Axios

A European telescope designed to help characterize planets orbiting stars far from the Sun launched to space Wednesday.

Why it matters: Astronomers are on the hunt for another world like our Earth, and this new mission — called CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops) — could help them figure out if there are habitable worlds somewhere out there.

The Hubble Space Telescope spotted an unlikely cosmic duo separated by millions of light-years in mid-November.

What's happening: A new photo shows the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov and the spiral galaxy 2MASX J10500165-0152029 in the same shot as the comet flew about 203 million miles from Earth.

LGBTQPAN* women and gender non-conforming individuals in astronomy and planetary science face harassment in their workplaces, according to a new study in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society.

Why it matters: The study is a stark look into the hostile environment many members of the astronomy and planetary science community face at work.

On Friday, Boeing will launch its first orbital flight of a vehicle designed to bring astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA in 2020.

The state of play: The mission will mark a major test for the much anticipated CST-100 Starliner system.

A severe storm system spawning tornadoes across the Deep South killed at least three people as it damaged homes, downed trees and caused power outages Monday, AP reports.

A storm that's dumping almost a foot of snow across much of the Midwest has killed at least nine people as it tracks toward the Northeast, AP reports.

The state of play: The storms have caused schools to close and caused traffic chaos across the region, AP notes.