New York Times - Science

California announced that it’s phasing out paraquat, a pesticide widely used in the United States that is linked to Parkinson’s disease.American farmers spray millions of pounds of paraquat on crops each year, though experts could not say precisely how much.

On Aug. 2, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East will witness a solar blockbuster with extra-long totality. If you want to see it, book soon.The solar eclipse on Wednesday in Castrillo de la Reina, Spain. Next summer’s total solar eclipse will darken a 9,500-mile-long swath from the tip of southern Spain past the Horn of Africa.

A medical issue during Mr. Fincke’s fourth space journey resulted in an early medical evacuation, the first ever from the International Space Station.The NASA astronaut Michael Fincke last month at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

From Iceland to Spain, the celestial show drew visitors far and wide.

Unlike the total solar eclipse that swept across Europe, the Perseids can be seen at night by anyone in the Northern Hemisphere.Meteors over the village of Wigry, Poland, during the Perseids shower in 2024.