Associate editor at Space.com Sarah Lewin sheds some light on SpaceX's mysterious Sunday night launch and breaks down the fascinating new photos we just got of Jupiter.
SpaceX says its rocket was successful and served its purpose, but rumors persist that the mission was actually a failure. The satellite, code-named Zuma, was built by defense contractor Northrop Grumman for a top-secret mission. A prevailing belief is Zuma is a government spy satellite.
Sarah also touched on NASA's gorgeous new photos of Jupiter. The pictures, edited by citizen scientists, are giving us the most vivid view of the gas giant ever. NASA's Juno spacecraft took the photos from just 8,000 miles above the planet's surface.
The planet's temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don't surprise scientists.
The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say.
