Space News Update- August 15, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: NASA Prepares Next Mars Rover for November Launch

Story 2:GRAIL Launch Less Than One Month Away

Story 3: Oddball Exoplanet is Darker than Coal

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

NASA Prepares Next Mars Rover for November Launch

GRAIL Launch Less Than One Month Away

Oddball Exoplanet is Darker than Coal

The Night Sky Monday, August 15 · This is also the time of year when Vega crosses highest overhead soon after nightfall. Whenever you see Vega passing the zenith, you know the Sagittarius Teapot and the rich Sagittarius Milky Way are at their highest in the south — full of deep-sky objects awaiting view in binoculars or a telescope.

Tuesday, August 16 · Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 4:54 a.m. Wednesday morning Eastern Daylight Time.

Wednesday, August 17 · Before dawn Thursday and Friday mornings, Mars in the eastern sky appears 1½° south (lower right) of the star Epsilon Geminorum. Mars is magnitude 1.4; Epsilon Gem is magnitude 3.0. Binoculars help as dawn brightens.

· Thursday, August 18 · One of the richest patches of the Milky Way is the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, also known as Messier 24. Charles Messier probably made M24 a Messier object because it stands out quite sharply. That's because, unbeknownst to him, it's bounded on all sides by opaque dark nebulae. "M24 is like a patch of blue sky seen through a hole in the clouds," writes Gary Seronik in the August Sky & Telescope.

· Friday, August 19 · Watch bright Jupiter rise below the waning gibbous Moon late tonight, as shown here. They're up in the east by about 11 or midnight daylight saving time, depending on where you live in your time zone.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

For Denver:

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATIONMAX ELEV

APPROACH DEPARTURE

DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)

ISS Mon Aug 15/08:18 PM 4 47 24 above SSW 11 above ENE

ISS Mon Aug 15/09:56 PM 2 21 21 above NNW 10 above NNE

ISS Tue Aug 16/08:54 PM 6 37 10 above WSW 11 above NE

ISS Tue Aug 16/10:34 PM 1 11 11 above NNW 10 above N

ISS Wed Aug 17/09:36 PM 2 15 15 above NNW 10 above NNE

ISS Thu Aug 18/08:37 PM 2 23 23 above NNW 11 above NNE

ISS Thu Aug 18/10:15 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Fri Aug 19/09:16 PM 1 12 12 above NNW 10 above N

NASA-TV Highlights

August 16, Tuesday

7:40 - 8 a.m. - ISS Expedition 28 In-Flight Interview with “TV Tokyo” for JAXA - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)

August 18, Thursday

1:35 - 1:55 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28 Educational Event with the Stennis Space Center, MS - JSC (All Channels)2 p.m. - NASA Science Update - STEREO Mission - HQ (All Channels)

Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

Space Calendar

· Aug 15 - Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU) · Aug 15 - Asteroid 349 Dembowska At Opposition (9.7 Magnitude) · Aug 15 - Asteroid 5062 Glennmiller Closest Approach To Earth (1.111 AU) · Aug 15 - Asteroid 1762 Russell Closest Approach To Earth (1.793 AU) · Aug 16 - Comet C/2009 Y1 (Catalina) Closest Approach To Earth (2.327 AU) · Aug 16 - Asteroid 6128 Lasorda Closest Approach To Earth (1.311 AU) · Aug 16 - Kuiper Belt Object 2004 PG115 At Opposition (36.044 AU) · Aug 16 - 50th Anniversary (1961), Explorer 12 Launch · Aug 17 - Sich 2/ Nigeriasat 2/ NX/ Rasat/ Edusat/ AprizeSat 5 & 6/ PQ-Gemini 1-4/BPA-2 Dnepr 1 Launch · Aug 17 - 45th Anniversary (1966), Pioneer 7 Launch · Aug 17 - Express AM-4 Proton -Briz M Launch · Aug 18 - Asteroid 783 Nora Occults HIP 73587 (6.6 Magnitude Star) · Aug 18 - Asteroid 1154 Astronomia Closest Approach To Earth (2.208 AU) · Aug 19 - Asteroid 2011 BL45 Near-Earth FLyby (0.099 AU) · Aug 19 - Asteroid 2688 Halley Closest Approach To Earth (1.836 AU) · Aug 19 - Orville Wright's 140th Birthday (1871)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

Shuttle Duo Nose-to-Nose Rendezvous highlights Retirement Duty

 

Space Image of the Week