Pete Spotts

One of three companies vying to ferry US astronauts to and from the International Space Station has inked a multimillion dollar deal with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in a move aimed at preparing a craft dubbed Dream Chaser for the task. The move by Sierra Nevada Corp. highlights the pace at which the company's plans are morphing from plans on paper to hardware on the shop floor.

Auroras may dazzle more people than usual this weekend as Earth receives a glancing blow from an enormous solar outburst that erupted on Jan. 19. The outburst, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), was detected by sun-watching satellites. Researchers at the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute predict that auroras should be visible from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, and Cleveland, to Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia Saturday and Sunday nights, weather permitting.

Bees can alter the electrical charge of the flowers they touch. A new study finds that bees use these electrical cues to help them choose flowers with the most nectar and pollen. Bees learn to use electrical clues to choose which flower is the most promising target, according to a new study. If you're a bee having a hard time finding that flower trying to tell you it's loaded with nectar and pollen, use the force, bee, use the force.