Space News Update- May 13, 2014 -

In the News

Story 1: NASA Spots Square-Shaped 'Hole' in the Sun

Story 2:'Hypervelocity Star' May Reveal Clues about Dark Matter in Milky Way

Story 3:

Satellite operators to proceed with launches from Russia

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

NASA Spots Square-Shaped 'Hole' in the Sun

'Hypervelocity Star' May Reveal Clues About Dark Matter in Milky

Way

Satellite operators to proceed with launches from Russia

The Night SkyTuesday, May 13The bright Moon, practically full, shines near Saturn. The Moon creeps to within 1° to 3° of Saturn before dawn Wednesday morning for the Americas. For New Zealand and most of Australia, the Moon occults (covers and uncovers) Saturn during nighttime; map and timetables.Wednesday, May 14Full Moon (exact at 3:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.) Look for Saturn to its upper right. Once the Moon is well up after dark, look for Antares and the other stars of upper Scorpius below it.Thursday, May 15Jupiter's moon Io crosses the face of the planet from 9:41 to 11:57 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Io's tiny but more visible shadow follows it across from 10:42 p.m. to 12:59 a.m. EDT.Friday, May 16Look for Mercury as twilight darkens. It's low in the west-northwest, far to the lower right of Jupiter. Mercury is coming into its highest apparition of 2014 for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes.Saturday, May 17Arcturus shines high in the southeast these evenings. Vega shines much lower in the northeast. Look a third of the way from Arcturus to Vega for dim little Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, with its one modestly bright star, Alphecca or Gemma. Two thirds of the way from Arcturus to Vega glimmers the dim Keystone of Hercules. Sky & Telescope

Saturn in occultation behind the moon, on Sept. 18, 1997. Credit: Victor C. Rogus.Space.com

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears

Wed May 14, 4:50 AM 4 min 17° 10 above S 13 above E

Fri May 16, 4:49 AM 4 min 52° 13 above SSW 31 above ENE

Sat May 17, 4:02 AM 3 min 28° 24 above SSE 15 above E

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

• May 13, Tuesday3 p.m. - ISS Expedition 39 Farewells and Hatch Closure Coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 3:15 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)6:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 39/Soyuz TMA-11M Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 6:36 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)8:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 39/Soyuz TMA-11M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 9:04 p.m. ET; landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan scheduled at 9:58 p.m. ET) - JSC via Kazakhstan (All Channels)

• May 14, Wednesday12 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 39/Soyuz TMA-11M Landing and Post-Landing Activities - HQ (All Channels)12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 39/Soyuz TMA-11M Landing and Post-Landing Activities; scheduled to include post-landing interviews with Expedition 39 Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the return of Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin to Chkalovsky Airfield near Star City, Russia (some portion of the Wakata interview might be in Japanese) - JSC (All Channels)

• May 15, Thursday10 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 40/41 Crew Departure from Star City, Russia for Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC (All Channels) 12 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40 In-Flight Interview with KMGH-TV, Denver - JSC (All Channels)

May 13 - [May 06] Soyuz Return To Earth (International Space Station) May 13 - Asteroid 166614 Zsazsa Closest Approach To Earth (1.647 AU) May 14 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #379 (OTM-379) May 14 - Moon Occults Saturn May 14 - Comet 295P/LINEAR Perihelion (2.049 AU) May 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 50000 Quaoar Occults 2UCAC 26269279 (14.5 Magnitude Star) May 14 - Asteroid 9941 Iguanodo Closest Approach To Earth (1.374 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 4122 Ferrari Closest Approach To Earth (1.437 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 3267 Glo Closest Approach To Earth (2.091 AU) May 14 - 5th Anniversary (2009), Herschel/Planck Launch May 14 - 150th Anniversary (1864), Orgueil Meteorite Shower in France May 15 - GPS 2F-6 Delta 4 Launch May 15 - Venus Passes 1.3 Degrees from Uranus May 15 - Asteroid 9 Metis At Opposition (9.6 Magnitude) May 15 - Asteroid 4763 Ride Closest Approach To Earth (1.493 AU) May 15 - Asteroid 1501 Baade Closest Approach To Earth (2.090 AU) May 15 - Asteroid 7818 Muirhead Closest Approach To Earth (2.241 AU) May 15 - Plutino 38628 Huya At Opposition (27.556 AU) May 16 - Express AM-4R Proton-M Briz-M Launch May 16 - Comet P/2013 EW90 (Tenagra) At Opposition (3.142 AU) May 16 - Centaur Object 10199 Chariklo Occults 2UCAC 15354997 (14.8 Magnitude Star) May 16 - Asteroid 2014 HL132 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU) May 16 - Asteroid 697 Galilea Closest Approach To Earth (2.035 AU) May 16 - 45th Anniversary (1969), Venera 5, Venus Impact May 17 - [May 10] Cassini, Titan Flyby May 17 - Comet P/2012 B1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (3.165 AU) May 17 - Comet C/2014 G1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (4.679 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 2010 JO33 Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU) May 17 - [May 06] Asteroid 2014 JH15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU) May 17 - [May 10] Asteroid 2014 JA31 Near-Earth Flyby (0.066 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 3498 Belton Closest Approach To Earth (1.584 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 7220 Philnicholson Closest Approach To Earth (1.753 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 7755 Haute-Provence Closest Approach To Earth (1.764 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 6824 Mallory Closest Approach To Earth (2.692 AU) May 17 - 45th Anniversary (1969), Venera 6, Venus Impact

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

The launchings of twin spacecraft Venera 5 and 6 were timed so they would arrive at Venus one day apart. Venera 6 transmitted data for only 51 minutes as it fell, about 2 minutes less than Venera 5. Just before the probe was presumably crushed, its instruments indicated an atmospheric pressure of 26 Earth atmospheres and an altitude of 10-12 km. (see more)

Food for Thought

NASA West Antarctic Ice Sheet Findings: Glacier Loss Appears Unstoppable

Time Lapsed Picture of Glacier

Space Image of the Week

Image Credit: Viking Project, USGS, NASA

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars