Space News Update- August 8, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: Perseid Meteor Shower: Best Times to Spot 'Shooting Stars' This Week

Story 2: Coming To A Solar System Near You… Super-Earth!

Story 3: NASA Mars Rover Approaches Long-Term Goal

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Perseid Meteor Shower: Best Times to Spot 'Shooting Stars' This Week

Coming To A Solar System Near You… Super-Earth!

NASA Mars Rover Approaches Long-Term Goal

The Night Sky

Monday, August 8· This evening the Moon shines between the head of Scorpius to its right and the top of the Sagittarius Teapot to its left.· The brightest asteroid, 4 Vesta, is just past opposition this week, shining at magnitude 5.7 in Capricornus. It's an easy find in binoculars in late evening and can be seen with the unaided eye from a dark site once the Moon sets. Use the finder chart in the August Sky & Telescope, page 53, or our Vesta and Ceres finder charts online. The Dawn spacecraft is orbiting Vesta and sending back high-res pictures. Dawn will spiral down to a much lower orbit for closeup imaging by early 2012.Meanwhile, 1 Ceres lurks two constellations farther east in Cetus. It's magnitude 8.3 and brightening. After Dawn departs Vesta in summer 2012, it will fly on to take up orbit around Ceres in February 2015.

Tuesday, August 9· Ganymede, Jupiter's biggest satellite, will disappear into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow around 3:24 a.m. Wednesday morning Eastern Daylight Time. Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian about 44 minutes later, around 4:08 a.m. Wednesday morning EDT. The "red" spot appears very pale orange-tan. It should be visible for about an hour before and after in a good 4-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. A light blue or green filter helps.

Wednesday, August 10· In late afternoon or early evening, the dark edge of the gibbous moon occults the 2.9-magnitude star Pi Sagittarii (in the Teaspoon) for the eastern half of North America. See our article. Here are timetables by city for the star's disappearance and (on the Moon's bright limb) reappearance.

The Night Sky

Thursday, August 11· Look west after nightfall this week for bright Arcturus shining about halfway up the sky. Turn to the right and look northwest at about the same height for the Big Dipper. The two front stars of the Dipper's bowl point upper right toward Polaris farther around to the right due north (outside the frame here). And farther around in the northeast, there's Cassiopeia at about the same height as the Dipper.

Friday, August 12· The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks late tonight, but the light of the practically full Moon fills the sky all night and will hide all but the brightest meteors. (You can look forward to next year, when the Moon will be just a waning crescent.)

ISS Sighting Opportunities

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATIONMAX ELEV

APPROACH DEPARTURE

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

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

For Denver:

For Denver: No ISS Sighting OpportunitiesFor Denver: No ISS Sighting Opportunities

ISS Sat Aug 06/02:48 AM < 1 11 11 above N 11 above N

ISS Sat Aug 06/04:25 AM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Sun Aug 07/05:02 AM 2 16 10 above NNW 16 above NNE

ISS Mon Aug 08/04:04 AM 1 11 10 above N 11 above NNE

ISS Mon Aug 08/05:39 AM 3 38 10 above NW 38 above NE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website

August 9, Tuesday12:55 - 1:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28 Educational Event with the Boy Scouts of America in St. Paul, MN - JSC (All Channels)

August 10, Wednesday11:45 - 12:05 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28 In-Flight Interviews with KTRK-TV, Houston and KTRH Radio, Houston - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)

Space Calendar

Aug 08 - Asteroid 1718 Namibia Closest Approach To Earth (0.755 AU)Aug 09 - Asteroid 5891 Gehrig Closest Approach To Earth (1.432 AU)Aug 09 - Asteroid 6216 San Jose Closest Approach To Earth (1.794 AU)Aug 09 - Asteroid 4628 Laplace Closest Approach To Earth (1.919 AU)Aug 09 - 35th Anniversary (1976), Luna 24 Launch (USSR Moon Sample Return)Aug 10 - Comet C/2011 L3 (McNaught) Perihelion (1.925 AU)Aug 10 - 45th Anniversary (1966), Lunar Orbiter 1 LaunchAug 11 - [Aug 04] Dawn, Vesta Science Phase BeginsAug 11 - Sich 2/ Nigeriasat 2/ NX/ Rasat/ Edusat/ AprizeSat 5 & 6/ PQ-Gemini 1-4/ BPA-2 Dnepr 1 LaunchAug 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower PeakAug 12 - Asteroid 6030 Zolensky Closest Approach To Earth (2.045 AU)Aug 12 - Asteroid 3259 Brownlee Closest Approach To Earth (2.401 AU)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

EARTH MAY NOT HAVE NEEDED MOON FOR LIFE

Space Image of the Week

Cassini Focuses In On Two Moons

Image Credit: NASA