Quantum optical sensor tested in space for the first time, with a laser system from Berlin

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For the first time ever, a cloud of ultra-cold atoms has been successfully created in space on board of a sounding rocket. The MAIUS mission demonstrates that quantum optical sensors can be operated even in harsh environments like space – a prerequisite for finding answers to the most challenging questions of fundamental physics and an important innovation driver for everyday applications.
via Science Daily
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Astronomers find seven dwarf-galaxy groups, the building blocks of massive galaxies

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A team of astronomers has discovered seven distinct groups of dwarf galaxies with just the right starting conditions to eventually merge and form larger galaxies, including spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
via Science Daily
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Experiment resolves mystery about wind flows on Jupiter

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A team of geophysicists has recreated Jupiter's jets in the laboratory for the first time and shown that they likely extend thousands of kilometers below Jupiter's visible atmosphere.
via Science Daily
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Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir

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If you can find Orion, you might be able to find the Winter Hexagon. The Winter Hexagon involves some of the brightest stars visible, together forming a large and easily found pattern in the winter sky of Earth's northern hemisphere. The stars involved can usually be identified even in the bright night skies of a big city, although here they appeared recently in dark skies above the Manla Reservoir in Tibet, China. The six stars that compose the Winter Hexagon are Aldebaran, Capella, Castor (and Pollux), Procyon, Rigel, and Sirius. Here, the band of our Milky Way Galaxy runs through the center of the Winter Hexagon, while the Pleiades open star cluster is visible just above. The Winter Hexagon asterism engulfs several constellations including much of the iconic steppingstone Orion.

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Seasons turn

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Space Science Image of the Week: Two observations over a month apart show the appearance of frost at Mars’ north pole
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/01/Frost_build-up_near_Mars_north_pole

Extreme space weather-induced blackouts could cost US more than $40 billion daily

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The daily US economic cost from solar storm-induced electricity blackouts could be in the tens of billions of dollars, with more than half the loss from indirect costs outside the blackout zone, according to a new study.
via Science Daily
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