At first, I thought the 3,980 yen (US$34) price tag was the craziest thing about this Neon Genesis Evangelion Unit-01 popcorn bucket. Nope! The light-up eyes are.

The bucket is available at Universal Studios Japan during the Cool Japan 2016 campaign, which wraps up in late June.

This popcorn bucket looks like the Eva Unit’s head and even comes with instructions.

Here, you can see it in action:

Bonkers, but cool!

Top image: momomokachaaan

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft.

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

New rumors abound about how Spider-Man makes his entrance in Civil War. Neal Scanlan teases the aliens of Rogue One. You probably won’t see Iron Fist hit Netflix this year. Plus, teases for Jewel Staite’s Legends of Tomorrow character, and a first look at Killer Frost and Deathstorm on The Flash. Behold, Spoilers!

Wonder Woman

Connie Nielsen has been cast as Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and mother of Wonder Woman. [THR]

Captain America: Civil War

Geek.com claims to know how Spider-Man will make his entry into the movie. Allegedly Peter Parker is sought out directly by Tony Stark, to recruit him to his team to help hunt down Captain America—offering him a fancy new supersuit to sweeten the deal. Peter apparently accepts, because he grew up (this Peter would’ve been around five years old during the events of the first Iron Man film) idolizing Tony Stark.

Fantastic Four 2

Michael B. Jordan has doubts that a sequel will happen:

I’m not sure, man... As much as we want and we like these characters, and we like these worlds and stuff like that, we [actors] have such a small say in what goes on behind closed doors—all that other, extra stuff. Also, I love the character. I’m a big comic book fan, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do it in the first place. We’ll see what happens.

[IGN]

X-Men Apocalypse

Simon Kinberg says that the movie’s scale sets it apart from the past X-Men films:

I think in some ways, it’s the biggest X-Men film we’ve done, both in terms of the external stakes—we’ve never done one of these before where there’s an extinction-level event for the whole world—and I think it’s the biggest emotionally, too. Because the situation is so heightened, the dynamic between the main characters is as heightened and intense as it’s ever been.

[Comicbook.com]

Star Wars: Rogue One

Creature designer Neal Scanlan says that the film will feature more “realistic” aliens, as they’re a larger part of the story rather than background dressing like The Force Awakens:

In the world of ’Force Awakens,’ there was a real mixture of all different kinds, very much like the original Cantina sequence. Working with Gareth now on ’Rogue One,’ he sees these aliens as being much more part of the human [world]. They cohabitate, they work together and so it’s pushed us very much to create characters that are more realistic.

They move more realistically, they’re able to emote more than maybe the characters that we did for ’The Force Awakens.’ So they’re a closer part of the storytelling. They’re less of the world, and they’re more of this group who have a mission, and play a part in that.

[MTV]

Suicide Squad

David Ayer has revealed a new poster for the film—go to the link to see some similarly-designed posters for each individual character. [CBR]

Deadpool

Here’s a new TV spot for the film.

Jessica Jones

Following yesterday’s announcement that the show would return for a second season, Melissa Rosenberg took to the Television Critics Association Press Tour to briefly tease the show’s return—even though Jeph Loeb admitted at the same event they only discovered the show’s renewal was happening at the same time the public did. First off, Rosenberg discusses continuing to use elements from the comics, including Alias:

I will always use as much as I possible can from the book, We’ve gone away from the mythology of the book, the MCU is very different in terms of its mythology from the [comics]. The nature of that is we’re probably not going to be able to do parallel storylines. But I take every little piece I can.

And wanting to keep a tight focus on Jessica’s personal growth:

I think I just want it to be about her character. She’s a very damaged character, and that damage goes beyond Kilgrave. There’s a lot to mine from in her backstory and into her present day situation.

Rosenberg also used the opportunity to acknowledge elements like the show’s tie-in to Civil War (presumably, as they share a universe, but unsure of how exactly just yet) as well as Luke and Jessica’s romantic relationship (once again, unsure of how it will pan out just yet—it’s clear the season is still in the absolute earliest days of development).

[Deadline]

Here’s a suitably mysterious teaser image that was released as part of the season 2 announcement.

Iron Fist

Speaking of Marvel Netflix though, Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos offered a brief update on the Iron Fist series, saying that casting is underway, but it’s unlikely that the show will air this year, as Netflix are loosely following a “two Marvel shows a year” format:

It’s certainly possible [to release more than two in a year] but these [Marvel series] are produced on a scale of a major film. So there are long production times and long post times. And in some cases we have character crossovers, which makes it a little difficult to manage production. It’s not the goal to put out more than one or two a year.

[TV Line]

Game of Thrones

Pilou Asbæk briefly teases being cast as Euron Greyjoy in the next season:

There’s no one like Euron Greyjoy.

It came as a surprise. When I came home that night, there was like two-hundred calls and two-hundred unanswered text messages and stuff like that. That was quite intense, I’ll tell you that.

[IGN]

Hellfire

Following the announcement of a Kiefer Sutherland-less 24 series, writers Evan Katz, Manny Coto, Patrick McKay, John D. Payne, who all helped co-create the series as well as establish the main story, have left the Hellfire series, as Katz and Coto move on to focus on the 24 reboot. [THR]

The X-Files

Gary Newman, co-chairman of Fox Television, is optimistic there’ll be more from the show beyond the six new episodes:

The biggest impediment to going forward with ‘The X-Files’ was the schedules of David [Duchovny] and Gillian [Anderson]. Even the other night at the premiere, we were all laughing and joking about doing this again.

[CBR]

Here’s a new trailer, with a smattering of new footage, from the show’s TCA Press tour panel.

Y: The Last Man

FX CEO John Landgraf offers a brief update on the show’s progress, teasing that there’ll be several announcements soon:

There’s a kind of a scrum of interest in that. We’ve had a number of producers and writers who really want to participate in that. Ultimately, it’s Brian’s call who he wants to work with, and I think that’ll come out soon.

[IGN]

Legends of Tomorrow

Executive producer Phil Klemmer teases Jewel Staite’s guest character, Rachel Turner:

She’s related to one of our heroes. We will find that she’s not a person off the street. We are going into the most distant future that we will be visiting, and we will find that she is the biological result of something that one of our characters either directly or indirectly did before their recruitment in the pilot, in 2016. As we know, when we pull our characters out of the timeline, they cease to have an effect on the future, but this will be a sort of Ghost of Christmas Future where somebody will realize that something that they did before they left had a butterfly effect on the future that will effectively—they will have aided and abetted Vandal Savage’s rise to power.

[Ksite TV]

Arthur Darvill finds himself in familiar sci-fi territory with this timey-wimey promo about Rip Hunter.

Arrow

Here’s a brief synopsis for “Unchained,” teasing the return of Roy Harper:

ROY HARPER RETURNS; NYSSA MAKES HER MOVE — The team faces off against a formidable villain nicknamed The Calculator (guest star Tom Amandes). Meanwhile, Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) makes her move and Roy Harper (guest star Colton Haynes) returns to Star City.

[CBR]

The Flash

Finally, here’s a few pictures from Entertainment Weekly, revealing the villainous alternates of Caitlin and Ronnie, as Killer Frost and Deathstorm.

Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders. Image: Jessica Jones.

Deadspin Reports: Leaked Documents Indicate Major Match-Fixing In Tennis | Jezebel Scholastic Pulls Children’s Book Accused Of Sentimentalizing Slavery | Gizmodo According to IKEA, We’ve Hit “Peak Home Furnishings” | Gawker Hillary Clinton Suggests Silicon Valley Could Be Bending on Encryption |

News broke over the weekend that the highly anticipated HBO sci-fi series Westworld has shut down production. And while that’s true and sounds like incredibly bad news, it’s actually the opposite.

