Space News Update- March 29, 2013 -

In the News

Story 1: Next space station crew launches on fast track

Story 2: Hunting Massive Stars with Herschel

Story 3: NSF Team Measures Antiproton's Magnetic Charge 680 Times More

Precisely Than in Past Efforts

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Next space station crew launches on fast track

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Hunting Massive Stars with Herschel

NSF Team Measures Antiproton's Magnetic Charge 680 Times More

Precisely Than in Past Efforts

The Night Sky

Friday, March 29· The waning Moon rises in the east around 11 or later this evening, depending on your location. Look above it for the planet Saturn, as shown below.· This is the time of year when the dim Little Dipper juts to the right from Polaris (the Little Dipper's handle-end) during evening hours. The Big Dipper, much brighter, curls over high above it, "dumping water" into it.

Saturday, March 30· Algol in Perseus is heading down in the northwest after dusk. Your last good chance to catch Algol in one of its eclipses this season, at least from North America, may be this evening. Algol should be at minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 9:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, favoring the eastern half of the continent. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.· Early Sunday morning, telescope users south of a line from central Florida through Oregon can watch the double star Beta Scorpii, magnitudes 2.6 and 4.8, emerge from behind the dark limb of the waning gibbous Moon. Map and timetables(for the bright component; the faint one emerges up to a minute or two earlier. Times are in Universal Time. Be sure to scroll down there to find the Reappearance timetable.)

Sky & Telescope

The Night Sky

Sunday, March 31· Following Sirius and Canis Major westward across the sky is Milky-Way-rich Puppis. Now that the Moon is gone, get out your scope and hunt the open clusters and nebulae of Puppis with Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders article and chart in theMarch Sky & Telescope, page 56.

Monday, April 1· The red carbon stars U and V Hydrae, and the Ghost of Jupiter planetary nebula (magnitude 7.7), all reside within a few degrees of each other in central Hydra.

Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

For Denver:

SATELLITE LOCALDURATIO

NMAX ELEV

APPROACH DEPARTURE

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

ISS Fri Mar 29/04:41 AM 2 11 10 above N 10 above NNE

ISS Fri Mar 29/06:16 AM 3 25 10 above NNW 24 above NE

ISS Sat Mar 30/05:26 AM 3 18 10 above NNW 18 above NNE

ISS Sun Mar 31/04:37 AM 2 14 12 above N 13 above NNE

ISS Sun Mar 31/06:12 AM 4 56 10 above NW 39 above E

ISS Mon Apr 01/05:21 AM 4 32 10 above NW 28 above ENE

NASA-TV Highlights

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

April 1, Monday12:20 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35 In-Flight Event with WGME-TV, Portland, ME and NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy – JSC (Public and Media Channels)

Space Calendar

Mar 29 - Comet P/2011 Y2 (Boattini) At Opposition (2.908 AU)Mar 29 - Asteroid 2013 EL89 Near-Earth Flyby (0.012 AU)Mar 29 - Asteroid 2013 EM89 Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU)Mar 29 - Asteroid 9258 Johnpauljones Closest Approach To Earth (1.351 AU)Mar 29 - 15th Anniversary (1998), Galileo, Europa 14 FlybyMar 30 - Comet 275P/Hermann Closest Approach To Earth (1.135 AU)Mar 30 - Comet C/2010 R1 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (5.102 AU)Mar 30 - Comet C/2011 L6 (Boattini) At Opposition (7.533 AU)Mar 30 - Asteroid 41 Daphne Occults HIP 93026 (4.8 Magnitude Star)Mar 30 - [Mar 22] Asteroid 2013 FB8 Near-Earth Flyby (0.011 AU)Mar 31 - Easter SundayMar 31 - European Summer Time Begins - Set Clock Ahead 1 Hour (European Union)Mar 31 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (28 Degrees)Mar 31 - Comet C/2012 X2 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (4.748 AU)Mar 31 - [Mar 22] Asteroid 2001 TA2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)Mar 31 - [Mar 22] Asteroid 2013 FC8 Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU)Mar 31 - Asteroid 1743 Schmidt Closest Approach To Earth (1.146 AU)Mar 31 - Asteroid 8088 Australia Closest Approach To Earth (1.634 AU)Mar 31 - Asteroid 42355 Typhon Closest Approach To Earth (18.052 AU)Apr 01 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #346 (OTM-346)Apr 01 - Asteroid 2032 Ethel Occults HIP 103224 (6.7 Magnitude Star)Apr 01 - Asteroid 2013 EN89 Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 2013 EQ4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 20103 de Vico Closest Approach To Earth (1.488 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 3665 Fitzgerald Closest Approach To Earth (1.667 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 11926 Orinoco Closest Approach To Earth (1.704 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 203 Pompeja Closest Approach To Earth (1.873 AU)Apr 01 - Asteroid 35334 Yarkovsky Closest Approach To Earth (2.069 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

Is NASA Seeking $100 Million for Wild Asteroid Capture Mission

Space Image of the Week

NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven