Clearly this is what you get for rejecting Shaq. As we guessed at the start of the year, the Times Square tourist trap Mars 2112 appears to have left our orbit. With the loss of the Rainbow Room, the Tavern on the Green, Elaine's and now this we're left to wonder...why can't New York have nice things? And what themer is next for the chopping block; Ninja? more ›

Was Harold Camping right, after all? Grub Street floats a rumor today that space-themed Midtown juggernaut Mars 2112 (aka Shaquille O'Neal's least-favorite restaurant) could be closing, pointing to the massive alien-inclined auctions at Michael Amodeo later this week as evidence. But despite the otherworldly forces that surely conspired to keep this place open for as long as it has been (thanks, Maddox Jolie-Pitt!), we're not so sure it's on its deathbed. more ›

Hey, guys, not trying to freak you out or anything, but remember that NASA satellite that's falling out of space? The one where NASA was all, "we don't know when or where, but keep an eye out?" Well, they still don't know where, but they do know when: this weekend. Per NASA: more ›

Have you ever laid down in the grass and found yourself in a staring-contest with the stars, wondering what Superman, Silver Surfer and Jeebus see when they fly over the Earth? Now you can get an idea in the very cool time lapse video below. Over 600 photos were taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbited the planet at night. The video, assembled by science educator James Drake, begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America—you can see cities lit up like Lite-Bright pushpins and flashing blue storms—before entering daylight near Antarctica. more ›

Nevermind that pesky 9/11 anniversary warning—the real danger in coming weeks is headed from space. One of NASA’s old satellites that’s been hanging out in space for the past six years is about to come crashing back into Earth, and they don’t know exactly when or where, but you should probably start digging that hole now. more ›

So, did you guys catch the Perseid meteor shower this weekend? The full moon made viewing less-than-optimal from New York, but you know where the moon doesn't interfere? In outer space. more ›

Yesterday, NASA captured some really cool footage of the sun unleashing a massive solar flare, the biggest such eruption scientists have ever seen on the sun. According to Weather.com, it emitted "a spectacular coronal mass ejection. The cloud of particles covered an area of nearly half the sun's surface. A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation that can last from minutes to hours." more ›

In a win for science nerds around the world, a Kingsborough Community College professor has discovered a new mineral, called krotite, that "may help to uncover the mysteries of the universe." Whoa! more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] As part of what seems like a city crackdown on artist's loft spaces this week, Clinton Hill's Rubulad has been shut down, and artists began moving out their possessions on Tuesday when they were presented with a padlock and an eviction notice. more ›

The scorching hot orbs at Brooklyn Bridge Park have taken the heat off the Bed-Stuy prison playground for a while, but now the latter is back in the headlines. The offensive jail design has been removed and replaced with a space-themed panel (so hot right now). more ›

Are you guys totally stoked for the crazy two-day Leonid meteor shower that's about to go down? Our man on the street, with his eye on the sky, Joe Schumacher tells us: "It looks like there will be two peaks, a lesser one starting around 4 a.m. EST on Tuesday and the larger one about 12-13 hours later. The first one should have 2-3 dozen meteors per hour." While the light pollution will likely block the experience for many, the skies will be clear and cooperating. more ›

A sushi chef who tried to "hold" a parking space for his manager by standing in the street ended up with a broken foot and other injuries after an irate driver tried to claim the space. Ke Hai Du says it all started around 5 p.m. on October 9th, when he noticed the space become available in front of the Peck Slip restaurant Suteishi. He dashed outside to save the space while his manager got her car, but before she arrived driver Paul Todd pulled up with plans of his own. more ›

First the Upper East Siders were ranting about sidewalk congestion, and now the Upper West Side is joining in on the complaint chorus. A writer for West Side Spirit has a bone to pick with enclosed sidewalk cafés; because what else are you going to get worked up about these days? La la la, there are really no other problems except dining establishments jutting out on to public property. Really, nothing. more ›

Forty years ago today, NASA's Apollo crew went to the moon, with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong setting down on the moon's surface while Michael Collins orbited above. NASA has various features on its website, like a real-time replay of the mission. The space agency has also released a montage of the mission (below) and enhanced footage (after the jump): more ›

Since being named director of the Hayden Planetarium in 1996, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson has transformed himself from a relatively obscure astrophysicist into one of the leading promoters in the public eye for science and scientific exploration. His advocacy work through his books and TV appearances has earned him accolades of all varieties—honorary degrees, medals of excellence, even an asteroid bearing his name—and popularity enough to get him a spot on People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" list in 2000. more ›

Another jewel in the BAM Cultural district crown has been revealed with the recent announcement that the city-owned Strand Theatre at 647 Fulton Street will be renovated for expanded use by BRIC – the Brooklyn cultural organization that manages Celebrate Brooklyn!, BCAT, and the Rotunda Gallery, among other programs – and UrbanGlass, an educational glassworks group. Both organizations already have facilities at the former theater. more ›

Last night’s Coney Island Public Scoping Meeting was the place to be, as activists like political performance artist Reverend Billy turned the meeting into a carnival, leaping up on a chair with repeated cries of “Coney-lujah!” Musician Amos Wengler stood up to croon his anthem “Save Coney Island,” and Savitri D., the Mermaid Parade queen who had been on a hunger strike since Saturday to spotlight the meeting, passionately derided the city’s latest proposal for Coney Island. more ›

(Le) Poisson Rouge somewhat quietly opened the doors to 158 Bleecker Street a little over a week ago. The renovated space is still undergoing some final touches before their grand opening in September, but they are currently partially open and hosting shows (view the calendar here). The venue has a pretty legendary history, from the press release:

"The Village Gate operated at 158 Bleecker Street from the late '50s until 1993, and played host to icons ranging from John Cage, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin, to Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Morrison, Timothy Leary, Andy Warhol, and the Velvet Underground. It is this same experimental, genre-bending spirit that (Le) Poisson Rouge hopes to carry forward as it re-opens the doors."

A nosy Post reporter may have cost Coney Island “Mayor” Dick Zugin his free apartment in a building he purchased with a 3.6 million grant from the city. Zigun runs his Coney Island USA sideshow and museum out of the Surf Avenue building, which the city helped his group buy last year. But when confronted with documents that report the address as his residence, Zigun admitted that he’s also been illegally living there, albeit humbly on a convertible sofa. more ›

Esquire has just released a far-out video showing Momofuku chef Dave Chang and crew sitting for one hour inside a translucent ten-foot square cube. The resulting portrait, made by Chicago-based artist Lincoln Schatz, is part of an ongoing series commissioned to celebrate both Esquire’s 75th anniversary and “the most influential people of the coming decades.” Through a collage of camera feeds and permuted edits, the video installation portrait never depicts the same image sequence twice. more ›

With venues closing down left and right, it's nice to see some opening as well -- especially in Manhattan where most are getting priced out. "(Le) Poisson Rouge is "an 800-capacity multimedia art cabaret founded by musicians on the site of the historic Village Gate." The space, located at 158 Bleecker, will be opening once their ongoing major remodeling work is complete. Right now there are some events booked for June, but they tell us they'll be officially opening in September. more ›

Last month the city announced that the space dedicated to amusements in the latest Coney Island rezoning plan would be cut from 15 acres to 9 acres. City officials explained that the downsizing was necessary to accommodate “local landowners” – the biggest of those is developer Joe Sitt, whose glitzy plans were previously derailed by the city for the express purpose of devoting larger space for the amusement park. more ›

Last spring, it was announced that Galapagos was being priced out of their N 6th Street digs in Williamsburg, which the club had inhabited permanently since 1998. more ›