Space News Update- April 13, 2012 -

In the News

Story 1: Reports: North Korean rocket launch ends in failure

Story 2:What’s the Moon Made Of? Earth, Most Likely.

Story 3: Antares rocket first stage on the pad for pathfinder testing

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Reports: North Korean rocket launch ends in failure

What’s the Moon Made Of? Earth, Most Likely.

Antares rocket first stage on the pad for pathfinder testing

The Night Sky

Friday, April 13· Summer preview: stay up till 11 and look northeast, and you'll get a preview of bright Vega, the "Summer Star" in little Lyra, climbing into good view.· Last-quarter Moon (exact at 6:50 a.m. on this date EDT).Saturday, April 14· Saturn is at opposition tomorrow: opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. It's in Virgo, right where the Sun will be shining six months from now.· Tonight is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and we're kinda proud of the attention our April cover story is receiving: "Did the Moon Sink the Titanic"? Astro-historians Don Olsen, Russell Doescher, and Roger Sinnott make the case that the unusually high spring tides several months earlier, caused by the unusually close Moon and Sun, floated an abnormal number of icebergs away from the shores of Greenland and northern Canada — setting them adrift to reach the North Atlantic by the night of April 14–15.

The Night Sky

Sunday, April 15· Saturn is at opposition, opposite the Sun. It rises around sunset, shines highest in the middle of the night, and sets around sunrise. Telescope users: watch for the Seeliger effect, described under Saturn in "This Week's Planet Roundup" below.· Mars ends its retrograde (westward) motion for the year and resumes heading east against the background stars. Watch it pull away from Regulus in the coming weeks: slowly at first, then faster.Monday, April 16· As twilight fades, Look for bright Sirius in the southwest, Orion's horizontal Belt off to the right (with Betelgeuse above it, Rigel below it), and Aldebaran and Venus farther to the right in the west.

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 Fri Apr 13/09:17 PM 2 18 17 above NNW 11 above NNE

ISS Sat Apr 14/08:21 PM 3 27 26 above NW 10 above NNE

ISS Sat Apr 14/09:57 PM 2 11 10 above NNW 10 above N

ISS Sun Apr 15/09:01 PM 2 13 13 above NNW 10 above NNE

ISS Mon Apr 16/08:05 PM 2 18 18 above NNW 11 above NNE

ISS Mon Apr 16/09:42 PM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Fri Mar 30/05:00 AM < 1 10 10 above N 10 above N

ISS Sat Mar 31/05:39 AM 2 13 10 above NNW 12 above NNE

ISS Sun Apr 01/04:42 AM 2 10 10 above N 10 above NNE

ISS Sun Apr 01/06:17 AM 3 26 11 above NNW 25 above NE

ISS Mon Apr 02/05:20 AM 3 17 10 above NNW 17 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

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

April 13, Friday8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. - NASA’s Great Moon Buggy Race - MSFC (Education Channel)11:15 a.m. - ISS Expedition 30 In-Flight Event with NPR’s “Science Friday” Program - JSC (Public and Media Channels)

April 14, Saturday8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – NASA’s Great Moon Buggy Race – MSFC (Public and Education Channels)

April 16, MondayTBD p.m. - ISS SpaceX/Dragon Post-Flight Readiness Review Preflight Briefing - JSC (Public and Media Channels)7 p.m. - NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Presents the “National Finals of FameLab Astrobiology” - HQ (Public and Education Channels)

Space CalendarApr 13 - [Apr 12] Comet P/2012 F2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.914 AU)Apr 13 - Comet C/2011 L6 (Boattini) Closest Approach To Earth (6.398 AU)Apr 13 - Asteroid 2012 FO35 Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU)Apr 13 - Asteroid 4226 Damiaan Closest Approach To Earth (2.393 AU)Apr 13 - Asteroid 9950 ESA Closest Approach To Earth (2.574 AU)Apr 14 - [Apr 11] Cassini, Enceladus FlybyApr 14 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Helene, Dione, Promentheus, Pandora, Titan & TethysApr 14 - Asteroid 2012 FT62 Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)Apr 14 - Asteroid 24997 Petergabriel Closest Approach To Earth (1.471 AU)Apr 14 - Asteroid 1631 Kopff Closest Approach To Earth (1.501 AU)Apr 14 - Asteroid 397 Vienna Closest Approach To Earth (2.258 AU)Apr 15 - RISAT 1 PSLV-C19 LaunchApr 15 - Saturn At OppositionApr 15 - Asteroid 9777 Enterprise Closest Approach To Earth (1.343 AU)Apr 15 - Asteroid 2521 Heidi Closest Approach To Earth (1.588 AU)Apr 15 - Asteroid 6371 Heinlein Closest Approach To Earth (1.828 AU)Apr 15 - Asteroid 439 Ohio Closest Approach To Earth (2.230 AU)Apr 15 - Leonhard Euler's 305th Birthday (1707)Apr 16 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of HyperionApr 16 - Comet C/2012 CH17 (MOSS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.987 AU)Apr 16 - Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS) Perihelion (5.131 AU)Apr 16 - Asteroid 16761 Hertz Closest Approach To Earth (2.110 AU)Apr 16 - 40th Anniversary (1972), Apollo 16 Launch (Manned Moon Landing)Apr 16 - Wilbur Wright's 145th Birthday (1867)Apr 16 - Leonardo DaVinci's 560th Birthday (1452)

JPL Space Calendar

Food for ThoughtLetter to NASA is Common Ploy in Climate Change Denial

Space Image of the Week

CREDIT: Laurent Lamy