EarthSky News - Jan 8 - Top Stories This Week

January 8 Top Stories This Week by:

January guide to the bright planets Look west after sunset for Venus and Mars. The other 3 bright planets - Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury - light up the hours before sunrise. Wow! Polar stratospheric clouds Photos from EarthSky friends of rare, vividly colored ice clouds in Earth's stratosphere. New app identifies birds from photos Snap a pic, and the (free) Merlin Bird Photo ID app will identify the bird. Spectacular new image of Orion A Don't miss these gorgeous images of the Orion Molecular Cloud complex, a place in space where new stars are forming. How your brain play tricks your eyes Your eyes don't always tell you the truth, thanks to your brain. Fun video. Home galaxy found for fast radio burst Astronomers pinpointed the location of a sporadically repeating, milliseconds-long fast radio burst. Star predicted to explode in 2022 When and if the 2 stars merge, they'll temporarily become a bright star in Earth's sky. Chickens are intelligent, caring, complex Think chickens are clueless? Not so, says a new study.

EarthSky 2017 moon calendar almost sold out! Best New Year's gift ever! Purchase one before it's too late. Your support means the world to us.

Tonight: Moon, Aldebaran, Pleiades Look for the waxing gibbous moon, the star Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster in the eastern sky.

Today's image: Orion nebula and molecular gas clouds The Orion Nebula, captured on a cold night in Georgia by Dave Woolsteen. Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

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