Space News Update- September 19, 2011 -
In the News
Story 1: SpaceX to Dock With ISS on Next Flight: NASA Maybe – Russia Nyet
Story 2:Ice Giant Neptune's Fiery Glow
Story 3: New Video Reveals Giant Asteroid Vesta as Seen by Spacecraft
Departments
The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities
Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights
Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week
SpaceX to Dock With ISS on Next Flight: NASA Maybe – Russia Nyet
Ice Giant Neptune's Fiery Glow
New Video Reveals Giant Asteroid Vesta as Seen by Spacecraft
The Night SkyMonday, Sept. 19 · Cygnus has a reputation for being poor in deep-sky objects despite its Milky Way richness. But maybe that's because you've never tried teasing out the Berkeley clusters at the center of the Northern Cross. See Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders article, charts, and photos in the September Sky & Telescope, page 56. Plan your observing session for after dinnertime, when Cygnus is at its highest and the Moon isn't yet risen. Tuesday, Sept. 20 · Last-quarter Moon (exact at 9:39 a.m. EDT). The Moon rises around midnight daylight saving time, in the feet of Gemini left of Orion. Wednesday, Sept. 21 · Jupiter's moon Ganymede disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow off the planet's western limb early Thursday morning around 3:30 a.m. EDT. Ganymede reappears out of eclipse closer to Jupiter's limb around 5:34 a.m. EDT. · Thursday, Sept. 22 · Before dawn tomorrow, look east and you can spot Mars upper left of the waning Moon, as shown here. Is this the first time you've seen Mars this year?
Friday, Sept. 23 · The September equinox occurs at 5:05 a.m. EDT this morning, when the Sun crosses the equator heading south for the season. Fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere, spring in the Southern Hemisphere. · As summer turns to fall, the Sagittarius Teapot moves west of due south right after dark and tips steeply, as if pouring away the last of summer.
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 Tue Sep 20/06:04 AM 4 48 10 above SSW 39 above E
ISS Wed Sep 21/05:07 AM 2 20 16 above SSE 17 above ESE
ISS Thu Sep 22/05:43 AM 3 85 24 above SW 27 above NE
ISS Fri Sep 23/04:47 AM < 1 30 30 above E 22 above E
ISS Fri Sep 23/06:20 AM 5 25 11 above W 11 above NNE
NASA-TV Highlights
September 19, Monday10:55 a.m. - ISS Expedition 29 In-Flight Interview with Dr. Jane Goodall - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)
September 20, Tuesday12:25 p.m. - ISS Expedition 29 In-Flight Event with the “Destination Station” exhibit at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 30 Crew News Conference (Pettit, Kuipers and Kononenko) - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)4 - 5:30 p.m. - Live Interviews with Expedition 30 Flight Engineer Don Pettit - JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)
September 22, Thursday6:30 a.m. - Video B-Roll Feed of ISS Expedition 28 Flight Engineer Ron Garan - JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)7 - 8:30 a.m. - Live Interviews with ISS Expedition 28 Flight Engineer Ron Garan - JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)
Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.
Space Calendar· Sep 19 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #291 (OTM-291) · Sep 19 - Comet P/2011 R2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.071 AU) · Sep 19 - Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky Closest Approach To Earth (1.371 AU) · Sep 19 - Asteroid 472 Roma Closest Approach To Earth (1.465 AU) · Sep 19 - Asteroid 25399 Vonnegut Closest Approach To Earth (1.810 AU) · Sep 19 - Asteroid 232 Russia Closest Approach To Earth (1.944 AU) · Sep 20 - Arabsat 5-C/ SES-2 Ariane 5 Launch · Sep 20 - Comet C/2011 G1 (McNaught) Perihelion (2.027 AU) · Sep 21 - Cosmos-Garpun N-1 Proton M-Briz M Launch · Sep 21 - Comet C/2011 Q4 (SWAN) Perihelion (1.125 AU) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults TYC 2902-00400-1 (11.9 Magnitude Star) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 194 Prokne Occults HIP 90083 (6.4 Magnitude Star) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 2009 UR5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.076 AU) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 1501 Baade Closest Approach To Earth (1.014 AU) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 4768 Hartley Closest Approach To Earth (1.499 AU) · Sep 21 - Asteroid 1777 Gehrels Closest Approach To Earth (1.639 AU) · Sep 22 - Atlantic Bird 7 Zenit 3SL Launch · Sep 22 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia Occults UCAC2 21409431 (11.5 Magnitude Star) · Sep 22 - Asteroid 30826 Coulomb Closest Approach To Earth (1.541 AU) · Sep 22 - Asteroid 17768 Tigerlily Closest Approach To Earth (1.884 AU) · Sep 22 - Asteroid 5738 Billpickering Closest Approach To Earth (2.413 AU) · Sep 23 - Autumnal Equinox, 09:04 UT · Sep 23 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia Occults 2UCAC 21409782 (13.0 Magnitude Star) · Sep 23 - Asteroid 2007 TD Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU) · Sep 23 - Asteroid 9133 d'Arrest Closest Approach To Earth (1.184 AU) · Sep 23 - 165th Anniversary (1846), Johann Galle's Discovery of Neptune
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Space Image of the Week
