Ancient Astronomical Observatories of India

Between 1727 and 1734 Maharajah Jai Singh II of Jaipur, India, constructed five astronomical observatories in his native territory of west central India. The observatories called “Jantar Mantars” incorporate multiple buildings of unique form, each with a specialized function for astronomical measurement. These structures with their striking combinations of geometric forms at large scale, have captivated the attention of architects, artists, and art historians world wide, yet remain largely unknown to the general public.

Are We Alone?

From David McCandless’s Information Is Beautiful Studio comes a magnificent charticle about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Above is just the top portion. See the whole thing at BBC Future, “Are We Alone?(via Wired)

Retro Styled Rayguns Made From Found Objects

This awesome array of retro rayguns are made from found objects by Kevin Skinner, aka Budget Raygun.

The only thing that could make these retro-futuristic styled rayguns any cooler is if they actually fired energy beams and made pew!pew! noises.

The future was so much cooler in the past!

Link  –via: –NEATORAMA