“As we head into the final phase of production on Westworld, we’ve made the decision to take a brief hiatus in order to get ahead of the writing,” said a statement released by HBO. So basically, things were going well but writers Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Lisa Joy (Burn Notice) just wanted some time to finish the final four scripts.

So it’s a good thing. They don’t want to rush production just because they have to. They want to make the product as good as possible.

The show will go back into production in March, according to Variety, and it still on track to premiere at some point this year.

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Westworld is based on the 1973 movie by Michael Crichton. It’s about “the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.”

[Variety]

Contact the author at germain@io9.com.

What was happening out-of-sight during Sunday’s SpaceX launch of Jason-3? These are the stories from reporting live on a white rocket engulfed in a fog bank, but without the internet connectivity to actually update in real-time.

I was at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this weekend to cover the Jason-3 launch. Here’s what I experienced.

At least it’s a very pretty rocket? Image credit: Mika McKinnon

On Saturday, a pack of photographers were escorted to the pad to set up remote cameras. Our convoy of vans bounced through Vandenberg’s vegetated dunes to SpaceX’s west coast home. We unloaded on a bluff overlooking the pad, the Pacific Ocean providing a stunning natural backdrop for the towering edifice of scaffolding and rocket.

We were confined to a headland bounded by fragile endangered species, and more threateningly, by rattlesnakes and unexploded ordinance. Photographers did their best to guess the next day’s weather and launch timing while fiddling with camera settings, pointing them in the right direction, and trying not to attract gremlins that would mess with their gear.

This was as close as we got—more than half a mile away, any chance of ogling the Falcon 9's landing legs utterly dashed.

Falcon 9 upright on the launch pad. Image credit: SpaceX

NASA and NOAA representatives provided an impromptu science briefing on the hillside, talking about the mission while keeping their precious payload in sight.

It’s hard to frame the Jason-3 satellite as an exciting mission. By design, the ocean topography monitor isn’t cutting-edge technology. It carries variations of the same altimeters used since 1992. But it’s critically important to providing data for daily marine operations, improving forecasting models, and tracking long-term change.

Kevin Cooley of the National Weather Service answered our questions while admiring the view. Image credit: Mika McKinnon

National Weather Service Director Kevin Cooley placed Jason-3's data in the context of disaster mitigation. “Before you had the ability to apply radar altimetry, you were dealing with just the temperature of the top surface of the water,” Cooley told Gizmodo. But hurricanes don’t stick to just the top surface. Instead, they churn the entire water column, incorporating heat, too. That little extra bit of data makes a big difference. He continued, “The Jason missions have provided about a 20% improvement in forecast data for hurricane intensity over three days.” This is especially important in a world where hurricanes grow stronger and more quickly than we’ve ever seen before.

As for the value of consistent long-duration records, NASA project scientist Josh Willis maintains the space agency’s no-nonsense approach to the political hot-button of climate change. “As human-caused global warming drives sea levels higher and higher, we are literally reshaping the surface of our planet,” he said in a press release. “These missions tell us how much and how fast.” Since the start of the sea height monitoring, researchers have seen global sea level rise of 2.8 inches (70 millimetres), and expect it to continue under the watchful radar of Jason-3.

Even less sexy than long-duration climate records is data continuity, but that’s key for the Jason mission. Despite being beyond its design lifespan, Jason-2 clung on long enough to still be operational as Jason-3 launched. For the next six months, the two will share an orbit only minutes apart to collect data at as close to the same space-time coordinates as possible in order to cross-calibrate the satellites.

When science operations begin, Jason-3 will stay in this same orbit while Jason-2 peels off. The older satellite will move to an interleaving orbit, operating in a support role to boost data resolution.

Fog is only a cool aesthetic effect if it burns off before launch. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

On the trip back out of base, every camera was out as photographers tried to catch their last clean shots between hills and telephone wires. Veteran photographers lamented the limited setup locations. Their rookie kin tried to calm nerves they’d made a mistake. Unburdened by a remote setup to fret over, I headed to the public beaches to try to catch a distant glimpse of the pad. California’s notorious coastal fog quickly set in, shrouding the launch pad in aesthetically-pleasing but functionally-irritating wisps.

Launch day dawned brightly, but my drive to base kept dipping into ominous pockets of valley fog. The base was completely swathed; even trees were hiding in the mists. We filed onto a repurposed school bus painted white, photographers gravitating to every window seat. Once again, we bounced along base roads, but this time in flatter, more open grasslands.

As the bus rumbled to a stop, involuntary laughter broke out as we quickly realized the only way to even find the rocket was to take it on faith that NASA’s cameras were pointed in the appropriate direction. Even more amusingly, the location portable was labeled “Kennedy Space Center - Expendable Launch Vehicles.” Our SpaceX representative quickly objected, quipping, “Hey, they’re reusable!”

So... the rocket is over there? Image credit: Mika McKinnon

For the next hour, we paced around restlessly, alternating between peering into the mist and searching for that elusive single bar of cellular service. Without a local relay of the launch countdown and no visual confirmation, we were blind. Without connectivity, we were unable to report out anyway.

At thirteen minutes out, SpaceX entered the final countdown. At four minutes before liftoff, the final checks started. Without any audio, I missed the rapid-fire final checks and cascade of excited “Go’s!” building anticipation for the approaching blastoff that I love so dearly.

I plopped down to sit before the row of tripods, and tried to accept the fact that I was attending a launch solely for the growling roar of the rocket.

Only the infrared camera setup had a hope of catching the launch through the fog. Image credit: Mika McKinnon

Taking pity on us, our Air Force escort cranked her radio so we could hear the final countdown. She cued us with a loud “SEVEN!” and like excited schoolchildren, we gleefully joined in to count down together. Through her radio, we heard reports of successful engine ignition and stared intently into the mist, desperate to see any glimmer of glow.

Time stretched out to a condensed infinity—more successes from the radio, and not a trace of the rocket right in front of us. Finally, the roar arrived, the speed of sound disconcertingly lagging light but undeniable in its force. I fought against closing my eyes and sinking into it, still hopeful for a miraculous break in the clouds. Painful seconds later, the Falcon 9 rose and broke free of the cloud deck, finally visible as a streak of light dashing off into the distance.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Jason-3 into orbit on January 17, 2016. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Around me, media howled in glee, relief and joy exploding in mixed laughter and exclamations as they swung cameras around to track the blip. Then just as quickly it was gone, the rocket’s roar fading as it disappeared into the sky above us.

We turned again to the handheld radio, an intense circle focused on disembodied voices reporting maximum thrust, transonic speeds, stage separation, jettisoned fairings. At the most critical of critical junctures during the stage one landing attempt, the SpaceX feed glitched, going offline. We wrote it off as our terrible, intermittent connectivity, and hustled to board the buses and get back in stronger coverage areas.

And then what?! Image credit: SpaceX

Later, I’d learn that between the distance and weather, SpaceX had simply lost signal with its remote camera setup on the droneship. Its camera froze, leaving media, the general public, and even remote SpaceX staff clueless about the fate of the Falcon 9 rocket. Slowly, the rest of the story came out. The rocket landed hard but upright. A lockout failed to latch, possibly coated in ice from the omnipresent thick, cold fog, the leg strut collapsing and toppling the rocket.

