Space News Update- December 13, 2013 -

In the News

Story 1: Hubble Space Telescope Sees Evidence of Water Vapor Venting off

Story 2: ESA Teams Are Ready for China's Moon Landing

Story 3: ISS Managers Mull Coolant System Repair Options

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Evidence of Water Vapor Venting

off

This graphic shows the location of water vapor detected over Europa's south pole in observations taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in December 2012. 

ESA Teams Are Ready for China's Moon Landing

ISS Managers Mull Coolant System Repair Options

The Night Sky

Friday, December 13 The Geminid meteor shower should be at its peak tonight, from 9 or 10 p.m. until dawn Saturday morning. The best viewing time is actually after your local moonset: in the hour before the beginning of morning twilight Saturday. But bright meteors will show even through the moonlight earlier. See our article, Geminid Meteors to Pierce the Moonlight. The eclipsing binary star Algol should be at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 9:50 p.m. EST Friday evening.

Saturday, December 14 The bright gibbous Moon shines in Taurus this evening. Through the glare, can you make out the Pleiades roughly a fist-width to its upper left? Easier is Aldebaran farther to the Moon's lower left. Brighter Capella shines much farther left of the Moon.

Sunday, December 15 This evening look for Aldebaran just 2° to 4° lower right of the bright Moon (for North America), as shown at right. Although they look close together, Aldebaran is 1.5 billion times farther away.

Monday, December 16 Full Moon tonight (exact at 4:28 a.m. Tuesday morning EST). As the Moon climbs the eastern sky this evening, look for Aldebaran to its upper right, Aldebaran-colored Betelgeuse to its lower right, Capella farther to its upper left, and Jupiter far to its lower left.

Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date VisibleMax

HeightAppears Disappears

Fri Dec 13, 5:56 PM 3 min 29° 18 above WNW 19 above NNE

Sat Dec 14, 5:09 PM 4 min 44° 29 above W 11 above NE

Sat Dec 14, 6:46 PM < 1 min 12° 10 above NW 12 above NW

Sun Dec 15, 5:57 PM 3 min 16° 11 above WNW 13 above N

Mon Dec 16, 5:09 PM 5 min 21° 12 above WNW 11 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

December 13, Friday9:40 a.m. - ISS Expedition 38 In-Flight Interviews with the Associated Press and space.com - JSC (All Channels)

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Dec 13 - Geminids Meteor Shower Peak Dec 14 - [Dec 07] Chang'e 3, Moon Landing (China) Dec 14 - Asteroid 2009 XP2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU) Dec 14 - Asteroid 1381 Danubia Closest Approach To Earth (1.269 AU) Dec 14 - Asteroid 4103 Chahine Closest Approach To Earth (1.565 AU) Dec 14 - Asteroid 17062 Bardot Closest Approach To Earth (2.255 AU) Dec 14 - 10th Anniversary (2003), Nozomi, Mars Flyby Dec 15 - Comet 291P/NEAT Perihelion (2.591 AU) Dec 15 - Comet P/2012 O2 (McNaught) At Opposition (3.233 AU) Dec 15 - Asteroid 1254 Erfordia Occults HIP 38601 (6.9 Magnitude Star) Dec 16 - Comet P/2013 O2 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (2.146 AU) Dec 16 - Comet C/2011 J2 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (3.017 AU) Dec 16 - Comet C/2011 J2 (LINEAR) At Opposition (3.017 AU) Dec 16 - Comet C/2013 U2 (Holvorcem) Closest Approach To Earth (4.943 AU) Dec 16 - Comet P/2010 TO20 (LINEAR-Grauer) Closest Approach To Earth (4.994 AU) Dec 16 - Asteroid 2063 Bacchus Closest Approach To Earth (0.302 AU) Dec 16 - Asteroid 48575 Hawaii Closest Approach To Earth (1.768 AU)  

Food for Thought

See If You Can #SpotOrion

Space Image of the Week

Crab Nebula, as Seen by Herschel and Hubble   Image Credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MESS Key Programme Supernova Remnant

Team; NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University)