Space News Update- February 27, 2015 -

In the News

Story 1: Successful spacewalk ends with water leak

Story 2:Calm regions protect organic molecules around a supermassive black hole

Story 3:

Dark Energy Camera Takes Accidental Gigantic, Magnificent Picture of Comet Lovejoy

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Successful spacewalk ends with water leak

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Calm regions protect organic molecules around a supermassive

black hole

1. Ratchet Wrench ‘E-mailed’ to Space Station

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Dark Energy Camera Takes Accidental Gigantic, Magnificent Picture of Comet

Lovejoy

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

The Night Sky

Sky & Telescope

Friday, February 27Venus and Mars in the western twilight have widened to be 2.7° apart now. Look for faint Mars beneath Venus. Saturday, February 28Early this evening, the dark limb of the waxing gibbous Moon will occult (cover) the 3.6-magnitude star Lambda Geminorum for telescope users in North America east of the Mississippi and north of the deepest South. Some times: central Massachusetts, 8:00 p.m. EST; Washington DC, 7:56 p.m. EST; Chicago, 6:31 p.m. CST (in twilight); Kansas City, 6:21 p.m. CST (in twilight). See map and detailed timetables of both the disappearance and the (unobservable) reappearance; be careful not to mix these up when scrolling down the table. Two mutual events among Jupiter's moons. Watch Europa occult (pass in front of) Io from 11:10 to 11:16 p.m. EST this evening. At the center of this time, their combined light is dimmed by 0.6 magnitude, not quite half.Then less than an hour later, Europa casts its shadow onto Io from 12:02 to 12:09 a.m. EST, dimming Io by 0.9 magnitude at the mid-time of this eclipse.

Sunday, March 1After dark, Jupiter is the bright "star" to the Moon's lower left, and Procyon is the real star to the Moon's right. Far lower right of there shines Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Sirius is also the nearest star that's visible to the naked eye from northern latitudes, at a distance of 8.6 light-years.

 Monday, March 2The bright planet near the waxing gibbous Moon tonight is Jupiter. Looks are deceiving, however. Jupiter is actually 40 times larger than the Moon in diameter, but it's 1,660 times farther away (as of tonight).Another mutual event among Jupiter's moons. Tonight Ganymede occults Io from 11:06 to 11:11 p.m. EST; their combined light dims by 0.6 magnitude at the center of this time. Later Ganymede casts its shadow onto Io, but just a few minutes beforehand, Io disappears behind Jupiter's edge from Earth's viewpoint! (at 12:17 a.m. EST). Tuesday, March 3Bright Jupiter shines above the Moon this evening. Spot fainter Regulus closer to the Moon's lower left (for North America).

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

No sightings for Denver through March 7th.

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

NASA-TV Highlights

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013NASAMAVEN Launch November 18, 2013NASAMAVEN Launch November 18, 2013NASA

6 a.m., Sunday, March 1 - Coverage of U.S. Spacewalk # 31 (Spacewalk scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m. ET; Wilmore and Virts) (all channels)

12 p.m., Monday, March 2 - Dawn Mission Pre-Close Approach News Briefing (all channels)   

 

 

(all times Eastern Time Zone)

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Feb 27 - Comet C/2014 AA52 (Catalina) Perihelion (2.003 AU)Feb 27 - Comet P/2012 TK8 (Tenagra) Closest Approach To Earth (3.231 AU)Feb 27 - Comet 120P/Mueller At Opposition (3.514 AU)Feb 27 - Asteroid 90416 (2003 YK118) Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)Feb 27 - Asteroid 16421 Roadrunner Closest Approach To Earth (0.871 AU)Feb 27 - Asteroid 9950 ESA Closest Approach To Earth (2.657 AU)Feb 28 - [Feb 27] Cosmos-Bars N1 Soyuz U LaunchFeb 28 - Comet 270P/Gehrels At Opposition (4.028 AU)Feb 28 - [Feb 21] Asteroid 2015 DP53 Near-Earth Flyby (0.051 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 2014 YS34 Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 11066 Sigurd Closest Approach To Earth (0.796 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 54439 Topeka Closest Approach To Earth (1.490 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 17058 Rocknroll Closest Approach To Earth (1.524 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 14094 Garneau Closest Approach To Earth (2.063 AU)Feb 28 - Asteroid 1154 Astronomia Closest Approach To Earth (2.545 AU)Feb 28 - 15th Anniversary (1990), STS-36 Launch (Space Shuttle Atlantis, DOD)Feb 28 - Corneluis Gemma's 480th Birthday (1535)Feb 29 - Lewis Swift's 195th Birthday (1820)Mar 01 - Comet 75D/Kohoutek Closest Approach To Earth (1.693 AU)Mar 01 - Comet 92P/Sanguin Perihelion (1.825 AU)Mar 01 - Comet P/2013 TW5 (Spacewatch) Closest Approach To Earth (5.044 AU)Mar 01 - Asteroid 161989 Cacus Closest Approach To Earth (0.447 AU)Mar 01 - Asteroid 2281 Biela Closest Approach To Earth (1.485 AU)Mar 01 - Asteroid 12608 Aesop Closest Approach To Earth (1.527 AU)Mar 01 - Asteroid 19535 Rowanatkinson Closest Approach To Earth (2.075 AU)Mar 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 2013 FZ27 At Opposition (47.963 AU)Mar 01 - 35th Anniversary (1980), Pierre Laques & Jean Lechaceux's Discovery of Saturn Moon HeleneMar 02 - [Feb 27] Eutelsat 115 West B/ ABS 3A Falcon 9 LaunchMar 02 - Comet 6P/d'Arrest Perihelion (1.361 AU)Mar 02 - Comet P/2013 O2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.668 AU)Mar 02 - Comet 89P/Russell At Opposition (3.321 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 0992-00547-1 (11.0 Magnitude Star)Mar 02 - [Feb 21] Asteroid 2015 DS53 Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 2015 DR Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 2015 CN13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Mar 02 - Asteroid 656 Beagle Closest Approach To Earth (1.734 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 3869 Norton Closest Approach To Earth (1.751 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 7644 Cslewis Closest Approach To Earth (1.948 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 51824 Mikeanderson Closest Approach To Earth (2.345 AU)Mar 02 - Asteroid 5223 McSween Closest Approach To Earth (2.721 AU)Mar 02 - 20th Anniversary (1995), STS-67 Launch (Space Shuttle Discovery, Spacelab)Mar 03 - Gonets-M/ DOSAAF-85 Rokot/Briz-KM LaunchMar 03 - Asteroid 2007 ED125 Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)Mar 03 - Asteroid 326290 Akhenaten Closest Approach To Earth (0.759 AU)Mar 03 - Asteroid 5451 Plato Closest Approach To Earth (1.611 AU)Mar 03 - Asteroid 3933 Portugal Closest Approach To Earth (2.454 AU)Mar 03 - Asteroid 1268 Libya Closest Approach To Earth (2.712 AU)Mar 03 - 5th Anniversary (2010), Mars Express, Phobos Flyby

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Food for Thought

Russian space agency endorses ISS until 2024

New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the ScaleNew Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale

Story #2

Story #1

Story #3

The NightSky

ISSSightings

NASA-TV

Food forThought

Image ofthe Week

SpaceCalendar

Space Image of the Week

Hubble Images a Dusty Galaxy, Home to an Exploding StarCredit: ESA/Hubble & NASA