Remains of the Falcon 9 rocket on the droneship. Image credit: SpaceX

As soon as we got off base, I retreated to a local coffee shop to soak up the ambiance. Inside, SpaceX sweatshirts and ballcaps were ubiquitous. The table beside me hosted a quartet of photographers lamenting their lack of a good shot this morning. Behind, a grizzled old man didn’t even try to hide his enthusiasm for the technological marvels of a vertical landing. The baristas offered a near-constant string of apologies for running out of bagels, breakfast burritos, orange juice, bananas, their stock heavily depleted by the temporary launch-induced population boom.

My phone pinged with a friend reporting on his experience in the public bleachers. “Sounded great!” he exclaimed, a veteran of too many launches to be disappointed. “It was fogged out,” another friend reported from her spot 4 miles out from the pad. “The sound was incredible!”

Falcon 9 blazed into our lives, then just as quickly disappeared. Image credit: Mika McKinnon

As a reporter, this was an awful launch to cover for reasons beyond our control. Site access was heavily limited, and weather the day-of made it impossible to make first-hand observations. Limited connectivity cut me off from the office, and thwarted my every attempt at updates. It was frustration writ large, exclusives missed and answers left unposted.

But as a scientist, this launch was everything it needed to be. The satellite arrived in the right orbit and in good health, powering on and ready to start running through instrument checks. And the rocket reached the barge, even touching down. It failed, but it failed in a new, different way than previous failures, giving SpaceX a new challenge to overcome. Even the post-topple explosion was smaller, leaving SpaceX bigger pieces to mull over.

And as a tiny, frail human faced with the power of a rocket, it was, as always, incredible.

Top image: Falcon 9 blasting off with Jason-3 aboard on January 17, 2016. Credit: SpaceX

This is an abridged version of a launch report that was originally filed on GeoMika. Contact the author at mika.mckinnon@io9.com or follow her at @MikaMcKinnon.

As the world still mourns the passing of David Bowie, we can take some comfort that he’s posthumously received the most appropriate tribute ever: a constellation named after him, shaped in his iconic lightning bolt.

The MIRA Public Observatory in Brussels, Belgium, worked with a local radio station to register the constellation, which consists of seven stars located in the vicinity of Mars. From DDB Brussels:

It was not easy to determine the appropriate stars,” says Philippe Mollet from MIRA. “Studio Brussels asked us to give Bowie a unique place in the galaxy. Referring to his various albums, we chose seven stars - Sigma Librae, Spica, Alpha Virginis, Zeta Centauri, SAA 204 132, and the Beta Sigma Octantis Trianguli Australis - in the vicinity of Mars. The constellation is a copy of the iconic Bowie lightning and was recorded at the exact time of his death.

I know this is at least partially just a publicity stunt, but I don’t care—this is perfect. In fact, I think we should get rid of all the old, crappy constellations and replace them with Bowie-themed new ones. You can’t tell me that the night sky wouldn’t be improved if we got rid of Orion and replaced him with the Goblin King.

[HuffPo]

Contact the author at rob@io9.com.

Gold Standard supplements, a device that turns your smartphone into a universal remote, and a $100 IPS display highlight today’s best deals. Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.

Top Deals

Continuing a string of deals that can help with your new year’s resolutions, Amazon’s offering a Gold Box deal today on a variety of Optimum Nutrition protein powder and pre-workout supplements.

Prices seem to run about $15-$20 less than what you’d pay at GNC, so this is a great chance to stock your cabinets on the cheap. Like all Gold Box deals though, these prices are only available today, or until sold out. [Optimum Nutrition Gold Box]

We’ve seen our fair share of cheap iPhone battery cases, but $13? Come on. Multiple colors available. [1byone Rechargeable Battery Case for iPhone 6, $13 with code FX98WN9K]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJXXMG2

It never hurts to have a space surge protector at the ready, especially when you can get them for $7. [APC SurgeArrest Essential 6-Outlet Surge Suppressor, $7]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APC-SurgeA...

If you can never find your remote, but always have your iPhone, this $30 device allows your phone to control up to eight home theater devices at once. It currently sells for $50 on Amazon, where it has great reviews. [Pronto - Smart Remote, $30]

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It’s not quite as exciting as all the new 4K monitors coming down the pipeline, but if 1080p is all you need, it’s tough to argue against an IPS display for $100. [AOC i2267fw 22-Inch IPS Frameless LED Monitor, $100]

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If your computer doesn’t have a webcam built in, this 720p Logitech model has never been cheaper. [Logitech HD Webcam C270, $18]

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If you ever pay for iOS apps, movies, music, or iCloud storage with your credit card, you’re throwing money down the drain. Instead, stock up on iTunes gift cards at a 20% discount.

• $50 iTunes Gift Card ($40) | Staples
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Give that awesome smartphone camera some cool new tricks for just $10. [Mpow 3 in 1 Clip-On Lens Kits, $10 with code BN6ERLKM]

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When this $20 diffuser isn’t filling your home with aromatic essential oils, it can double as a small humidifier to combat that dry winter air. [Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser, 100ml, $20]

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This great looking grinder is perfect for spices, herbs, or things that aren’t legal in most states. Add in its clever magnetic lid and 4.6 star review average, and it certainly seems like a steal at $9. [Ohuhu 4 Piece 2.38" Tobacco Spice Herb Grinder, Gun Metal, $9 with code QN9D6CZ4]

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10 tools for $10, and you don’t even have to drink your own urine. [Gerber Bear Grylls Compact Multi-Tool, $10]

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The Golden Globe winner for best comedy (???) is already down to $15 on Blu-ray. Bring it home. [The Martian, $15]

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It’s a physical copy, which is sort of a pain, but this is the best price we’ve ever seen on the PC version of Fallout 4. [Fallout 4, $33]

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Every modem rental fee you pay to your ISP is padding for their bottom line, and a total rip-off for you. Fortunately, you can buy your own modem for a relatively small upfront cost, and knock a few bucks off your monthly bill.

http://gizmodo.com/5948616/how-to...

There’s a general consensus that Motorola’s SB6141 is the best modem for most cable internet subscribers, but it usually runs in the $80-$90 range. Today only though, you can score a brand new one from from Newegg’s eBay storefront for $55 shipped, the best price we’ve ever seen for a non-refurb. It’ll pay for itself eventually no matter what it costs, but this is a great opportunity to save a decent chunk of change on this particular model. [Arris SB6141 SURFboard eXtreme DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem, $55]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARRIS-Surf...

The best DVR for cord cutters is back in stock, complete with discounted lifetime service.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0148ZRFVO/...

The TiVo Roamio OTA is the TiVo box you know and love, but designed specifically for users of HDTV antennas. The box itself retails for $50, but it typically comes saddled with a $15 monthly service fee. While supplies last though, you can get the box plus lifetime (of the box, not of you) service for a single, upfront $300 fee. That’s a hefty investment, but it’ll pay for itself in 17 months compared to committing to a monthly fee.

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Lifetime service for most TiVos costs an exorbitant $500, so you’re actually saving a ton of money by forgoing the cable card here. Unfortunately, they only seem to sell these boxes in limited quantities, so be sure to grab one before it sells out again. [TiVo Roamio OTA HD DVR with Product Lifetime Service, $300]

Today you can Fitbit’s Aria smart scale one at Target for $89, an all-time low. The Aria will give you your weight, BMI, and body fat percentage, and of course sync that data with your Fitbit app. [FitBit Aria, $89]

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With Amazon’s announcement of their latest Prime benefit: a 20% discount on video game preorders that carries through their first week of release, we’ve resurrected our game release calendar. Check it out.

http://deals.kinja.com/calendar-of-up...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBYBNEE

Tech

Storage

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Computers & Accessories

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PC Parts

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Mobile Devices

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Photography

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Home

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Volcanic eruptions are something of a spectator sport today, with orbital satellites and high-speed connectivity bringing glorious images of the planet’s pyrotechnic power to the comfortable safety of our computer screens. But a fascinating new study suggests people have been chronicling Earth’s powerful outbursts since long before modern technology.

