Space News Update- February 14, 2014 -

In the News

Story 1: Mars Rover Heads Uphill After Solving 'Doughnut' Riddle

Story 2: Prehistoric Cave Pigment to Shield ESA’s Solar Orbiter

Story 3: MeerKAT Radio Telescope Foundations Complete

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Mars Rover Heads Uphill After Solving 'Doughnut' Riddle

Prehistoric Cave Pigment to Shield ESA’s Solar Orbiter

MeerKAT Radio Telescope Foundations Complete

The Night SkyFriday, February 14 •Full Moon (exactly full at 6:53 p.m. EST). Look for Regulus in Leo to the Moon's left during evening, as shown here. A February full Moon is never far from Regulus. •Algol in Perseus should be at its minimum light, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on about 10:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. PST). Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

Saturday, February 15 •This is the time of year when, soon after dark, skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes see bright Capella crossing near the zenith and Orion standing highest in the south. Orion's diagonal belt points lower left toward bright Sirius, and upper right more or less toward Aldebaran. Beyond Aldebaran lie the Pleiades.

Sunday, February 16 •The thick waning gibbous Moon rises in the east around the end of twilight. Look higher above it now for Regulus. Extending upper left from Regulus is the Sickle of Leo.

Sky & Telescope

Monday, February 17 • Sirius now shines at its highest in the south around 8 or 9 p.m. Use binoculars to look for the dim open star cluster M41 straight below it by 4° (a little less than the width of a typical binocular's field of view). •And with a moderate to large telescope on a night of good seeing, this is when to try to detect the white-dwarf companion of Sirius, now 10.2 arcseconds east of the bright primary. See last October's Sky & Telescope, page 30, for tips and tricks when attempting this challeging project.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date VisibleMax

HeightAppears Disappears

Fri Feb 14, 7:20 PM < 1 min 10° 10 above NNW 10 above N

Sat Feb 15, 6:31 PM 2 min 11° 10 above NNW 10 above N

Sun Feb 16, 7:20 PM < 1 min 11° 10 above NNW 11 above N

Mon Feb 17, 6:31 PM 2 min 11° 10 above N 10 above NNE

Tue Feb 18, 7:18 PM 1 min 15° 10 above NNW 15 above N

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

No Special Programming

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Feb 14 - [Feb 14] TurkSat 4A Proton M-Briz M Launch Feb 14 - Comet 107P/Wilson-Harrington Closest Approach To Earth (1.817 AU) Feb 14 - Comet 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett Closest Approach To Earth (2.874 AU) Feb 14 - Comet P/2011 R3 (Novichonok-Gerke) Closest Approach To Earth (3.623 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 6045-00751-1 (10.2 Magnitude Star) Feb 14 - [Feb 12] Asteroid 2014 CG13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 5450 Sokrates Closest Approach To Earth (1.553 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 1198 Atlantis Closest Approach To Earth (1.960 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 6469 Armstrong Closest Approach To Earth (1.668 AU) Feb 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 55565 (2002 AW197) At Opposition (44.996 AU) Feb 15 - Mars Summer Solstice Feb 15 - Comet 169P/NEAT Perihelion (0.608 AU) Feb 15 - Comet 260P/McNaught At Opposition (3.284 AU) Feb 15 - [Feb 11] Asteroid 2014 CB13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU) Feb 15 - Asteroid 2014 BQ43 Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU) Feb 15 - Asteroid 132904 Notkin Closest Approach To Earth (3.547 AU) Feb 15 - 1st Anniversary (2013), Chelyabinsk Fireball Over Russia Feb 15 - 5th Anniversary (2009), Ash Creek Meteorite Fall (Hit Farm House in Texas) Feb 15 - Galileo Galilei's 450th Birthday (1564) Feb 16 - Comet 266P/Christensen Closest Approach To Earth (1.590 AU) Feb 16 - Comet 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett At Opposition (2.875 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 5487-00216-1 (10.3 Magnitude Star) Feb 16 - Asteroid 3533 Toyota Closest Approach To Earth (1.142 AU) Feb 16 - [Feb 10] Asteroid 23990 Springsteen Closest Approach To Earth (1.281 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 3018 Godiva Closest Approach To Earth (1.779 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 243097 Batavia Closest Approach To Earth (1.787 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 6128 Lasorda Closest Approach To Earth (1.926 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 1941 Wild Closest Approach To Earth (3.807 AU) Feb 17 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #372 (OTM-372) Feb 17 - Comet 86P/Wild At Opposition (2.433 AU) Feb 17 - Comet C/2013 P2 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (2.835 AU) Feb 17 - Comet P/2004 FY140 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (3.436 AU) Feb 17 - Comet P/2011 N1 (ASH) At Opposition (4.235 AU) Feb 17 - Comet C/2012 T6 (Kowalski) At Opposition (4.677 AU) Feb 17 - Asteroid 3487 Edgeworth Closest Approach To Earth (2.071 AU) Feb 17 - [Feb 11] Asteroid 991 McDonalda Closest Approach To Earth (2.639 AU)

Food for ThoughtFor Valentine’s Day, Enjoy These Hearts on Earth,

Mars and Other Places

Space Image of the Week