Space News Update- July 22, 2011 -

In the News

Story 1: NASA's Next Mars Rover To Land At Gale Crater

Story 2: Massive Meteorite Found in China

Story 3: Hubble Telescope Spots Another Moon Around Pluto

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

NASA's Next Mars Rover To Land At Gale Crater

Massive Meteorite Found in China

Hubble Telescope Spots Another Moon Around Pluto

The Night SkyFriday, July 22· Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 1:02 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Saturday morning). The Moon rises around the middle of the night with Jupiter below it. By dawn they're very high in the southeast.Saturday, July 23· Look low in the south-southeast (depending on your latitude) for the Teapot pattern of Sagittarius. It's starting to tilt to the right — as if to pour out the rest of the summer from its spout.· This week, keep an eye out for occasional Southern Delta Aquarid meteors shooting away from the southeast late at night.Sunday, July 24· Arcturus is the bright star shining high in the west-southwest at dusk, high above Saturn and Spica. Arcturus is a yellow-orange giant 37 light-years away and about 150 times as luminous as the Sun. Its pale ginger-ale color is plain to the unaided eye. Compare this to the icy blue-white of Vega overhead.Look far to the right of Arcturus, at roughly the same height, for the Big Dipper.Monday, July 25· The Moon is near the Pleiades and Aldebaran before dawn this morning and Tuesday morning, as shown below.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE

DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)

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

For Denver:

For Denver: No ISS Sighting OpportunitiesFor Denver: No ISS Sighting Opportunities

ISS Sat Jul 23/05:03 AM 4 16 10 above S 12 above EISS Mon Jul 25/04:43 AM 4 32 14 above SSW 20 above EISS Fri Jun 24/11:30 PM 1 36 22 above NNW 36 above NISS Sat Jun 25/10:30 PM 2 23 19 above N 17 above ENEISS Sun Jun 26/00:05 AM < 1 12 10 above WNW 12 above WNWISS Sun Jun 26/09:30 PM 3 15 13 above N 10 above ENEISS Sun Jun 26/11:06 PM 1 46 23 above NW 46 above NWISS Mon Jun 27/10:07 PM 3 33 24 above NNW 22 above EISS Fri Jun 24/00:28 AM < 1 12 10 above NW 12 above NWISS Fri Jun 24/09:54 PM 2 12 11 above N 10 above NEISS Fri Jun 24/11:30 PM 1 36 22 above NNW 36 above N

NASA-TV Highlights(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website

July 22, Friday1 p.m. - Replay of NASA Science News Conference to Announce the Landing Site for the Mars Science Laboratory - HQ (All Channels)4 p.m. - Replay of NASA Science News Conference to Announce the Landing Site for the Mars Science Laboratory - HQ (All Channels)5 p.m. - STS-135 Crew Return to Ellington Field, Houston, TX - JSC (All Channels)8 p.m. - Replay of NASA Science News Conference to Announce the Landing Site for the Mars Science Laboratory - HQ (All Channels)

Space CalendarJul 22 - Comet 183P/Korlevic-Juric Closest Approach To Earth (3.906 AU)Jul 22 - Asteroid 2007 RQ17 Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)Jul 22 - Asteroid 2008 TC Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU)Jul 22 - Asteroid 5450 Sokrates Closest Approach To Earth (2.133 AU)Jul 23 - Asteroid 4 Vesta Occults UCAC2 23520363 (11.3 Magnitude Star)Jul 23 - Asteroid 2007 DD Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)Jul 23 - Asteroid 2011 MW1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU)Jul 24 - Comet C/2011 L3 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (1.045 AU)Jul 24 - Asteroid 2985 Shakespeare Closest Approach To Earth (1.713 AU)Jul 24 - Asteroid 6227 Alanrubin Closet Approach To Earth (1.731 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 532 Herculina At Opposition (9.8 Magnitude)Jul 25 - Asteroid 2011 AA37 Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 125071 Lugosi Closest Approach To Earth (1.453 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 4149 Harrison Closest Approach To Earth (1.531 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 129564 Christy Closest Approach To Earth (1.534 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 1288 Santa Closest Approach To Earth (1.759 AU)Jul 25 - Asteroid 73511 Lovas Closest Approach To Earth (1.846 AU)

The Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on July 18, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPLCaltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Food for ThoughtNo More NASA Space Shuttles: What's Next For US Spaceflight?

Space Image of the WeekStation Crew Views Shuttle Landing

Image Credit: NASA