Indeed, it’s possible that we’ve been documenting volcanic eruptions for nearly 40,000 years, according to evidence uncovered in Chauvet-Pont D’Arc, one of the oldest and most celebrated cave art sites on the planet. Best known for its depictions of fierce Neolithic beasts, the cave also contains a series of faint, one-of-a-kind spray-shaped drawings. According to a study published this month in PLoS One, these are likely to be the oldest human records of volcanic activity—by a wide margin.

Left: Spray-shaped lines are faintly visible beneath a much more prominent charcoal deer. Right: A traced reconstruction revealing the possible volcanic eruption in more detail. Via D. Genty (left)/V. Feruglio/D. Baffier (right) / Nature News

The paintings in question reside in Chauvet-Pont D’Arc’s famed Megaloceros gallery, which gets its name from prominent charcoal drawings of a giant deer species hunted by Paleolithic Europeans. Using radiocarbon dating, archaeologists previously determined that the Megaloceros artworks are between 36,000 and 37,000 years old—meaning the fainter eruptions drawn behind them are at least that old. To see whether this age lines up with any nearby volcanic activity, geoscientist Sebastien Nomade from the University of Paris-Saclay travelled to Bas-Vivarais, a now-dormant volcanic field that lies a mere 21 miles (35 km) away.

Lo and behold, Nomade found something very interesting. When his team sampled rocks from three different volcanic centers and used argon isotope dating to determine their ages, they uncovered evidence for repeated volcanic eruptions, occurring between 19,000 and 43,000 years ago. If people were living in Chauvet-Pont D’Arc when Bas-Vivarais erupted, they could hardly have failed to notice. “Our work provides the first evidence of an intense volcanic activity between 40 and 30 ka [40,000 and 30,000 years ago] in the Bas-Vivarais region, and it is very likely that humans living in the Ardèche river area witnessed one or several eruptions,” the authors write.

If correct, this would be the oldest human record of a volcanic eruption by tens of thousands of years, the closest rival being a 9,000 year old Turkish cave painting. Fascinating? Yes. Surprising that our planet’s most epic outbursts have been fueling our creativity since long before the dawn of civilization? Not really.

[PLoS One h/t Nature News]

Follow the author @themadstone

The fact that comic book characters don’t stay dead (unless their name is Uncle Ben) is a well-established fact. But the last time we saw Hank Pym in a Marvel comic... something strange happened to him. We had no idea how it was going to fit into the then-upcoming reboot, but Uncanny Avengers has finally offered a clue.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/avengers-rage-...

Spoilers ahead for Uncanny Avengers #4, by Gerry Duggan, Ryan Stegman, Richard Isanove, and Clayton Cowles.

So yes, a catch-up—the last time we saw Hank Pym was in Avengers: Rage of Ultron by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena, a graphic novel released with a nebulous place in Marvel’s continuity and a title juuuuust close enough to “Age of Ultron” that Marvel probably hoped that people looking forward to the then-imminent Avengers movie sequel would pick it up thinking they were related. The book was all about the relationship between Hank Pym and his creation, Ultron, and their strange bond as both father and son (as well as mortal enemies).

Hank’s latest attempt to stop Ultron once and for all lead to... well, Hank and Ultron merging into one being. It gave Ultron a nose, Hank’s Giant-Man antennae, and a heart that let him basically be defeated by the power of love. Yeah, it was weird.

But Rage of Ultron ends with the defeated Pymtron floating around in space, a hybrid of human and robot, of father and son. Rage of Ultron’s strange place in Marvel continuity ahead of Secret Wars and the “All-New, All-Different” reboot meant fans had no idea if this bizarre fate for two of Marvel’s oldest characters actually mattered or not. Turns out, it did.

The final pages of Uncanny Avengers #4 ends with the team triumphant over their latest foe, and team leader Steve Rogers telling them to rest up, because they never know what they could be up against next. The page cuts to space, to see a strange and yet slightly familiar exo-suit coming to the aid of spaceship under attack:

(Nice Rom the Spaceknight reference there, but an odd one considering Rom is about to get his own comic series at IDW.)

The exosuit then starts melting away from the mysterious figure... only to reveal the face of Hank Pym, seemingly healthy and seemingly separate from his “friend” (and now super-suit) Ultron.

So what’s the deal here? Hank and Ultron’s fusion seemed a lot closer when we last saw it. There was a literal heart hooked up to wiring and everything. Now it seems like not only is Hank hunky-dory, but he can “wear” Ultron like it’s an exosuit. Is it all a deception? Is Hank really in control of his wayward A.I. child now, flying around the cosmos like a superhero?

He’s on his way back to Earth, so it seems like it won’t be long before we know more—and it looks like the Uncanny Avengers may have a new threat to face already.

Which makes the upcoming TV series—about Professor X’s son David, who isn’t sure if he’s crazy or if he actually does have powers—less of a spinoff and more of... well, just an X-Men show.

This shouldn’t be a huge surprise, given that there’s no way Fox would ever want to turn Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy’s Professor X into a deadbeat dad in their lucrative movies (also, the chances of the show being able to afford any of the stars of the movies, thus directly tying it into the movie continuity, were rather slim).

Speaking at the Television Critics Association 2016 winter press tour, FX president John Landgraf gave some specifics on how the universe of the show is different, especialy in regards to mutants:

It’s not in the continuity of those films in the sense the current X-Men films take place in a universe in which everybody on planet Earth is aware of the existence of mutants. The series Legion takes place in a parallel universe, if you will, in which the US government is in the early days of being aware that something called mutants exist but the public is not. I wouldn’t foresee characters moving back and forth because they really are parallel universes.

Landgraf also added the series might take place a few years in the past, which seems kind of unnecessary if this is an entirely new universe, but whatever. He also did not refute the possibility of movie mutants appearing on the show in some capacity, although he indicated that at the moment the show consists entirely of new characters.

The series hasn’t even been ordered, but Landgraf is bullish enough about the scripts that he said the show would likely premiere before the end of the year.

[IGN]

Contact the author at rob@io9.com.

If you were a kid in the ‘90s, you probably learned at least some of your science from The Magic School Bus, an animated show for the kids not quite ready for the rigors of Bill Nye the Science Guy.

In the show, a teacher with powers not unlike a Time Lord’s takes her elementary school on a series of physics-defying field trips to teach them things. There were eight kids in that class and we’ve ranked them from best to worst. Because the really important thing for kids to learn is that everyone is always judging you.

1) Arnold

Arnold is the only kid actually thinking critically instead of just kowtowing to the cult of Ms. Frizzle. He’s the one who recognizes that shrinking kids, launching kids into space, and diving into the deep sea with no training, is a dangerous way to teach a bunch of elementary school kids. And yet, he’s also able to recognize the worth of it all and stand up to his cousin Janet when she shit-talks. Arnold is the best. Period.

2) Keesha

Given that The Magic School Bus was designed to teach kids science, Keesha—with her skepticism of the non-scientific and her desire to lay out the facts—is an invaluable resource. And when you go after her friends, she’ll go after you, Janet. Keesha is definitely an asset to the bus and despite not being the best character on the show, definitely the first pick in your “young children to take on random science adventures” draft.

