Space News Update- June 24, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: Genesis Sheds Light On Sun And Solar System Formation

Story 2: Mars Rover Arrives in Florida After Cross-Country Flight

Story 3: A Four Cluster Pile-Up

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Genesis Sheds Light On Sun And Solar System Formation

Mars Rover Arrives in Florida After Cross-Country Flight

A Four Cluster Pile-Up

The Night Sky

Friday, June 24· With summer here, look south-southeast after dark for the bright constellation Scorpius, "the Orion of summer," now reasonably high and standing upright. Like Orion, Scorpius is marked by several 2nd-magnitude blue-white stars and one of the two brightest red supergiants in the sky (Antares in Scorpius, Betelgeuse in Orion). However, Scorpius is some 30° farther south.Saturday, June 25· These evenings, look high in the east to spot bright Vega. The brightest star to its lower left, by two or three fist-widths at arm's length, is Deneb (the head of the Northern Cross). Farther to Vega's lower right is bright Altair. These three stars form the Summer Triangle. The summer Milky Way runs right through it, along the length of the Northern Cross, if you have a dark enough sky. Sunday, June 26· This is the time of year when the Little Dipper floats straight upward from Polaris after dark, like a helium balloon escaped from a summer evening party.

The Night Sky

Monday, June 27· About an hour before sunrise Tuesday morning, look east. Above and below the waning crescent Moon are the Pleiades and Mars, respectively, as shown at right. Binoculars will help.· A tiny new near-Earth asteroid named 2011 MD, discovered by the LINEAR project on June 22nd, passes less than one Earth diameter from Earth's surface. It's estimated to be 8 to 18 meters (25 to 55 feet) wide. It should only reach 12th or 13th magnitude as seen from Hawaii, and 13th or 14th from the mainland United States. See our article. (You can create an ephemeris for your exact observing location (east longitude, latitude, and elevation) using the Minor Planet Center's ephemeris service. Enter the name 2011 MD, the start date (at 0:00 UT) in the form yyyy mm dd, and the output in the format for your charting program or "none" for pencil-plotting on a large-scale star atlas.)

ISS Sighting Opportunities

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATIONMAX ELEV

APPROACH DEPARTURE

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

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

For Denver:

For Denver: No ISS Sighting OpportunitiesFor Denver: No ISS Sighting Opportunities

ISS Fri Jun 24/00:28 AM < 1 12 10 above NW 12 above NWISS Fri Jun 24/09:54 PM 2 12 11 above N 10 above NEISS Fri Jun 24/11:30 PM 1 36 22 above NNW 36 above NISS Sat Jun 25/10:30 PM 2 23 19 above N 17 above ENE

ISS Sun Jun 26/00:05 AM < 1 12 10 above WNW 12 above WNW

ISS Sun Jun 26/09:30 PM 3 15 13 above N 10 above ENEISS Sun Jun 26/11:06 PM 1 46 23 above NW 46 above NWISS Mon Jun 27/10:07 PM 3 33 24 above NNW 22 above E

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website

June 24, Friday10 a.m., 7 p.m. - Replay of NASA Science News Briefing -- Dawn Spacecraft Images/Science from Vesta Asteroid (6/23/11) - HQ(Public, HD and Media Channels)1 p.m., 9:15 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Commander Christopher Ferguson (Captain, U.S Navy, Ret.(47:57) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)2 p.m., 10:05 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Pilot Douglas G. Hurley (Col. USMC (41:04) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)4 p.m., 10:50 p.m. - STS-135 Crew Training Resource Reel (1:21) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)5:25 p.m. - Behind the Scenes - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)6 p.m. - NASA Television Video File - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)8 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission Specialist 1 Sandra Magnus (PhD (34:06) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)8:35 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission 2 Specialist Rex J. Walheim (35:15) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)

June 25, Saturday6 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m., 11 p.m. - STS-135 Crew Training Resource Reel (1:21) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)7 a.m., 11:00 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (6/24/11) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)8 a.m., 8 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Commander Christopher Ferguson (Captain, U.S Navy, Ret. (47:57) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)9 a.m., 9 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Pilot Douglas G. Hurley (Col. USMC (41:04) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)9:42 a.m., 9:42 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission Specialist 1 Sandra Magnus (PhD (34:06) -

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website

HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)10:20 a.m., 10:20 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission 2 Specialist Rex J. Walheim (35:15) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)12 p.m. – NASA-TV Video File - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)4 p.m. - Replay of STS-135 Crew’s Final Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test Launch Pad Question and Answer Session with Media - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)

June 26, Sunday6 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m., 11 p.m. - STS-135 Crew Training Resource Reel (1:21) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)8 a.m., 8 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Commander Christopher Ferguson (Captain, U.S Navy, Ret. (47:57) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)9 a.m., 9 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Pilot Douglas G. Hurley (Col. USMC (41:04) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)9:42 a.m., 9:42 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission Specialist 1 Sandra Magnus (PhD (34:06) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)10:20 a.m., 10:20 p.m. - Interview with STS-135 Mission 2 Specialist Rex J. Walheim (35:15) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)11 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (6/24/11) - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)12 p.m. - NASA TV Video File - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)

Space Calendar

Jun 24 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #287 (OTM-287)Jun 24 - Comet 130P/McNaught-Hughes Perihelion (2.098 AU)Jun 24 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 1639-02448-1 (11.4 Magnitude Star)Jun 24 - Asteroid 2531 Cambridge Closest Approach To Earth (2.105 AU)Jun 24 - Asteroid 2044 Wirt Closest Approach To Earth (2.226 AU)Jun 25 - Comet 234P/LINEAR Closest Approach To Earth (2.785 AU)Jun 25 - Asteroid 17023 Abbott Closest Approach To Earth (1.673 AU)Jun 25 - Kuipper Belt Object 2002 MS4 At Opposition (46.139 AU)Jun 26 - Dwarf Planet 134340 Pluto Closest Approach To Earth (31.062 AU)Jun 26 - Asteroid 2531 Cambridge Occults HIP 89440 (6.0 Magnitude Star)Jun 27 - Cosmos-Kobalt-M N7 Soyuz U LaunchJun 27 - Asteroid 9949 Brontosaurus Closest Approach To Earth (1.302 AU)Jun 27 - 10th Anniversary (2001), Discovery of SAU 060 Meteorite (Mars Meteorite)Jun 27 - 15th Anniversary (1996), Galileo, Ganymede 1 Flyby

Food for ThoughtGetting Ready for the Next Big Solar Storm

Space Image of the WeekFirst TV Image of Mars