Space News Update- May 30, 2014 -

In the News

Story 1: LDSD Testing for Large Payloads to Mars

Story 2: Chandra Helps Explain "Red and Dead" Galaxies

Story 3: Probing Satellites’ Mysterious Death Tumbling

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

LDSD Testing for Large Payloads to Mars

Chandra Helps Explain "Red and Dead" Galaxies

Probing Satellites’ Mysterious Death Tumbling

The Night Sky

Sky & Telescope

Friday, May 30Look low in the west-northwest in twilight for the hairline crescent Moon with dim Mercury to its right. They're far down to the lower right of bright Jupiter, as shown here. Binoculars will help.Comet 209P/LINEAR, the source of the (few) Camelopardalid meteors last week, is barely past its closest to Earth. But it's faint, only about 11th magnitude. The comet is rapidly heading south; it crosses from Crater into Hydra tonight.

Saturday, May 31The Moon, Jupiter, and Pollux above them form a nearly straight line in twilight as seen from North America, as shown above.

Sunday, June 1At nightfall, Mars shines yellow-orange in the south. Look 4° (two or three finger-widths at arm's length) above it for 3rd-magnitude Porrima (Gamma Virginis). This is a famous, fast-changing close double star for telescopes. This year its two components, equal in brightness, are 2.2 arcseconds apart. A decade ago they were unresolvable.

Monday, June 2With summer not far off, can you still catch Procyon low in the twilight? It's lower left of Jupiter and, this evening, below or perhaps lower right of the Moon (depending on your latitude). How much later into the season can you follow it? The first day that a star becomes completely invisible in the afterglow of sunset is called its heliacal setting.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date VisibleMax

Height Appears DisappearsSat May 31, 00:44 AM 2 min 19° 19 above N 10 above NNE

Sat May 31, 2:20 AM < 1 min 10° 10 above NNW 10 above N

Sat May 31, 3:57 AM 1 min 15° 11 above NNW 15 above N

Sat May 31, 11:55 PM 1 min 19° 19 above NNE 10 above NE

Sun Jun 1, 1:30 AM < 1 min 11° 10 above NNW 11 above NNW

Sun Jun 1, 3:08 AM < 1 min 12° 10 above NNW 12 above N

Sun Jun 1, 4:44 AM 6 min 38° 10 above NW 11 above E

Sun Jun 1, 9:26 PM < 1 min 10° 10 above S 10 above S

Sun Jun 1, 11:01 PM 6 min 47° 10 above WSW 10 above NE

Mon Jun 2, 00:40 AM 1 min 13° 10 above NW 13 above NNW

Mon Jun 2, 2:19 AM < 1 min 10° 10 above N 10 above N

Mon Jun 2, 3:55 AM 6 min 25° 10 above NNW 10 above E

Mon Jun 2, 10:12 PM 6 min 84° 10 above SW 11 above NE

Mon Jun 2, 11:50 PM 4 min 17° 10 above WNW 11 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

11:00 a.m., Monday, June 2 - Space Station LiveDaily Mission Coverage of the activities on the International Space Station

1:45 p.m., Tuesday, June 3 - Live coverage of NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) 2014 Flight Test - HQ/JPL/GSFCFlight Test

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

May 30 - Comet 92P/Sanguin At Opposition (2.216 AU) May 30 - Asteroid 18932 Robinhood Closest Approach To Earth (1.064 AU) May 30 - Asteroid 15000 CCD Closest Approach To Earth (1.476 AU) May 30 - [May 30] Alexey Leonov's 80th Birthday (1934) May 31 - Comet 69P/Taylor At Opposition (4.265 AU) May 31 - Asteroid 757 Portlandia Occults HIP 443 (4.6 Magnitude Star) May 31 - Asteroid 10916 Okina-Ouna Closest Approach To Earth (1.807 AU) May 31 - Asteroid 2848 ASP Closest Approach To Earth (2.650 AU) Jun 01 - Comet 181P/Shoemaker-Levy Closest Approach To Earth (1.779 AU) Jun 01 - Asteroid 15 Eunomia At Opposition (9.5 Magnitude) Jun 01 - Asteroid 2008 WK32 Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU) Jun 01 - Asteroid 42998 Malinafrank Closest Approach To Earth (1.283 AU) Jun 01 - Asteroid 4017 Disneya Closest Approach To Earth (1.584 AU) Jun 02 - Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) At Opposition (1.664 AU) Jun 02 - Asteroid 2014 JV54 Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU) Jun 02 - Asteroid 37530 Dancingangel Closest Approach To Earth (1.325 AU) Jun 02 - [May 30] Asteroid 24761 Ahau Closest Approach To Earth (1.732 AU) Jun 02 - Asteroid 24102 Jacquecassini Closest Approach To Earth (1.907 AU) Jun 02 - Asteroid 1071 Brita Closest Approach To Earth (2.092 AU)

Food for Thought

Citizen Scientists Successfully Communicate with Spacecraft

Space Image of the Week

Satellite Station and Southern Skies Image Credit & Copyright: James Garlick