3) Wanda

Wanda is the opposite of Arnold, always willing to charge right into an unknown situation. She’s a motivator (“Come on, you bunch of weasely wimps!”) and someone who recognizes when things have gone horribly wrong (“What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?”) Wanda may be the shortest, but she’s also the bravest, and that is a quality you have to respect in a child.

4) Dorothy Ann

Dorothy Ann has researched everything. Everything that ever has, been, or would be. When her research washes out to sea, she goes nuts trying to get it back. I have been Dorothy Ann. We all have. I would also watch a crime show where Keesha is the detective laying out the facts and Dorothy Ann is the scientist doing obscure forensic science. CSI: School Bus.

5) Tim

Ah, bland, barely noticeable Tim. Tim’s utter.... thereness lands him squarely in the middle of the pack. Although he is quite handy with gadgets.

6) Ralphie

I don’t know why, but Ralphie always bugged me. I think it was because the episode of his that sticks out in my mind is the one where he’s supposed to help out with broadcast day, but ends up sick. There was something really off-putting about his attitude to everything in that episode. Plus, he was convinced his teacher was a vampire and whipped the whole class into a frenzy over that theory. There’s just something not pleasant about Ralphie.

7) Phoebe

“At my old school”—WE GET IT, PHOEBE. Your old school was a bastion of normality and you never, ever did anything weird there at all. Get over it or transfer.

8) Carlos

Puns are the lowest form of humor, Carlos. If every joke you tell gets less of a laugh and more of everyone around yelling your name and groaning, consider that a clue to quit comedy. At least you’re realizing at a young age not to pursue it as a career.

9) Janet

I broke the “main character” rules just to give Janet the bottom spot. Janet’s Arnold’s cousin and she shows up every so often just to make everyone else look amazing in comparison. She has no regard for the physical or mental safety of others. And in every appearance, she learns not to be an arrogant, self-centered little monster. Every time. In this kid’s show, the lesson Janet teaches is that some people will never learn and you should hate those toxic people every time you see them.

Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

A free exhibit paying tribute to Tudor England “scholar, courtier, magician” John Dee opens today at London’s Royal College of Physicians. In addition to over 40 books and Dee’s crystal ball, the display contains the Henry Gillard Glindoni painting above, which depicts Dee doing his thing for Elizabeth I.

As the Queen and others including Sir Walter Raleigh look on, Dee makes some flames come up from a small cauldron with the flair of a magic trick. Glindoni calls it “an experiment” without specifying exactly what’s going on here. But new X-ray studies of the canvas have revealed a grim element that was painted over after the work was completed, according to the Guardian:

X-ray imaging of the stately Victorian artwork has revealed that Dee was originally surrounded by human skulls before the ghoulish image was painted over, probably because it was too odd for the buyer.

The detail is important not just because it’s spooky—but because it opens up the very question the RCP exhibition is attempting to get visitors to ask. During his lifetime, the RCP points out, Dee was famous because he was a prominent expert in mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and other scholarly subjects. But since his death in 1609, his other interests have secured his place in history:

Dee has always been best known for his private study of angels and alchemy. Possibly an inspiration for Shakespeare’s sorcerer Prospero, Dee famously attempted to contact spirits and discover the philosopher’s stone. His alchemical pursuits and ‘angelic conversations’ continue to fascinate over 400 years after his death.

Exhibition curator and rare books librarian Katie Birkwood told the Guardian that she’s hoping visitors come away from the exhibit—which includes books on alchemy and astronomy filled with Dee’s notes and drawings—feeling like they can appreciate every aspect of the man who’s come to be known as “the Queen’s Conjurer”:

“He is one of Tudor England’s most interesting and enigmatic figures and we are exploring that without coming down with a view on whether he is a scholar, courtier or magician. He is all of those and more.”

“Scholar, Courtier, Magician: The Lost Library of John Dee” runs through July 29.

Image credit: Wellcome Library, London. Library reference no.: ICV No 51391 and Iconographic Collection 47369i. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only license CC BY 4.0

It’s the oldest rule in the crossover book: if two disparate heroes or groups of heroes are going to team up, it’s only after they tussle with each other first. The Batman/TMNT series has just had its own clash, and not only is it a great fight, it’s a perfect example of why this crossover has been a blast to read so far.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/at-last-batman...

Minor spoilers ahead for Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, by James Tynion IV, Freddie E Williams II, Jeremy Colwell, and Tom Napolitano.

Part of what’s made this series so fun even with just two issues down is James Tynion IV’s almost gleeful balance of the self-seriousness of Batman and the world of Gotham with the happy go-lucky hijinks of the Turtles. This is a crossover comic that both takes itself seriously for the purpose of the story and yet, at the same time, revels in the fact that it’s a goofy crossover series, more than happy to tick off the mandatory checklist of “things that crossover titles must do” with an earnest abandon that means, even if it’s hitting a lot of familiar beats, you can’t help but love it for doing so.

The fight at the opening of this second issue is one of those familiar beats—but it’s such a great moment you know you’re in for a treat the moment it starts. Williams II’s bold, chunky art style has a great sense of movement to it, and seeing as this is a fight that’s basically an excuse for Batman to show off, deftly disarming and incapacitating each Turtle with ease, it’s kind of amazing how much subtle movement he captures with his relatively beefy take on Batman. He’s a burly fighter, but with an agility that defies even the Turtles—and with minimal dialogue, it’s a moment where his art really gets to shine in a great way.

Even though comic books don’t need an extra moment to remind you that Batman is awesome, this one-sided fight works mainly because of the reaction from the Turtles when they regroup. Even though they got resoundingly whooped by the Dark Knight... they kind of love him for it. They start drawing up charts of what makes Batman awesome (rad suit, little throwy things, capes, electro car) and not-awesome (the fact he beat them up, a “mean voice,” and that he stole Michelangelo’s sai), and being fascinated by him.

Which makes total sense, because Batman’s perfection and ability to beat any foe with his detective skill is sometimes taken to a ludicrous excess—and the Turtles themselves after all, were initially a piss-take inspired that by that self-serious excess that came from characters like Batman or Daredevil, or series like Ronin, when Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird made them.

They’re mutant turtle ninja guys who love pizza and fighting crime. Of course they love the idea of a billionaire running around in a bat suit with fancy gadgets. It’s as ridiculous as they are! This encapsulates everything that is making Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so fun to read so far—it’s not afraid to treat its “badass” moments seriously, but equally unafraid to poke at it for a whole lot of fun.

Last week, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Original Score, Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. That last one is probably the most interesting though, simply because it pulls the curtain back more than the others.

DP/30 talked to four of the people responsible for the amazing effects, which include a crazy blend of practical work, computer graphics, and more. Here’s an interview with the VFX Supervisors Roger Guyett and Patrick Tubach.

And here’s one with Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould, who were the on-set effects supervisors.

Each interview clocks in at about 30 minutes—but both are well worth the time spent watching.

[DP/30]

Contact the author at germain@io9.com.

The X-Files returns for a new season after 13 long years! The weirdest DC show yet debuts with Legends of Tomorrow! Agent Carter and The 100 return, Heroes: Reborn ends, and saints be praised, The Flash fights the Turtle! Heaven and Hell converge to create one Shangri-La, on this week’s TV!

Tonight

Clarence (5PM, CARTOON)

A full week of new episodes of Clarence! Weekdays, at 5pm—and followed by new episodes of Lego: Nexo Knights, if that’s your thing, too!

