Fully Charged: Comet lander spacecraft enters hibernation, original Batmobile on auction, and Smash Bros. ported to graphing calculators

Philae comet lander begins deep sleep

It was just days ago that we were all astounded that the European Space Agency’s Philae lander dropped down on a deep space comet after 10 years in transit, but now its main mission has come to a close – and it’s entered a deep sleep amidst the shadows.

Due to bouncing off the surface of the comet, the Philae lander ended up stuck in shadows, and thus isn’t currently getting enough solar power to continue operating. And so it’s been put into hibernation. The ESA says that its main mission – which included taking surface samples and many stunning photos – is complete, and that “the whole team is delighted,” claims Stephan Ulamec, lander manager at DLC German Aerospace Agency.

And this isn’t the end of Philae or the Rosetta orbiter that got it to the comet. Philae could potentially be awoken down the line should sunlight conditions improve, but in the meantime, the Rosetta continues orbiting the comet, collecting info on the changing conditions in the months to come that’ll help scientists better understand the nature of comets.

[Source: ESA]

Original Batmobile replica up for sale

What you’re looking at is the first officially used Batmobile reproduction: completed in 1963 by a fan, the 1956 Oldsmobile 88 was then licensed by DC Comics and used for promotional events before the Batman live-action TV series generated an iconic Batmobile of its own.

This Batmobile sat abandoned in a field for decades, but was recently found and restored, and next month it’ll be on the auction block in California via Heritage Auctions with a starting bid of US$90,000 (about £57,200). It’s expected to fetch US$500,000 (about £318,000) or more. Surely you’ve got some spare change around to put in a healthy bid, no?

[Source: Heritage Auctions via Jalopnik]

READ MORE: Batman: Arkham Knight preview

Smash Bros. ported to TI-83

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vZ0CViiqMw

Sure, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is due out in a couple weeks, but why wait for that glossy console version when you can play a demake on a TI-83/84 graphing calculator? This homebrew take on Nintendo’s beloved brawling series is impressive simply by virtue of existing on an age-old graphing calculator.

I remember when half-baked clones of Breakout and Tetris were the pinnacle of calculator gaming. Now we’ve got fighting games with multiplayer and impressive zooming effects. Granted, it only has two characters, but it’s also a one-person passion project that’s available free to download and tweak to your heart’s content. You know, if you have a graphing calculator laying around somewhere.

[Source: Tiny Cartridge]

Behold the pinhole selfie contraption

Trying to one-up your friends with your selfie game? Try recreating photographer Ignas Kutavicius’ makeshift head-mounted pinhole camera, which uses a tiny opening in an otherwise sealed container to draw enough light in to project an image onto photo paper. The long exposure and unique perspective creates some really neat results, which you can see by clicking the source link below.

[Source: Ignas Photography via Engadget]

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About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.