There are two reasons why they’re named that way: first of all, they’re all in earth tones or colors. Second of all, that’s because they’re made from stuff derived from the earth like coffee beans, cedar sawdust or cedar bark.

They might not look as attractive as the extremely colorful plastic LEGO blocks, but I think you could definitely teach a thing or two about using eco-friendly stuff to your kids with these blocks. That, and the fact that appearances are just appearances because you can pretty much do the same thing with Earth Blocks and plain LEGO bricks, creating whatever structure your mind can come up with.

Sure, it’s not like you typically throw out LEGO bricks, but there are bound to be by-products of manufacturing all that plastic, right? If you’re ready to go green with your bricks, you can get a set of 50 Earth Blocks over at the Guggenheim Store for $30(USD).

[via Dvice via Bit Rebels]

NASA has been following this one asteroid closely since the close fly-by will put the asteroid measuring 1,300 feet across only about 201,700 miles from the Earth. That means that the asteroid will be very visible to astronomers with high-power telescopes.

Normal folks with telescopes will not be able to see the asteroid, but the giant telescopes at observatories will be able to view YU55 with a resolution of about 13 feet. That is as good a resolution as we get with a spacecraft fly-by.

[via Newsok]

[Illustration by Steven Anderson via Likecool]

The guys over at Watchluxus have turned me on to this amazingly intricate mechanical device which demonstrates the workings of our the Solar System in unbelievable detail. Richard Mille’s Planetarium-Tellurium provides a glimpse into the exact positions of the Earth, Venus, Mercury, the Sun and the Moon.

While it might not include all of the planets, and the Earth has been enlarged for aesthetic reasons, it’s capable of telling viewers an astounding amount of information including the current axis of the Earth, it’s position relative to the Sun, the rotation of the Moon, as well as the positions of Venus and Mercury among other things. It’s also an extremely sophisticated clock and perpetual calendar, which can even tell the current signs of the Zodiac.

Mille enlisted the counsel of a renowned astronomer-physicist to help with all of the calculations that were needed in order to accurately convert these movements into a mechanical system. To put the precision into perspective, the least precise calculation is the current axis of the Earth, which can get off by plus or minus 1° every 7.7 years. Most of the other calculations are far more stable, like the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, which should be accurate within 1° for up to 2 million years!

From what I’ve been able to glean, Mille actually plans on producing these clocks for purchase, although I haven’t been able to find out any details on that yet. Given the insane amount of detail and fine craftsmanship, I’d expect that you’d be able to buy a really nice car or a small condo for less than what these will ultimately sell for.

As each hour passes, the globe gradually rotates around the North Pole, making a full revolution every 24 hours. A tiny indicator on the edge of the globe tells you what hour it is, and a little dot rotates around the globe to indicate minutes.

Think The Earth’s WN-1 Earth Watch is made from a titanium body with a tough Hardlex crystal dome to protect the earth’s fragile ecosystem. The watch features a black band made from Sophista, a lightweight, durable synthetic material designed to wick the sweat away from your wrist.

Keep in mind that the globe is really made from a dome, and only shows the Northern hemisphere. So if you live South of the equator, maybe this isn’t for you.

The limited-edition watch retails for about $800, but the guys over at Wrist Dreams managed to find some on sale over on Amazon for $594.

These Fuwarito lamps look like the earth and the moon, but are just simple helium-filled mylar balloons with an LED built into the bottom. Each light comes with a two cans of helium gas and weighted base to keep them from floating away. Turn the lights off, and you’ll feel like you’re floating around the galaxy with these hovering planetary bodies. They can be found at Japanese retailer ASCII for ¥3,343 each (about $27 USD.)

All you need to do is add one of those laser star projectors to complete the effect.