Space News Update- January 25, 2013 -
In the News
Story 1: Cassini Spacecraft Reveals Unprecedented Saturn Storm
Story 2:NASA Officially Joins ESA's 'Dark Universe' Mission
Story 3: Did An 8th-Century Gamma-Ray Burst Irradiate Earth?
Departments
The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities
NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought
Space Image of the Week
Cassini Spacecraft Reveals Unprecedented Saturn Storm
NASA Officially Joins ESA's 'Dark Universe' Mission
Did An 8th-Century Gamma-Ray Burst Irradiate Earth?
The Night Sky
Friday, January 25 · The Moon this evening shines not quite midway between Procyon, to its lower right, and Pollux, to the Moon's upper left.
Saturday, January 26 · Full Moon (exact at 11:38 p.m. EST). The Moon is in dim Cancer, with Procyon shining off to its right or upper right during evening, and Pollux and Castor above it. · Algol in Perseus is at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 6:26 p.m. EST. Watch it gradually rebrighten though the evening. Sunday, January 27 · The Moon shines high in the east by 9 p.m. Lower left of it, by roughly a fist-width at arm's length, sparkles Regulus in Leo, as shown here. The Sickle of Leo extends upper left from Regulus. The emergence of Leo in the evening sky is always an early sign that spring is eventually coming.
Monday, January 28 · Once the waning gibbous Moon is well up in the east in mid- to late evening, look upper left of it for Regulus with the Sickle of Leo extending beyond, as shown here. Look about twice as far to the Moon's right for Alphard, the fire-colored heart of Hydra.
Sky & Telescope
ISS Sighting Opportunities
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information
For Denver:
SATELLITE LOCAL DURATIONMAX ELEV
APPROACH DEPARTURE
DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)
ISS Fri Jan 25/06:21 AM 4 2811 above
NNW20 above ENE
ISS Sat Jan 26/05:33 AM 3 19 18 above N 12 above ENE
ISS Sun Jan 27/04:44 AM < 1 12 12 above NE 10 above NE
ISS Sun Jan 27/06:17 AM 4 63 12 above NW 35 above ESE
ISS Mon Jan 28/05:29 AM 2 36 34 above NNE 25 above ENE
NASA-TV Highlights
January 28, Monday11 a.m. - ISS Update - JSC (All Channels)1 p.m. - TDRS-K Prelaunch News Conference - KSC (All Channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website
Space Calendar
JPL Space Calendar
Jan 25 - Comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (1.738 AU) Jan 25 - Comet 259P/Garradd Perihelion (1.798 AU) Jan 25 - Comet P/2012 WA34 (Lemmon-PANSTARRS) Perihelion (3.173 AU) Jan 25 - Comet P/2010 T2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (3.627 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia Occults TYC 1865-01675-1 (12.1 Magnitude Star) Jan 25 - Asteroid 5594 Jimmiller Occults HIP 85405 (6.5 Magnitude Star) Jan 25 - Asteroid 4457 van Gogh Closest Approach To Earth (1.465 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 88292 Bora-Bora Closest Approach To Earth (1.760 AU) Jan 25 - 30th Anniversary (1983), IRAS Launch Jan 26 - STSat 2C Naro 1 Launch Jan 26 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia Occults 2UCAC 40478955 (12.4 Magnitude Star) Jan 26 - Asteroid 951 Gaspra Closest Approach To Earth (1.289 AU) Jan 26 - Asteroid 9133 d'Arrest Closest Approach To Earth (1.916 AU) Jan 26 - 35th Anniversary (1978), IUE Launch Jan 27 - IGS-Radar-4/ IGS-Optical-5 H-2A Launch Jan 27 - Asteroid 34210 (2000 QV67) Occults HIP 29931 (6.1 Magnitude Star) Jan 27 - [Jan 21] Asteroid 2013 BR18 Near-Earth Flyby (0.062 AU) Jan 27 - 105th Anniversary (1908), Philibert Melotte's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Pasiphae Jan 28 - Comet 246P/NEAT Perihelion (2.880 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 3925 Tret'yakov Occults HIP 45758 (6.6 Magnitude Star) Jan 28 - Asteroid 2011 BY10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 2004 Lexell Closest Approach To Earth (1.110 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 3709 Polypoites Closest Approach To Earth (4.107 AU)
Food for Thought
Into deep space: second U.S. firm takes aim at mining asteroids
Space Image of the Week
Matijevic Hill Panorama
