Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II to step down on Jan. 14 after 50 years on the throne The queen announced during her New Year’s speech that she would abdicate on the 52nd anniversary of her own accession to the throne at age 31 following the death of her father, King Frederik IX. Read more on NPR

Take a look at these astonishing new images of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io The NASA spacecraft Juno captured the images during a flyby on Saturday. Scientists are hoping to learn more about Io, the most volcanic world in the solar system. Read more on NPR

What do pickles, pine cones and MoonPies have to do with new year celebrations Times Square is not the only place that drops something to count down to the new year. A duck decoy, MoonPie and pickle are some of the other things that will descend at midnight. Read more on NPR

Want a polar bear plunge on New Year’s Day? Here’s a deep dive on cold water dips Whether it’s once a year or once a week, cold water plunging is gaining popularity. NPR spoke to researchers to sort out what’s true and what’s not about the health affects of a cool, bracing dip. Read more…