Space News Update- January 21, 2013 -

In the News

Story 1: Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake

Story 2:Watery Science ‘Jackpot’ Discovered by Curiosity

Story 3:

NASA satellite attached to booster rocket for launch 

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake

Watery Science ‘Jackpot’ Discovered by Curiosity

NASA Satellite Attached To Booster Rocket For Launch

The Night Sky

Sky & Telescope

Monday, January 21 · Close conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter. Look for a bright "star" unusually near the waxing gibbous Moon this evening, as shown above.

Tuesday, January 22 · By now the Moon has moved eastward from Jupiter along its orbit to shine well to Jupiter's left after dinnertime.

Wednesday, January 23 · Week by week, watch the Big Dipper rearing higher up in the northeast as we leave more of winter behind us. · Two of Jupiter's moons emerge out of eclipse by Jupiter's shadow tonight: Europa at 7:05 p.m. EST, and Io at 12:16 a.m. EST. With a telescope, watch both swell into view off Jupiter's eastern limb. Meanwhile, Jupiter's Great Red Spot rotates across the planet's centerline around 11:27 p.m. EST.

Thursday, January 24 · The bright Moon shines about midway between Betelgeuse in Orion's shoulder to its right, and Pollux in Gemini to the Moon's left. The star above Pollux is Castor. Below the Moon is Procyon in Canis Minor.

Friday, January 25 · This evening the Moon shines not quite midway between Procyon to its lower right and Pollux to its upper left. · Around 10 p.m. this week brilliant Sirius is at its highest due south. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and are you far enough south to see the second brightest, Canopus is at its highest point when Beta Canis Majoris — Mirzim, the star a few finger-widths to the right of Sirius — is at its highest point crossing the meridian. Look straight down from Mirzim then.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE

DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)

ISS Mon Jan 21/06:30 AM 2 12 10 above NNW 10 above NNE

ISS Tue Jan 22/05:40 AM 1 10 10 above N 10 above NNE

ISS Wed Jan 23/06:25 AM 4 16 10 above NNW 10 above ENE

ISS Thu Jan 24/05:37 AM 2 13 13 above N 10 above NE

ISS Fri Jan 25/06:21 AM 4 27 11 above NNW 20 above ENE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

January 23, Wednesday10:30 a.m. - Martin Luther King Jr., Program - HQ (Education Channel)

January 24, Thursday11:10 a.m. - ISS Expedition 34 In-Flight Event for the Canadian Space Agency with the Canadian Broadcasting System - JSC (Public and Media Channels)11:30 a.m. - ISS Update - JSC (Public and Media Channels)12:05 p.m. - ISS Mission Control Console Interview with the Digital Learning Network - JSC (All Channels)

January 25, Friday1 p.m. - ISS Expedition 34 In-Flight Educational Event with the Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science in Davenport, Ia. - JSC (All Channels)

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Jan 21 - Asteroid 2011 TO Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU) Jan 21 - Asteroid 2228 Soyuz-Apollo Closest Approach To Earth (1.780 AU) Jan 21 - Asteroid 904 Rockefellia Closest Approach To Earth (1.822 AU) Jan 22 - Moon Occults Jupiter Jan 22 - Comet 87P/Bus Closest Approach To Earth (2.080 AU) Jan 22 - Asteroid 3122 Florence Closest Approach To Earth (1.613 AU) Jan 22 - Asteroid 166614 Zsazsa Closest Approach To Earth (1.618 AU) Jan 22 - Asteroid 9954 Brachiosaurus Closest Approach To Earth (1.641 AU) Jan 22 - Asteroid 171183 Haleakala Closest Approach To Earth (1.918 AU) Jan 22 - Asteroid 8720 Takamizawa Closest Approach To Earth (2.316 AU) Jan 22 - 45th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 5 Launch Jan 23 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia Occults 2UCAC 40479196 (12.5 Magnitude Star) Jan 23 - Asteroid 9622 Terryjones Closest Approach To Earth (0.901 AU) Jan 23 - Asteroid 1718 Namibia Closest Approach To Earth (1.905 AU) Jan 23 - Asteroid 2866 Hardy Closest Approach To Earth (2.356 AU) Jan 24 - Asteroid 3000 Leonardo Closest Approach To Earth (1.479 AU) 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 - [Jan 17] 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

Food for ThoughtHave Venusian volcanoes been caught in

the act?

Space Image of the Week

A computer-generated perspective view of Reull Vallis was created using data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. Credit and Copyright:

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Gorgeous Images: Ancient River on Mars?