Supergirl (8PM, CBS)

The Toyman debuts!

Remember that episode of Lois & Clark where Sherman Hemsley played the Toyman, who terrorized Metropolis with rubber “Atomic Space Rats” that sprayed smelly, yellow fog? And Jimmy Olsen tried to get with Denise Richards at the Christmas party? This episode has a lot to live up to!

Luckily, it features the Martian Manhunter flying around with Supergirl. Will Hank Henshaw track the Toyman with a GPS system called Z.O.O.K.?

Almost Royal (10:30PM, BBC AMERICA)

Season premiere!

_______________________________________________

Tuesday

Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years (8PM, ABC)

A one-hour TV special celebrating the 75th anniversary of Captain America! He’s come so far from battling Fungi, the Nazi Fungus and Turtle-Man:

(From Captain America Comics #23)

The Flash (8PM, CW)

Speaking of, the latest episode of The Flash features the debut of one of his coolest enemies, the Turtle! Played by Aaron Douglas, his presence is conspicuously downplayed in the trailer, but you’ll love him.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now (9PM, CW)

A whole special just to prepare you for the insanity of Legends of Tomorrow!

Agent Carter (9PM, ABC)

She’s back! Two full episodes, back-to-back. Remember: Two.

Shadowhunters (9PM, FREEFORM)

“With the knowledge that Valentine is alive and on the hunt for The Mortal Cup, the Institute is on high alert. Not wasting any time, Jace jumps into action and figures Clary’s memories are the key to finding Jocelyn and The Mortal Cup. Unfortunately, Clary’s memories were wiped leaving her without any recollection of this other life that could help her and the team. With only one other option remaining, Jace, Isabelle and a very reluctant Alec take Clary to the City of Bones to face the powerful Silent Brothers. Meanwhile, Luke continues his search for Clary, and Simon tries to come to terms with his best friend’s new life.”

Teen Wolf (9PM, MTV)

“Kira and her mother take extreme measures to help Kira deal with her dark side while Lydia is surprised at Eichen House.”

DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League (9:30PM, CW)

Hosted by Kevin Smith, this half-hour special will debut the Suicide Squad trailer and feature clips from Batman vs Superman and a sneak peek at the upcoming Wonder Woman!

The Expanse (10PM, SYFY)

“Holden and crew realize they’re not alone on the Rocinante and find themselves up against a Martian military blockade. Believing all is lost, Miller finds a new reason to forge ahead. Avasarala visits Holden’s family in Montana.”

Limitless (10PM, CBS)

“Brian embarks on his first FBI field assignment when he travels to Quantico to lend his skills to the bureau unit that catches serial killers. However, the trip takes a negative turn when Brian realizes the man he’s working with may have put away an innocent person in the career-making case that made him a renowned profiler.”

The Shannara Chronicles (10PM, MTV)

“If the family fails, the oak trees will kill her?!”

“Yes.”

_______________________________________________

Wednesday

Arrow (8PM, CW)

With Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and all this DC fanfare, what could the humble Arrow be up to this week?

“Oliver must deal with the devastating consequences of Darhk’s last attack. Seeking revenge, Oliver goes on a brutal manhunt looking for Dahrk.”

Revenge!

Supernatural (9PM, CW)

“Now that he has Sam in the cage with him, Lucifer (guest star Mark Pellegrino) offers Sam a way out but it comes with a steep price. Dean and Castiel look into the angel smiting that could have killed Amara.”

Face Off (9PM, SYFY)

Inspired by Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the artists must bring an everyday toy to life. Featuring guest judge Paul Reubens!

Second Chance (9PM, FOX)

“Due to the power surge that Mary and Otto caused in bringing Pritchard back to life, two notorious murderers escape from prison. Still determined that this is his city to protect, Pritchard goes on the hunt for them, and Mary - who believes she’s partially responsible for the fugitives’ escape - offers assistance. Meanwhile, in order to win Duval’s trust, Pritchard tells him they’re half-brothers.”

Star Wars: Rebels (9:30, DISNEY XD)

“An aide to Bail Organa is sent to Lothal with ships for the rebel fleet, but an Imperial lockdown forces the rebels to come up with a new plan to steal the vehicles”

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (10PM, FXX)

Sunny does Better Off Dead, Hot Dog: The Movie, and Ski School!

_______________________________________________

Thursday

Teen Titans Go! (6PM, CARTOON)

“Cyborg is building stress up, to the point where he directs his built-up rage onto the other Titans. To help calm him down, Starfire takes Cyborg into her own, little secret garden.”

Followed by a new Gumball!

Adventure Time (7:30PM, CARTOON)

“Finn takes a group of at-risk Candy Kingdom youth on a camping trip they’ll never forget. “

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (8PM, CW)

“In the year 2166, the immortal villain Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) is on the verge of his final victory - total chaos and the utter destruction of humanity. As the world crumbles, the Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) takes matters into his own hands; he travels 150 years into the past to assemble a carefully selected team of heroes and rogues to stop him. Hunter has chosen what seems like an ill-matched group: billionaire inventor Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), who has created an exo-suit with the power to shrink him to miniscule size, as the Atom; Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), the White Canary, a trained assassin; Professor Martin Stein (Victor Garber) and Jefferson “Jax” Jackson (Franz Drameh), who together form the meta-human Firestorm; Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller), known as Captain Cold, and his partner Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell), AKA Heat Wave, a pair of career criminals; and Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renée) and Carter Hall (Falk Hentschel) AKA Hawkgirl and Hawkman. Together this unlikely group will attempt to stop one of the most formidable villains of all time, while they must learn how to not only be a team, but heroes as well.”

The ACTUAL series premiere! Guaranteed to be incredibly fun.

Heroes: Reborn (9PM, NBC)

Series finale!

The 100 (9PM, CW)

“Three months have passed since the tragedy at Mount Weather and our heroes learn that a bounty has been put on Clarke’s (Eliza Taylor) head. Unbeknownst to Clarke, a team led by Bellamy (Bob Morley) and Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) journeys deep into Grounder territory to save her. Meanwhile, Murphy (Richard Harmon) finds his way to the mansion and discovers a very different Jaha (Isaiah Washington) on a very different mission.”

Angel From Hell (9:30PM, CBS)

Colony (10PM, USA)

“Will faces unforeseen challenges on his first day at his new job; Katie receives her first assignment; Maddie reconnects with an old acquaintance; and Carlos pays the price for Will’s collaboration.”

_______________________________________________

Friday

Reign (8PM, CW)

Winter finale!

_______________________________________________

Saturday

Svengoolie Presents Dead Man’s Eyes (10PM, MeTV)

From IMDB: “An artist (Lon Chaney Jr) is blinded by a jealous assistant/model. His fiance’s father generously offers his eyes for a sight restoring operation. there’s only one hitch. Chaney has to wait until after the man dies. Not surprisingly, when the benefactor dies a very premature death, suspicion falls on the artist.”

The Church (2AM, TCM)

Incredible, gory and gothic horror from director Michele Soavi, protégé of Dario Argento! Don’t miss it.

_______________________________________________

Sunday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (11AM, NICK)

“The Turtles are captured and thrown into the Triceraton Arena!”

That’s all I know, but last week’s episode featured unexpected appearances by the Neutrinos and the obscure Archie Comics alien, “Bellybomb”.

Expect more strange cameos from the Turtleverse in the future.

