Space News Update- July 15, 2013 -

In the News

Story 1: Dream Chaser ETA completes opening tow tests at Dryden

Story 2: Neptune's Newest Moon

Story 3: NASA’s IBEX Provides First View Of the Solar System’s Tail

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Dream Chaser ETA completes opening tow tests at Dryden

>

Neptune's Newest Moon

NASA’s IBEX Provides First View Of the Solar System’s Tail

The Night Sky

Monday, July 15· First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:18 p.m. EDT). Look quite close to the Moon for Spica. Saturn glows off to their upper left. Think photo opportunity.The Moon occults (hides) Spica for skywatchers in Hawaii and parts of Central and South America; see map and timetables.

Tuesday, July 16· This evening the Moon shines below Saturn, with Spica now off to their lower right.

Wednesday, July 17· The Moon stands in central Libra this evening, about midway (for the longitudes of the Americas) between Saturn to its right and the stars of upper Scorpius to its left.

Thursday, July 18· Look lower left of the gibbous Moon this evening for the red supergiant Antares. Also nearby are other stars of upper Scorpius.

Friday, July 19· Telescope users observing the waxing gibbous Moon from most of North America tonight can watch the Moon's invisible dark limb creep up to and occult the 4.4-magnitude star Xi Ophiuchi. Only Florida and the West miss out.Some times of the star's disappearance: in western Massachusetts, 12:38 a.m. EDT; Atlanta, 12:32 a.m. EDT; Chicago, 11:10 p.m. CDT; Winnipeg, 10:50 p.m. CDT; Kansas City, 11:00 p.m. CDT; Austin, 11:07 p.m. CDT; Denver, 9:39 p.m. MDT. Start watching early.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

For Denver:

Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears

Tue Jul 16, 4:39

AM

4 min 23° 11 above S 15 above E

Wed Jul 17, 3:53

AM

3 min 13° 12 above SSE 10 above E

Thu Jul 18, 4:40

AM

3 min 73° 19 above SW 38 above ENE

Fri Jul 19, 3:53 AM 3 min 39° 37 above SSE 16 above ENE

NASA-TV Highlights

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

July 16, Tuesday7 a.m. - ISS Expedition 36 U.S. Spacewalk Coverage (Spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:10 a.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)8 - 9:30 a.m. - Recently Returned Astronaut Tom Marshburn Discusses Spaceflight at Washington’s Newseum during Live Spacewalk - HQ (Education Channel)

July 17, Wednesday12:05 p.m. - ISS Mission Control On-Console Interview with the Digital Learning Network - JSC (All Channels)1:30 p.m. – Expedition 37/38 Crew Video B-Roll Feed – JSC (All Channels)2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 37/38 Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)

July 18, Thursday1 p.m. - 2013 Agency Honor Awards - HQ (Public Channel)1:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 36 In-Flight Interviews with KGO-TV, San Francisco and WDAY-TV, Fargo, N.D. - JSC (Education and Media Channels)

July 19, Friday9:20 a.m. - ISS Expedition 36 In-Flight Event for the European Space Agency - JSC (Public and Education Channels)

Space Calendar

Jul 15 - Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Closest Approach To Earth (1.208 AU)Jul 15 - Comet 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu At Opposition (3.570 AU)Jul 15 - Comet 174P/Echeclus Closest Approach To Earth (5.558 AU)Jul 15 - Asteroid 2010 AF30 Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)Jul 15 - [Jul 10] Telesconference: Human SpaceflightJul 16 - Comet C/2012 K8 (Lemmon) At Opposition (6.278 AU)Jul 16 - Asteroid 4769 Castalia Closest Approach To Earth (0.510 AU)Jul 16 - Asteroid 2069 Hubble Closest Approach To Earth (2.739 AU)Jul 16-18 - 2nd Annual International Space Station Research & Development Conference, Denver, ColoradoJul 17 - Comet 170P/Christensen Closest Approach To Earth (2.659 AU)Jul 17 - Asteroid 2010 AF3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)Jul 17 - Asteroid 153349 (2001 PJ9) Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU)Jul 17 - Asteroid 397 Vienna Closest Approach To Earth (1.393 AU)Jul 17 - Asteroid 8256 Shenzhou Closest Approach To Earth (1.497 AU)Jul 17 - Asteroid 6373 Stern Closest Approach To Earth (1.763 AU)Jul 17 - Event: Future Space 2013, Washington DCJul 18 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #354 (OTM-354)Jul 18 - Comet 4P/Faye At Opposition (2.181 AU)Jul 18 - Asteroid 2012 AM10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU)Jul 18 - Asteroid 2011 KP16 Near-Earth Flyby (0.089 AU)Jul 19 - [Jul 12] Cassini, Earth PhotoJul 19 - [Jul 09] MUOS 2 Atlas 5 LaunchJul 19 - [Jul 14] Comet P/2013 N3 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (2.392 AU)Jul 19 - Asteroid 8 Flora At Opposition (8.6 Magnitude)Jul 19 - Asteroid 71885 Denning Closest Approach To Earth (1.524 AU)Jul 19 - Asteroid 7307 Takei Closest Approach To Earth (1.892 AU)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

Kepler spacecraft should pin down 'alien Earth' planets despite glitch

Space Image of the Week

Rare Clear View of AlaskaImage Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC