Space News Update- March 19, 2012 -

In the News

Story 1: Launch of NASA's NuSTAR Mission Postponed

Story 2:Solving the Puzzle of Apollo 12′s Mysterious Magnetic Moon Rocks

Story 3: ESA Ruling Council OKs ExoMars Funding

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Launch of NASA's NuSTAR Mission Postponed

Solving the Puzzle of Apollo 12′s Mysterious Magnetic Moon Rocks

ESA Ruling Council OKs ExoMars Funding

The Night Sky

Monday, March 19· When darkness falls, look northwest for for W-shaped Cassiopeia standing on end.· Spring begins (in the Northern Hemisphere) tonight. The equinox comes at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday morning EDT, 10:14 p.m. Monday evening PDT, when the Sun crosses the equator on its way north. The Sun rises and sets almost due east and west, and day and night are about equally long. In the Southern Hemisphere, autumn begins.

Tuesday, March 20· This is the time of year when the dim Little Dipper juts to the right from Polaris (its handle-end) during evening hours. The much brighter Big Dipper curls over high above it, "dumping water" into it.· This is also the time of year when Orion declines in the southwest after dark with his Belt roughly horizontal. But when does Orion's Belt appearexactly horizontal? That depends on where you're located east-west in your time zone, and on your latitude. How accurately can you time this event at your location? Orion's Belt is slightly curved, so judge by the two stars on its ends. Can you rig up a sighting reference to make your measurement more precise? Welcome to pre-telescopic astronomy.

Sky & Telescope

The Night Sky

Wednesday, March 21· With the Moon out of the sky, now's a fine time to shoot for some challenge objects in Canis Major. See Steve Gottlieb's "Going Deep" column, "Bubbles, Jets, and Exotic Stars" with chart and photos, in the March Sky & Telescope, page 66.

Thursday, March 22· This is the time of year when we in the mid-northern latitudes get our best early-evening look at the rich Milky Way in Puppis, to Canis Major's left and lower left. Explore some telescopic highlights here with Sue French's article and chart in the March Sky & Telescope, page 62.· New Moon (exact at 10:37 a.m. EDT). Friday, March 23· Look low in the west about a half hour after sunset, below Venus and Jupiter and perhaps a little right, for the very thin crescent Moon in the bright twilight — as shown at bottom-right here.

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 Mar 19/05:51 AM 3 74 29 above SW 27 above ENE

ISS Tue Mar 20/04:56 AM < 1 24 24 above E 18 above E

ISS Tue Mar 20/06:29 AM 5 28 11 above W 10 above NNE

ISS Wed Mar 21/05:33 AM 3 54 48 above WNW 17 above NE

ISS Thu Mar 22/04:39 AM < 1 21 21 above ENE 21 above ENE

ISS Thu Mar 22/06:11 AM 4 19 12 above WNW 10 above NNE

ISS Fri Mar 23/05:16 AM 2 30 30 above NNW 11 above NE

NASA-TV Highlights

March 20, Tuesday10:15 a.m. - ISS Expedition 30 In-Flight Interview with WVIT-TV, Hartford, CT - JSC (All Channels)12 p.m. - ISS Program and Science Overview Briefing - JSC (All Channels)1:30 p.m. - Video B-Roll of ISS Expedition 32/33 Crew Training - JSC (All Channels)2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 32/33 Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)

March 21, Wednesday*9 a.m. - House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Budget Hearing – HQ (Public and Education Channels)

March 22, Thursday12:05 p.m. – ISS Mission Control Interview with the Digital Learning Network – JSC (All Channels)

March 23, Friday12 a.m. - ISS European Space Agency “Edoardo Amaldi” Automated Transfer Vehicle Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 12:34 a.m. via Kourou, French Guiana ET) - JSC (All Channels)11:40 a.m. - ISS Expedition 30 In-Flight Interview with Bloomberg News, Moscow - JSC (Public, Education and Media Channels)

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

Space Calendar

Mar 19 - Comet 228P/LINEAR Closest Approach To Earth (2.532 AU)Mar 19 - Asteroid 13752 Grantstokes Closest Approach To Earth (1.778 AU)Mar 19 - Asteroid 14967 Madrid Closest Approach To Earth (1.935 AU)Mar 19 - Asteroid 12760 Maxwell Closest Approach To Earth (2.335 AU)Mar 19 - Asteroid 5281 Lindstrom Closest Approach To Earth (2.367 AU)Mar 19 - Lecture: From Vanguard to GPS, London, United KingdomMar 20 - Vernal Equinox, 05:14 UTMar 20 - Comet C/2011 S2 (Kowalski) Closest Approach To Earth (1.706 AU)Mar 20 - Comet P/2011 C2 (Gibbs) Closest Approach To Earth (4.401 AU)Mar 20 - [Mar 14] Asteroid 4355 Memphis Closest Approach To Earth (1.519 AU)Mar 20 - Asteroid 8992 Magnanimity Closest Approach To Earth (1.782 AU)Mar 21 - Comet P/2011 Y2 (Boattini) Perihelion (1.787 AU)Mar 21 - [Mar 17] Asteroid 2012 EO8 Near-Earth Flyby (0.009 AU)Mar 21 - Asteroid 2011 SY120 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU)Mar 21 - Asteroid 2012 DH4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU)Mar 21 - Asteroid 1756 Giacobini Closest Approach To Earth (2.039 AU)Mar 22 - [Mar 16] Asteroid 2012 EK5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)Mar 22 - Asteroid 2010 FR9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU)Mar 22 - Asteroid 2906 Caltech Closest Approach To Earth (2.678 AU)Mar 22 - 30th Anniversary (1982), STS-3 Launch, Space Shuttle ColumbiaMar 23 - [Mar 16] ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi Ariane 5ES Launch (International Space Station)Mar 23 - Asteroid 2012 EB2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)Mar 23 - Asteroid 12485 Jenniferharris Closest Approach To Earth (1.872 AU)Mar 23 - Asteroid 20469 Dudleymoore Closest Approach To Earth (2.273 AU)Mar 23 - Asteroid 21564 Widmanstatten Closest Approach To Earth (2.654 AU)Mar 23 - Wernher von Braun's 100th Birthday (1912)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought

SpaceX: Entrepreneur's race to space – 60 Minutes interview

(click HERE to view video on CBS News)

Space Image of the Week

Sunspot Group 1429 and the Distant Sun Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Manuel Pérez Rayego