Space News Update- December 9, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: NASA Mars Rover Finds Mineral Vein Deposited by Water

Story 2:Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Fields – The Faraday Sky

Story 3: New Sub-mm Camera Reveals Dark Side of Universe

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

NASA Mars Rover Finds Mineral Vein Deposited by Water

Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Fields – The Faraday Sky

New Sub-mm Camera Reveals Dark Side of Universe

The Night Sky

Friday, Dec. 9Look lower right of the full Moon for Aldebaran this evening, and higher above Aldebaran for the Pleiades. Way off to their left shines Capella.

A total eclipse of the Moonhappens for western North Americabefore dawn Saturday morning.Look for the dim, ruddy eclipsed Moon sinking low in the west-northwest before or during dawn. Seen from Hawaii, Australia, and Japan, the eclipsed Moon hangs high in middle of the night. As seen from much of Asia, it's in the evening sky on the 10th.The Moon (in Taurus) is totally within the umbra of Earth’s shadow for 52 minutes, from 14:05 to 14:57 December 10th Universal Time (GMT). The partial stages before and after totality each last for more than an hour. See our article A Dawn Eclipse of the Moon, with full details and observing projects.

The Night Sky

Saturday, Dec. 10This evening the Moon shines amid Capella to its upper left, Aldebaran to its upper right, Betelgeuse to its lower right, and Pollux and Castor farther to the Moon’s lower left.The eclipsing variable star Algol is at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 8:46 p.m. EST.

Sunday, Dec. 11Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 7:16 p.m. EST. For timetables of all of Jupiter's Red Spot transits and satellite events this month, good worldwide, see "Action at Jupiter" in the DecemberSky & Telescope, page 60.

Monday, Dec. 12By mid-evening the waning gibbous Moon is up in the east. It's between Pollux and Castor to its upper left and Procyon to its lower right. Much farther to Procyon's right, and perhaps lower, twinkles brighter Sirius.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

For Denver:

No Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV Highlights

December 10, Saturday 7 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/5) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 8 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/6) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 9 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/7) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 10 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/8) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 11 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/9) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 12 p.m., 4:30 p.m. - NASA Television Video File – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 1 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit (Ph. D.) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 2 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers (M.D.) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 3 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer/Commander Oleg Kononenko – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 3:30 p.m. - Expedition 30/31 Crew Training Resource Reel – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 8 p.m. - Replay of NASA Future Forum Seattle – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)

 

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

NASA-TV Highlights

December 11, Sunday 9 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit (Ph. D.) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 10 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers (M.D.) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 11 p.m. - Interview with Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer/Commander Oleg Kononenko – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 12 p.m. - NASA Television Video File – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 1 p.m. - Expedition 30/31 Crew Training Resource Reel – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 2 p.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/5) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 3 p.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/6) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 4 p.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/7) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 5 p.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/8) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 6 p.m. - Replay of ISS Update (12/9) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 7 p.m. - NASA Television Video File – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 8 p.m. - Replay of NASA Future Forum Seattle – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)

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

Space Calendar• Dec 09 -[Dec 03] Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #301 (OTM-301) • Dec 09 - Comet 97P/Metcalf-Brewington Closest Approach To Earth (1.809 AU) • Dec 09 - Asteroid 2011 WU4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU) • Dec 09 - Asteroid 1712 Angola Closest Approach To Earth (2.668 AU) • Dec 09 - NASA's 2011 Future Forum, Seattle, Washington • Dec 10 -[Dec 04] Total Lunar Eclipse • Dec 10 - Luch 5A/ Amos 5 Proton M-Briz M Launch • Dec 10 - Asteroid 2011 WK5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.082 AU) • Dec 10 - Asteroid 5143 Heracles Closest Approach To Earth (0.197 AU) • Dec 11 - IGS-6 (Radar-3) H-2A Launch • Dec 11 - Comet 37P/Forbes Perihelion (1.575 AU) • Dec 11 - Comet C/2009 S3 (Lemmon) Perihelion (6.475 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 2011 WR46 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 2952 Lilliputia Closest Approach To Earth (1.007 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 20103 de Vico Closest Approach To Earth (1.559 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 7042 Carver Closest Approach To Earth (1.637 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 35165 Quebec Closest Approach To Earth (2.305 AU) • Dec 11 - Asteroid 35350 Lespaul Closest Approach To Earth (2.573 AU) • Dec 12 -[Dec 05] Cassini, Dione Flyby • Dec 12 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Calypso, Enceladus & Tethys • Dec 12 - Asteroid 1243 Pamela Occults HIP 30722 (6.6 Magnitude Star) • Dec 12 - Asteroid 10389 Robmanning Closest Approach To Earth (1.192 AU) • Dec 12 - 50th Anniversary (1961), Oscar 1 Launch

JPL Space Calendar

Food for ThoughtThis lunar eclipse will include an 'impossible' sight

Space Image of the Week

Fresh Impact Craters on Asteroid Vesta

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA, MPS, DLR, IDA