Another new piece of the final frontier is now within humanity’s grasp. On Wednesday, Oct. 11, NASA revealed images of its first-ever asteroid sample returned to Earth, The New York Times reported. The fragments were collected from the seven-year-long OSIRIS-REx mission launched in 2016. The goal of the mission was to collect materials from the 4.5 billion-year-old near-Earth asteroid Bennu, according to CNN.
Everything is bigger in Texas, and for three straight weeks, this has also included the record high temperatures set by an extreme heat wave blazing through the state, NBC reported. While CNN divulged that the rest of the world recently set a global record for the hottest day in history —July 4 temperatures capped at an unprecedented 17.8 Celsius (64.04 Fahrenheit) global average — Texas had become one of the hottest places on Earth by late June, NBC described. According to NBC, state temperatures “hit or surpassed 110 degrees Fahrenheit,” and triple-digit heat gripped numerous major cities in the state, such as San Angelo and Del Rio. This kind of weather is standard for parts of the world like northern Africa and the Middle East, but for Texas, its presence was rattling, NBC reported.
On Wednesday, June 7, New York City recorded the worst air quality in the world, CNBC reported. According to the Guardian, at a reported 195 micrograms per cubic meter made up of small particulate matter, the sky had turned from a “milky white” to a harsh orange color. The number of particles far exceeded normal levels based on the city’s national air quality standard, which is typically around 12 to 35 micrograms of small particulate matter, as stated by New York City’s Environmental and Health Data Portal.
