Calla Cofield, staff writer at Space.com. discusses some of the biggest stories in space from 2017. They include the end of the Cassini mission and the first interstellar object discovered in our solar system.
We also discuss Peggy Whitson's historic year, in which she solidified herself as the record-holder for most time in space for any U.S. astronaut. Cofield discusses the 7 Earth-sized planets found around the TRAPPIST-1 star and what future research of those planets might tell us about their atmospheres. We also talk the fascination behind 2017's Solar Eclipse.
High temperatures continue to affect people in the U.S. and abroad, including in Iran where it reached 152 degrees on Sunday. The southwestern part of the U.S. continues to experience extreme weather after over a week of a heat wave.
Officials warned residents and tourists packing Mediterranean destinations on Tuesday to stay indoors during the hottest hours as the second heat wave in as many weeks hits the region and Greece, Spain and Switzerland battled wildfires.
While the East Coast grappled with the aftermath of downpours that closed roads and rendered the water supply undrinkable in places, the West and other parts of the country contended with sizzling temperatures and unsafe air quality attributed to Canadian wildfires.
U.S. officials on Monday approved the first long-acting drug to protect babies and toddlers against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year.
