling on game companies to reveal the chances of winning loot. Now, the Netherlands has finished its own analysis and banned loot boxes from four of the 10 titles it examined. The review ...

Space may be the final frontier, but it’s an expensive one to explore. There are ample problems with which to contend here on Earth, and that leads some people to wonder if space exploration is worth the hassle. At ExtremeTech, we believe the answer is unequivocally “yes.” Here are five reasons why space exploration is vital to humanity. New Technologies and Research Humans did not evolve to go into space, but we go there anyway. That has led to the development of various technologies that feed back into the economy and improve our lives on Earth. Without space programs, we wouldn’t have GPS, accurate weather prediction, solar cells, or the ultraviolet filters in sunglasses and cameras. There’s also medical research happening in space right now that could cure diseases and prolong human lives, and these experiments can’t be done on Earth. Space exploration could save your life. Asteroids and Comets Don’t Care About Us Speaking of saving lives, space exploration could save all our lives...

Galaxies come in all shapes and sizes, from large spiral pinwheels like our own Milky Way to comparatively tiny spherical ones dense with stars. Astronomers have long known that the shape of a galaxy can tell us about its past, but for the first time scientists have confirmed another important aspect of galactic shape. It can also tell us how old a galaxy is. Researchers from the University of Sydney used data from the Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia to analyze 3D measurements taken of thousands of galaxies over the last several years. Galaxies are too far away for astronomers to take real 3D measurements, but we can infer their shape based on the movement of stars. The galaxies modeled by the Siding Spring Observatory cover a 100-fold range of mass, but they appear to have some consistent properties based on age. Most galaxies are compressed spheres, and the team noted that younger galaxies tend to be more flattened. This is also true of less commo...

It’s hard to remember now, but there was a long period of time in which scientists weren’t sure how many planets might actually exist throughout the galaxy, much less how likely it might be to find a rocky planet. Thanks to missions like Kepler, we now know there are likely at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy. While many of these aren’t capable of supporting life, we now know a solid handful of planets exist that meet even conservative estimates for where life might survive. We’ve rounded up some of the most promising examples below. Before we review the data, we should discuss how exoplanets are typically labeled. Unlike television shows like Star Trek, which typically refer to a planet using Roman numerals to represent its position relative to its host star and the host star designation (Cestus III, Ceti Alpha V), astronomers in the real world use the alphabet to denote when an exoplanet was discovered around its host star. The letter “a” is reserved; planetary designations be...

Lego has unveiled a new series of space-themed sets. The new blocks are part of Lego’s FIRST initiative and are intended to be used in the 2018 – 2019 First Lego League challenge. First is an annual challenge event sponsored by Dean Kamen, previously known for inventing the cool math games Mall Cop Transporter Segway and for inventing drug infusion pumps (the latter is where his wealth came from). FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and has sponsored a number of robotic competitions and programs for students of all ages. Founded in 1989, the program has proven quite popular, with an estimated 350,000 children expected to participate this year from all around the globe. Lego’s involvement with the First program starts at the elementary school level and continues into high school. Each year, the company releases specific Lego sets tied to a theme, and asks students to research a real-world program and develop solutions to address it. Last year, for...