Sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere in an area away from excessive artificial light and cloudy weather should be able to see the peak of the Lyrids meteor shower this weekend.
Why it matters: It's one of the oldest known meteor showers, with the first recorded sighting going back to 687 B.C. in China, according to NASA.
Xprize, a nonprofit that holds international contests to stimulate technological innovation, unveiled an $11-million dollar competition on Friday to transform how the world detects and fights wildfires.
Why it matters: With global warming and land-use change projected to make wildfires more frequent, intense, and possibly more destructive, wildfire agencies around the world may have to the adopt novel technologies and techniques to control future blazes.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, told Axios he wants to see other space agencies consider accepting people with disabilities into their astronaut corps.
Why it matters: Most space agencies have stringent health and physical requirements for astronauts, limiting who can fly to space. But by expanding the definition of the "right stuff" needed to become an astronaut, spaceflight would become more inclusive, especially for people who historically have been told they can't fly to space.
A severe storm system unleashed strong winds and hail over the Central U.S. and spawned several tornadoes from Wednesday night into Thursday morning — including one in Oklahoma that authorities saidkilledat least three people.
The big picture: The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across the region on Wednesday night, along with tornado watches and warnings for six states: Kansas, Missouri,Nebraska, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma. More storms could affect a broad region on Thursday.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship exploded on Thursday during a major test of its most powerful rocket.
Why it matters: SpaceX values moving fast and taking risks as it's developing a new rocket. These kinds of high-profile accidents during testing are part of that philosophy.
