Marianne Mizera

2 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera |Chris Gloninger

A meteor shower that has its origins in the 3,000-year-old Halley’s Comet is set to light up the night sky early next week. Known for their speed, the Eta Aquarids are icy, rocky debris that’s been shed from the nucleus of Halley’s Comet each time it returns to the inner solar system and strikes the Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. The meteor shower will remain active until May 28.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera

Above-normal precipitation has helped ease drought conditions across Massachusetts, which has downgraded its threat level to “mild” status for most of the state after struggling with severe rain deficits since last summer, according to environmental officials. Most parts of the state saw 4 to 6 inches in monthly precipitation, rain and snowfall combined, which has “helped improve streamflow and raise groundwater levels in several regions,“ officials said in a statement Wednesday.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera |Ken Mahan

Many northern lights watchers over the years will tell you: Patience is key to catching a glimpse of this wonder of Mother Nature. And Tuesday night’s show didn’t disappoint those New Englanders who ventured out on a cool evening. The aurora’s brilliant and colorful display managed to shine through the partly cloudy skies that dominated our region. Residents spotted the lights from northern New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, south to Cape Cod and northern Connecticut.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera

Hundreds of probationary NOAA employees fired recently as part of the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts got a welcome inbox message Monday, saying they’d been “reinstated to federal service” pending the outcome of legal challenges against the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera |Ken Mahan

National Weather Service officials said staffing shortages have forced offices in Gray, Maine, and Albany, N.Y., to “temporarily suspend” the number of weather balloon launches, long considered the gold standard for gathering upper atmospheric data across the country.