A new federal report describes a hidden economy of science and engineering jobs in the U.S. — and reveals persistent inequities within it.
The big picture: There's been heavy investment — in the U.S. and other countries — in developing a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce to fuel economies, improve quality of life and protect national security.
The combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic air spilling south from Canada is resulting in a long-duration ice storm for millions of people across at least eight states.
The big picture: At least six people in Texas have died since Monday as sleet, snow and freezing rain snarled road and air travel. Waves of mixed precipitation are forecast to spread northeast with time, lasting through early Thursday.
Machine learning could aid in the search for signs of intelligent alien life in the universe, according to a study published Monday.
Why it matters: Searching for radio signals emitted by technologically advanced extraterrestrial societies requires scanning large portions of the sky with powerful radio telescopes, producing a lot of data scientists need to parse through.
Look to the sky for a chance to witness space history this week: A green comet is expected to be at its closest point to Earth this week since the Stone Age.
Driving the news: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which was discovered March 2, 2022, reaches its closest point to our planet on Wednesday and Thursday, according to EarthSky.
