Space News Update- April 4, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: Launch Updates

Story 2:NASA: Mysterious Fireball Season Set to Light Up Night Sky

Story 3: New Image Is Worth 1,235 Potential Alien Planets

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Launch Updates

Next space station crew set for launch later today (Monday, Apr. 4)

Shuttle Endeavour launch postponed to

April 29

NASA: Mysterious Fireball Season Set to Light Up Night Sky

New Image Is Worth 1,235 Potential Alien Planets

The Night SkyMonday, April 4 · Look very high in the northeast after dark this week for the Big Dipper starting to tip over to the left, after standing straight upright on its handle when winter was nearing its end.  Tuesday, April 5 · A small telescope will always show Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Tonight Titan is at greatest elongation, four ring-lengths to Saturn's west. A 6-inch telescope will begin to show the orange color of its smoggy atmosphere. Saturn's other major moons appear much closer to the planet tonight.  Wednesday, April 6 · As twilight fades, look for the Pleiades above the Moon as shown at right (for North America).

Thursday, April 7 · Look for orange Aldebaran to the left of the Moon, and the Pleiades to the Moon's lower right, as shown here. · This evening the Moon's earthlit dark limb will beautifully occult (cover) Kappa and/or Upsilon Tauri for observers in much of western North America. Both stars are magnitude 4.3. Kappa also has a 5.3-magnitude companion 0.1° to its south. See prediction maps and local timetables for Kappa and for Upsilon.

Friday, April 8 · Arcturus, the "Spring Star," is the brightest point high in the east these evenings. Wait up till after about 10 or 10:30 and you can get an early sighting of Vega, the equally bright "Summer Star," rising low in the northeast.

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 Mon Apr 04/04:45 AM 1 12 12 above N 10 above N

ISS Thu Apr 07/06:03 AM 2 11 10 above N 10 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

April 4, Monday11:05 a.m. - ISS Expedition 27 ESA News Conference for Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli (in native language) 4:45 p.m. - Video Feed of the ISS Expedition 27 Crew Pre-Launch Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan 5:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 6:18 p.m. ET) 9 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Pre-Launch, Launch and Post-Launch Interviews

April 6, Wednesday6:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 7:18 p.m. ET followed by the post-docking news conference from Mission Control in Korolev, Russia) 9:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony (Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony scheduled at approx. 10:15 p.m. ET)

April 7, Thursday1 a.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Docking, Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony  Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

Space Calendar · Apr 04 - Soyuz TMA-21 Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 26S) · Apr 04 - Comet C/2011 A2 (Scotti) Closest Approach To Earth (0.886 AU) · Apr 04 - Asteroid 11714 Mikebrown Closest Approach To Earth (1.948 AU) · Apr 05 - Asteroid 11 Parthenope At Opposition (9.9 Magnitude) · Apr 05 - Asteroid 2010 TK55 Near-Earth Flyby (0.069 AU) · Apr 05 - 20th Anniversary (1991), Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Launch · Apr 06 - Comet C/2011 C3 (Gibbs) Closest Approach To Earth (0.810 AU) · Apr 06 - Asteroid 141 Lumen Occults HIP 71890 (6.6 Magnitude Star) · Apr 06 - Asteroid 2009 HE60 Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU) · Apr 06 - Asteroid 1069 Planckia Closest Approach To Earth (1.835 AU) · Apr 07 - Comet C/2011 C3 (Gibbs) Perihelion (1.517 AU) · Apr 07 - Asteroid 9963 Sandage Closest Approach To Earth (2.066 AU) · Apr 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 136108 Haumea At Opposition (50.073 AU) · Apr 08 - Asteroid 26858 Misterrogers Closest Approach To Earth (1.447 AU) · Apr 08 - Asteroid 4547 Massachusetts Closest Approach To Earth (1.792 AU) 

Food for Thought‘In Flight’ Shuttle Orbiter retirement

display planned by Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Space Image of the Week