Space News Update- December 7, 2012 -

In the News

Story 1: Apollo 17, 40 Years Later: An Astronaut Reflects

Story 2: What is Creating Gullies on Vesta?

Story 3: SpaceX books first two launches with U.S. military

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Apollo 17, 40 Years Later: An Astronaut Reflects

What is Creating Gullies on Vesta? >

SpaceX books first two launches with U.S. military

The Night Sky

Friday, December 7 · This is the time of year when the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, passes the zenith in early evening for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes. It goes exactly through your zenith if you're at 41° north latitude (New York, Denver). When this happens depends on your location.

Saturday, December 8 · Since Jupiter is just past opposition, the asteroids Ceres and Vesta in Jupiter's vicinity are near their oppositions too. Vesta's opposition is tonight. It is magnitude 6.4, and Ceres is 6.9. Spot them in binoculars this month using our finder chart in the December Sky & Telescope, page 50, or online. They're near the horns of Taurus. · Algol in Perseus, the prototype eclipsing binary star, should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 12:29 a.m. Sunday morning EST; 9:29 p.m. Saturday evening PST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten. · Jupiter's moon Io reappears out of eclipse from Jupiter's shadow at 11:49 p.m. EST; 8:49 p.m. PST. For all of Jupiter's satellite events, as well as all of the Great Red Spot's transit times, get our handy new JupiterMoons app!

The Night Sky

Sunday, December 9 · Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit the planet's central meridian around 9:15 p.m. EST. · At dawn Monday morning, look upper left of the Moon for Saturn, and lower left of the Moon for little Alpha Librae partway down to Venus and Mercury, as shown at right. If you catch Alpha Lib before dawn becomes too bright, binoculars will show it to be a wide double star.

Monday, December 10 · Low in the southeast in early dawn Tuesday morning, the waning crescent Moon is beautifully paired with Venus, as shown at right.

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 Sun Dec 09/06:16 PM 1 16 11 above S 16 above SSE

ISS Mon Dec 10/05:27 PM 2 11 10 above SSE 10 above ESE

ISS Mon Dec 10/07:02 PM < 1 19 13 above WSW 19 above WSW

NASA-TV Highlights

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

No Special Programming. Watch regular daily programming on NASA-TV

Space Calendar

· Dec 07 - Cosmos 2482-2484 (Rodnik-S N1, N2 & N3) Rokot KM Launch · Dec 07 - Comet C/2012 J1 (Catalina) Perihelion (3.159 AU) · Dec 07 - Asteroid 3720 Hokkaido Closest Approach To Earth (1.525 AU) · Dec 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 19521 Chaos At Opposition (40.592 AU) · Dec 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 2004 XR190 At Opposition (56.754 AU) · Dec 07 - Lecture: GRAIL Unwraps the Moon, Pasadena, California · Dec 07 - 40th Anniversary (1972), Apollo 17 Launch (Last Manned Mission to the Moon) · Dec 08 - Yamal 402 Proton M-Briz M Launch · Dec 08 - Asteroid 2062 Aten Closest Approach To Earth (0.211 AU) · Dec 08 - Asteroid 294727 Dennisritchie Closest Approach To Earth (1.763 AU) · Dec 08 - 20th Anniversary (1992), Galileo, 2nd Earth Flyby · Dec 09 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Titan · Dec 09 - Asteroid 4 Vesta At Opposition (6.7 Magnitude) · Dec 09 - Asteroid 9000 Hal Closest Approach To Earth (1.532 AU) · Dec 09 - Asteroid 4 Vesta Closest Approach To Earth (1.588 AU) · Dec 09 - Asteroid 10957 Alps Closest Approach To Earth (1.701 AU) · Dec 10 - 20th Anniversary (1992), Mihonoseki Meteorite Fall (Fell Through Roof Of A House In Japan)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

Golden Spike to Offer Commercial Human Missions to the Moon

Space Image of the Week

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/NOAA NGDC