Amazing photographic animation of Cassini’s Saturn flyby

by Sean McLachlan on


The Cassini unmanned probe to Saturn has been a resounding success. A joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency, it’s been studying the ringed planet since 2004. Cassini has been sending back detailed images of Saturn, its rings, and its moons and expanding our knowledge of the solar system.

Check out this amazing video made up of hundreds of thousands of Cassini photographs put one after another to recreate the flyby. There’s no CGI, no trick photography, these are all real images that, as the folks over at Tecca point out, are every bit as good as anything Hollywood can create us. This film is actually a preview of an IMAX feature currently under production by the nonprofit Outside In.

Before it got to Saturn, Cassini also flew past Venus, an asteroid, and Jupiter. I’m hoping those images will be in the movie too.

While I’m not going to be putting on my backpack and heading to Saturn anytime soon, images like this get me in the mood to travel. It’s that sense of exploration, learning about the unknown, that drives us to reach into space and see what’s out there. Cassini may be just an unmanned probe, but through the images it sends back we can all travel with it.

Footage from last weekend’s Mountain Bike World Championship

by Grant Martin on

Ignore for one moment that this is some of the most amazing mountain bike riding ever captured on film. What really makes this video over-the-top is the sheer energy in this production. The excitement contained within these announcers is an energy that we couldn’t muster at Gadling Labs with the might of 100 bloggers, with the drip of 10,000 espressos.

Oh, and Danny Hart? The best mountain biker on the planet. The above video shows the talented rider winning last weekend’s UCI MTB World Championships. Enjoy the show.

Video of the Day – Mexican Holiday

by Stephen Greenwood on

Sometimes, choosing the right song to cut your travel videos to makes all the difference. Exhibit A – today’s Video of the Day, shot by Argentinian motion graphics designer Molokoso.

The footage was shot entirely on a pocket camera (Lumix TZ10) equipped with an underwater housing and edited to “Bombay” by Spanish musician El Guincho. The song lends it an irresistible upbeat tone which brings all of the fun & adventure that Mexico has to offer alive.

Did you capture any of your summer adventures on video? Edit them, pick a fun song, and share it with us – it could be our next Video of the Day!

Your hotel room safe: not as safe as you think

by McLean Robbins on




Most travel safety tips suggest that you should always remember to leave your valuables in the hotel safe. But just how “safe” is it? A new video posted by consultant skyrangerpro suggests that your hotel safe may not be as secure as you think.

Posted while skyranger was on travel in Markham, Ontario (hotel name not specified), the electronic safety boxes that allow you to program your own four digit codes opened with the default code of all zeroes, usually 0000. This standard safe looks just like most of the ones we’ve found in our hotels across the country.

It’s a valuable lesson for travelers who think they are being secure with their valuables – check to make sure this password isn’t your default setting before storing goods in your safe. If it is, opt to check your goodies at the front desk (where another safety box is usually available).

Our intrepid gear reporter Scott Carmichael wrote about the hotel safe issue back in 2009, and suggested a worthwhile but expensive alternative – a personalized locking device. Sean McLachlan suggested ways to hide valuables around your hotel room.

Tell us, which tactic would you take?

A journey through Vietnam

by Grant Martin on

Lost in a world of Skype and Reddit at Gadling Labs this morning, we were thrilled to get a dispatch from our friend Sean over at Vimeo. In a A Journey Through Vietnam, Leon Visser and his friends capture a summer vacation taken through the budget friendly nation of Vietnam, complete with plenty of local portraits, breathtaking scenery and a good beat to boot. It’s the perfect sort of daydreaming for a Friday before a holiday weekend.