The big picture: Because of an increase in solar activity, the elusive and hard-to-predict STEVE — a colorful light arc that is often purple or white and often seen with auroras — will be lighting up the sky, researchers say.
NASA is making good on its promise to center diversity in its Artemis program with Monday's announcement of a new crew of four astronauts who will travel around the Moon and back to Earth as soon as 2024.
Why it matters: The faces of NASA's newest lunar ambitions — which include the space agency's first woman and first person of color to launch toward the Moon — highlight the differences between Artemis and Apollo.
Someday, astronauts may be able to eat a steak made from plastic — or discarded potato peels — while floating far beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Why it matters: As software continues to invade our kitchens, 3D-printed food systems are being explored by scientists and startups trying to figure out what astronauts would eat on deep space missions.
Open embedded content from datawrapper.dwcdn.netData: California Department of Water Resources; Note: Linear interpolation used for Feb. 29 in non-leap years; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals
California’s April snowpack is among the largest in state history, tied with 1952 for the title, according to new data out Monday.
Why it matters: The staggering amount of snow, delivered by 17 atmospheric rivers since December, brings flooding concerns with the melt season set to begin.
The third tornado outbreak in as many weeks is predicted Tuesday across much of the same region that has seen extensive damage and more than 50 fatalities.
Threat level: The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a "moderate risk" severe weather outlook, which is a level 4 out of 5 on its threat scale. Two areas of moderate risk exist within a larger area of "enhanced risk," which is a level 3 out of 5.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) said it won't prohibit coyote hunting in parts of Arizona and New Mexico where the animals are sometimes mistaken for endangered Mexican wolves.
Driving the news: A coalition of conservation groups asked the federal government in December to list coyotes as endangered in Mexican wolf territory.
NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be the first people to launch on a journey toward the Moon in decades, NASA announced Monday.
Why it matters: The four crewmembers were named as part of the Artemis II mission around the Moon. They are set to launch next year, paving the way for a future mission to land a yet-to-be-announced crew on the Moon in 2025.
More than 50 people are dead after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes tore through the U.S. South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic in the past two weeks — and another potentially significant outbreak is projected for Tuesday.
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