Galavant (8PM, ABC)

Two more episodes:

“Love and Death” - Richard, Roberta and Sid rush the fatally wounded Galavant to a healer named Neo of Sporin, who has a magic potion that could save Galavant’s life. While waiting for Galavant to recover, Roberta admits she likes Richard and they almost share a tender moment. Later, Neo produces an army for Galavant... but the soldiers turn out to be zombies. Meanwhile, Madalena finally shares her true feelings with Gareth, who is shocked. As they march on Hortensia, the unlikely duo make a decision about their relationship, on “Galavant”.

“Do the D’Dew” - As the battle between Hortensia and Valencia begins, Isabella and the Jester are ready to surrender; but when Isabella hears Madalena’s demands, she can’t accept them. She returns to the Hortensia camp and rallies the troops to fight with whatever they can find. Against Gareth’s wishes, a frightened Madalena turns to Wormwood who teaches her the evil magic of the “Dark Dark Evil Way” or D’DEW. Meanwhile, Richard and Roberta finally take their relationship to the next level, but as they’re about to leave for battle, Roberta makes an important decision. Galavant finally figures out how to motivate his Zombie army while Sid runs away.”

The X-Files (10PM, FOX)

“Thirteen years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of the thrilling series THE X-FILES is here. FOX MULDER (David Duchovny) and DANA SCULLY (Gillian Anderson) have been approached by TAD O’MALLEY (guest star Joel McHale), a popular conspiracy theorist web-TV show host, who believes he has uncovered a significant government conspiracy. With the assistance of FBI Asst. Dir. WALTER SKINNER (Mitch Pileggi), O’Malley seeks to enlist the help of former X-Files agents Mulder and Scully, who have since severed ties with the FBI. Through O’Malley, they are introduced to SVETA (guest star Annett Mahendru), a possible alien abductee who shares shocking information with them that will challenge everything that Mulder has ever believed about the existence of aliens and the government’s role in covering them up.”

I’m shaking as I write this: The X-Files returns for season ten. This Sunday.

It’s going to be a good week.

Contact the author at fisharebeautiful@gmail.com.

You’re probably already familiar with the Hugo-winning Lightspeed Magazine, which runs a story once a month right here on io9. The publication has just launched a crowdfunding campaign to put out a special issue in 2016, themed “People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!”

“When I was growing up, I literally thought that science fiction stories only happened to white people, because that’s all I read,” one of the issue’s guest editors, Sunil Patel, says in the Kickstarter video. “It did not occur to me, even when I began writing, that someone who looked like me could be on a spaceship. Could build a robot. Could get in a time machine and fight dinosaurs.”

As of this writing, the project (other guest editors will include Nalo Hopkinson, Kristine Ong Muslim, Nisi Shawl, and Berit Ellingsen) had almost reached its goal of $5,000. But, why not drop a few bucks and nudge it over the line? There are several “stretch goals” beyond the original amount, which promise more radness if the funds are raised (including two more proposed special issues: “POC Destroy Fantasy!” and “POC Destroy Horror!”)

No matter what, “POC Destroy Science Fiction!” is gonna be an issue jam-packed with short stories, flash fiction, nonfiction, author spotlights, and more—entirely created by people of color, who (as Patel points out) are often absent or ignored in science fiction. This issue is definitely gonna be an awesome countermeasure to that lack of diversity in the genre. You can find out more (and check out the killer rewards for donations) at the Kickstarter page!

“Voyage of the Galactic Space Dangler” by Evan Mann is completely, deliciously absurd. If you want to see the weirdest ways an advanced species could accidentally intrude on and ruin another group’s planet, this is for you.

Over at Short of the Week, Paul Hunter described it as “2001: A Space Odyssey starring The Mighty Boosh and directed by Terry Gilliam.” I’d say it’s as if the same crew behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 decided to make an art film. Either way, we promise something both engaging and bizarre.

[h/t Rob Munday, Short of the Week]

Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

Last year we debunked dozens of fake photos on the internet. So you might be wondering how 2016 might stack up in terms of volume. Well, it’s only January and this enormous fake-photo Xerox machine we like to call “the internet” shows no signs of depleting its pixelated toner anytime soon.

Here are nine images that we saw tossed around the internet recently. And none of them are what they appear to be at first glance.

1) Is this David Bowie with Lemmy from Motorhead?

With the recent deaths of both David Bowie and Lemmy from Motorhead, we’re seeing an incredible amount of images floating around as tributes to these music icons. But the photo above is completely fake.

According to Getty Images, the real photo of Lemmy is from June of 1972 and shows him with his “French girlfriend” at the time. It’s not clear who first created this fantastical photographic wonder, but our hats are off to them — it looks pretty legit.

Fake photo via Twitter

2) Is this a kangaroo tenderly cradling a dying friend?

When this photo was first published in the Australian press, people were touched. What an incredibly sad moment: A mother kangaroo is dying, but her loyal mate is raising her head so that she can see her joey one last time. But, um, how do I say this? The male kangaroo isn’t facilitating a loving moment so much as trying to make a little love himself. Which is to say that he’s trying to have disgusting marsupial intercourse with a dead or dying female.

I reached out to Dr. Mark Eldridge, a research scientist at the Australia Museum Research Institute, to confirm that this is just a case of humans anthropomorphizing the behavior of animals. Eldridge explained:

It looks like a pretty straightforward case of ‘courtship’ behavior – but with a moribund or dead female.

The male appears to be trying to get the female onto her feet so he can mate. For reasons we are not sure of she is moribund or dead so is not responding.

The other evidence that he’s not so much giving her a hug? He’s got a raging kangaroo hard-on. No joke. It’s easier to see from other pictures of the encounter, which I’ll let you click through on your own if you really want to see them. But you can also just take my word for it. (Just take my word for it.)

Misleading caption via PETA

3) Is this Marilyn Monroe and James Dean?

Marilyn Monroe and James Dean both led glamorous, incredibly short lives. Which is perhaps why they’re so often pasted together in photoshopped fabrications like this one.

The original photo of Marilyn was taken in March of 1955 on top of the Ambassador Hotel in New York. I haven’t been able to figure out precisely who took the original photo of Dean, but judging by the sweater Dean’s wearing I’m guessing it’s a behind the scenes shot from his 1955 film East of Eden.

Below we can see Dean wearing the same sweater in a screenshot from East of Eden, based on John Steinbeck’s 1952 book of the same name.

Fake photo via VeryOldPics

4) Is this guy giving away his Powerball winnings?

Whenever the Powerball jackpot gets big enough, social media becomes inundated with fakes. Sometimes it’s just liars claiming to have won the prize. But other times, it’s liars claiming to have won the prize who want to share some of it with you. As you can see from the Twitter screenshot above we have a case of the latter with this most recent Powerball win.

Multiple accounts have shared the image, with some claiming that with enough retweets or shares, they’ll give some of the winnings to random strangers. The only problem is that the ticket is a photoshopped fake.

The whole stunt is obviously a modern-day version of the chain letter, offering untold riches to people spreading bullshit information. There really is nothing new under the sun. Especially when it comes to lotto scams.

Fake image via Erik Bragg

5) Is this Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey hanging out?

Despite what social media accounts like HistoryInPics might claim, this photo of Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey standing side by side is totally fake.

The original photo of Del Rey dates back to 2012 when she was attending a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert (hence the flannel look). The Winehouse photo is from March of 2011. Winehouse died just a few months later on July 23, 2011.

Not only is the Winehouse-Del Rey shot a composite photo, you can clearly tell that the original photo of Del Rey has been flipped horizontally. She’s wearing an AC/DC t-shirt that’s backwards, and not in some intentional too-cool-to-print-it-normal way. It’s backwards in the I-want-to-photoshop-them-looking-in-the-same-direction way.

