Intense thunderstorms across Tennessee early Tuesday morning spawned tornadoes, including one that struck downtown Nashville. The tornadoes destroyed at least 140 buildings and killed at least 25 people in the state, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) said.
What we know: Schools, courts and transit lines in Nashville were closed Tuesday, and more than a dozen polling stations were damaged before Super Tuesday voting began in the state.
Sometimes the best photos are taken by accident. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was exploring an asteroid not far from Earth when it unexpectedly caught sight of a black hole 30,000 light-years away.
What they found: OSIRIS-REx detected the black hole using an instrument designed to measure the effect solar particles are having on its target asteroid, Bennu.
Blue Origin is planning to launch another test flight of its suborbital New Shepard space system as early as this month, with human test flights expected before the end of the year.
The big picture: The Jeff Bezos-backed rocket company pumped the brakes on its test flight program last year but is now gearing up to launch its next round of flights ahead of its first tests with human passengers.
A likely "mini-moon" found orbiting Earth last month is moving away from our planet now, but it could be a harbinger of new small moons to come.
Why it matters: Objects like this one — which is thought to be a washing machine-sized asteroid captured by Earth's gravity — could allow scientists to one day study space rocks without needing to head all the way out to the asteroid belt.
A $12 million DARPA challenge that pushed the limits of what private rocket companies can do ended without a winner on Monday.
Why it matters: The lack of a winner two years after the competition began shows the challenges companies building small rockets face when it comes to technology development, finances and even the market for their services.
