Space News Update- June 11 - 15, 2012 -

In the News

Story 1: Unprecedented Blooms of Ocean Plant Life

Story 2:Two Women For Tiangong

Story 3: WISE Finds Few Brown Dwarfs Close to Earth

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Unprecedented Blooms of Ocean Plant Life

Two Women For Tiangong

WISE Finds Few Brown Dwarfs Close to Earth

The Night Sky · Monday, June 11 · The two brightest stars of late spring and summer are Arcturus, now almost overhead toward the south or southwest after dark, and Vega, shining partway up the eastern sky. Arcturus is an orange giant 37 light-years away. Vega is a hot, white main-sequence star 25 light-years distant.  Tuesday, June 12 · Look a third of the way from Arcturus to Vega for the dim semicircle of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. It has one modestly bright star, Alphecca. Two thirds of the way from Arcturus to Vega is the dim Keystone of Hercules.  Wednesday, June 13 · Mercury is becoming more easily visible after sunset. Look for it low in the west-northwest in the fading twilight. It forms a long, vertical triangle with Pollux and Castor above it.  · Thursday, June 14 · Globular star clusters are not all alike. But some do look more similar than others. With the Moon out of the sky, now is a fine time to compare and contrast many of them in your scope. See the Springtime Globular Cluster Tour in the June Sky & Telescope, page 62.  Friday, June 15 · With summer beginning in just five days, Scorpius is already rearing up in the southeast at nightfall. Its brightest star is orange-red Antares. The "outrigger" stars of Antares are just below and upper right of it. Farther upper right is the row of stars marking Scorpius's head. This is a grand area to explore with a sky atlas and binoculars

The Big Dipper hangs bowl down high in the northwest these evenings. Alcor here is buried in the glow of Mizar, the star at the bend in the handle.

Akira Fujii

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 Jun 11/09:05 PM 2 27 27 above NNW 10 above NE

ISS Mon Jun 11/10:43 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Tue Jun 12/00:20 AM 1 11 11 above NNE 10 above NE

ISS Tue Jun 12/01:54 AM 1 18 10 above NW 18 above NNW

ISS Tue Jun 12/09:48 PM 1 13 13 above N 10 above NNE

ISS Tue Jun 12/11:25 PM < 1 10 10 above NNE 10 above NNE

ISS Wed Jun 13/01:00 AM 2 21 11 above NNW 21 above N

ISS Wed Jun 13/08:53 PM 2 17 17 above N 11 above NNE

ISS Wed Jun 13/10:30 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Thu Jun 14/00:07 AM 1 15 15 above N 15 above NNE

ISS Thu Jun 14/09:36 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Thu Jun 14/11:13 PM 2 12 12 above N 10 above NE

ISS Fri Jun 15/00:47 AM 1 18 10 above NW 18 above NNW

ISS Fri Jun 15/10:18 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above NNE

ISS Fri Jun 15/11:55 PM < 1 23 20 above N 23 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

June 14, Thursday12:30 p.m. - ISS Mission Control Interview with Students from the Galveston, TX School District for the Digital Learning Network - JSC (All Channels)

June 15, Friday8:45 - 9:45 a.m. - Underwater Interactive Media Interviews with NEEMO 16 Commander Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger - JSC (Public and Media Channels) 

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

Space Calendar· Jun 11 - Comet 138P/Shoemaker-Levy Perihelion (1.701 AU) · Jun 11 - Asteroid 7470 Jabberwock Closest Approach To Earth (1.160 AU) · Jun 11 - Asteroid 7434 Osaka Closest Approach To Earth (1.483 AU) · Jun 11 - Asteroid 128 Nemesis Closest Approach To Earth (1.888 AU) · Jun 11 - Asteroid 7495 Feynman Closest Approach To Earth (2.013 AU) · Jun 11 - Marie Paul Fabry's 145th Birthday (1867) · Jun 12 - Moon Occults Asteroid 2 Pallas · Jun 12 - Asteroid 9619 Terrygilliam Closest Approach To Earth (1.244 AU) · Jun 12 - Asteroid 3869 Norton Closest Approach To Earth (1.253 AU) · Jun 12 - 45th Anniversary (1967), Venera 4 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander) · Jun 13 - NuStar Pegasus XL Launch · Jun 13 - Asteroid 5050 Doctorwatson Closest Approach To Earth (1.599 AU) · Jun 14 - Asteroid 2012 KM11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.093 AU) · Jun 14 - Asteroid 7231 Porco Closest Approach To Earth (2.102 AU) · Jun 14 - Asteroid 241418 Darmstadt Closest Approach To Earth (2.254 AU) · Jun 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 50000 Quaoar At Opposition (42.082 AU) · Jun 14 - 45th Anniversary (1967), Mariner 5 Launch (Venus Flyby Mission) · Jun 15 - Asteroid 4103 Chahine Closest Approach To Earth (1.416 AU) · Jun 15 - Asteroid 2161 Grissom Closest Approach To Earth (1.878 AU) · Jun 15 - Asteroid 15058 Billcooke Closest Approach To Earth (2.477 AU)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for ThoughtFor NASA's Huge Mars Rover, Stakes High for Landing

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Space Image of the Week