Fake via HistoryInPics and HistoricalPics

6) Is this a quote from Alan Rickman?

People have taken to social media to memorialize Alan Rickman who died recently. But in the process, some people are passing around a debunked meme.

When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, ‘After all this time?’ And I will say, ‘Always.’ - Alan Rickman

Sadly for Harry Potter fans, Rickman never actually said this. As Buzzfeed points out, the quote seems to originate on Tumblr circa 2010. At that point it wasn’t attributed to Rickman and was rather just something said in earnest by a fan of the Harry Potter series of books.

The most awkward part of this meme? Rickman never actually read the books.

Fake quote via HistoricalPics

7) Is this a frozen spider web?

No, this isn’t some gigantic frozen spider web. As Snopes points out, it’s actually an ice sculpture that was on display at the Helsinki Zoo in 2011. When the photo is spread across social media it’s usually cropped a bit tighter so that it’s hard to tell just how large the web (sorry, sculpture) really is.

Fake via TheMindBlowing

8) Is this a September 11th themed ad for Chipotle?

Never Forget... How Big Our Burritos Are. That’s the text from an alleged ad for Chipotle showing a tinfoil airplane crashing into two foil-wrapped burritos made to look like the World Trade Center. But, of course, it’s a fake.

Chipotle took to Twitter to deny that they had anything to do with the ad. They also said that they’re trying to track down whoever made the image.

Which leads to an interesting question... Does Chipotle have its own Troll Police department? Perhaps an office somewhere of people click-clacking away, making sure that nobody makes jokes in poor taste at Chipotle’s expense?

If that’s the case, they must be pretty busy of late, what with all the E. Coli coursing through America’s favorite fast-casual vomit factory.

Fake image via Imgur

9) Is this a selfie taken in Brazil?

No, this isn’t the “world’s greatest selfie” or whatever caption you may have seen on social media. It’s an admittedly well done fake. The original photo appears on Instagram, sans the “selfie” aspect of the photo. A Reddit user even made a gif to show how it was done.

Admittedly, it seems like a strangely banal photo to alter. But it just goes to show, even the most straightforward looking images on the internet might be lies.

Fake via Earth Pics

Seen any fake photos in your social media streams recently? Send them to me: novak@gizmodo.com.

The first zinnias are blooming in space, but they almost didn’t make it from bud to flower. This is a story of how an experiment was saved by throwing out heavily regulated, detailed procedures in favor of using human judgement on the fly.

Astronauts grow edible plants in the Veggie facility on the International Space Station. It took them two tries to grow red romaine lettuce—they drowned the first batch—and it briefly looked like it would take them another two tries to grow a flowering plant.

Zinnia plants starting to grow on the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

Two weeks after planting zinnias, astronaut Kjell Lindgren spotted water oozing out of the plant pillow wicks. He poked around and found that three of the plants were drowning in water.

Ten days later, scientists looking at photos were horrified to see water droplets along some leaf edges, while other leaves were starting to dramatically bend and curl. The water droplets were a sign of high humidity, causing excess water to be forced out of leaf tips. The curling leaves were a symptom of flooded roots. Together, they were a sign of too much water and not enough air flow.

Astronauts didn’t have time to fix the problem. They had an emergency spacewalk and couldn’t spend quality time with their plants, so they bumped the fan to high and hoped it would be good enough.

But the plants couldn’t wait. Tissue was starting to die. Then they started to mold. Mold isn’t just a problem for the Veggie garden. In the limited air circulation of the space station, it’s also a potential health hazard for the crew. At the first sign of mold, NASA made a 4am phone call to the Veggie project lead investigator to fix this right now.

Oh no! Mold on the zinnias! Image credit: NASA

Veggie head scientist Trent Smith was hauled out of bed early on December 22, 2015, and quickly assembled his team. Within four hours, they’d drafted new procedures for astronaut/emergency-gardener Scott Kelly. Equipped with a dust mask just in case, Kelly cut out the moldy tissue and bagged it up for the freezer for later study on Earth. He sanitized all accessible surfaces with cleaning wipes.

On Christmas Eve, Kelly reported new problems with his garden. Having the fan constantly on high to inhibit mold was drying the crops out too much, but the next scheduled watering wasn’t until the 27th.

At this point, Kelly very politely lost his temper. “I think that would be too late,” he argued with the ground staff. “You know, I think if we’re going to Mars, and we were growing stuff, we would be responsible for deciding when the stuff needed water. Kind of like in my backyard, I look at it and say ‘Oh, maybe I should water the grass today.’ I think this is how this should be handled.”

Instead of being annoyed at having his project taken over, Smith was ecstatic. He had a volunteer-astronaut willing to care for his plants personally instead of blindly following a pre-set chore list? Best Science Christmas Ever!

Zinnias on the rebound with fresh buds. Image credit: NASA/Scott Kelly

The Veggie team scrapped their book of detailed procedures, and created a streamlined “The Zinnia Care Guide for the On-Orbit Gardener.” Instead of set schedules and procedures, it was a concise set of basic guidelines to help astronaut-gardeners use their human judgment.

Kelly’s independent holiday gardening paid off. Two plants died, joining the moldy leaves in the freezer for later study. But the remaining two plants thrived, not just surviving but growing new offshoots of buds.

On January 12th, petals first started to peek out of the bud. Far earlier than the expected 7-10 days later, the world received the first photo of a flower grown entirely in space on January 16th, 2016.

Petals beginning to emerge on January 12, 2016. Image credit: NASA

The near-failure of this crop of zinnias was a learning experience. How did the plants respond to the changing fan and watering conditions? Could an astronaut be more effective acting independently than locked into following automated procedures? And once the flowers bloomed, how would they be different than their terrestrial kin?

Smith knew from the beginning the zinnias would present a challenge, even to experienced astronaut-gardeners. “The zinnia plant is very different from lettuce,” he explained in a press release. “It is more sensitive to environmental parameters and light characteristics.” Zinnias are not just more difficult to grow, but they also take longer—between 60 to 80 days from seed to flower. But they’re also scientifically useful plants, providing an introduction to flowers in microgravity and acting as a stepping-stone to eventually growing finicky tomatoes.

This ability to switch crops yet build on prior experience is a strength of the Veggie growth facility. The science setup was installed on the station in May 2014. Now every new experiment involving growing plants in space can use the same design with new plants, and astronauts can follow the same basic procedures tailored for any special needs. This cuts down on both the economic and intellectual costs of continuing to experiment with growing food in space.

Zinnias blooming on the space station in January 2016. Image credit: NASA/Scott Kelly

The experiment isn’t done yet. The next SpaceX cargo run to the space station will carry more crops for Veggie: two sets of Chinese cabbage, and another set of red romaine lettuce. Looking even further ahead to 2018, the team hopes to grow dwarf tomato seeds.

[NASA]

Top image: Space flowers in the sun for the very first time. Image credit: NASA/Scott Kelly

Contact the author at mika.mckinnon@io9.com or follow her at @MikaMcKinnon.

Lego once ignored its quirky but passionate fan base, the adult fans who created new worlds out of a children’s toy. But as The Lego Movie showed us, straying from the directions of a given set makes for great fun. Reimagining last year’s best movies as their own Lego movies? Even greater fun.

The fantastically talented folks at Tuscano Bricks just released a trailer of sorts, featuring scenes the most celebrated films of 2015 in Lego form. There are some spoilers, especially for Star Wars fans. But the very premise of watching minifigs perform as Hollywood superstars justifies it by a mile.

[Laughing Squid]