Slide 1

Space News Update - November 26, 2013 - In the News Story 1: Story 1: Falcon 9 rocket launch scrubbed until Thanksgiving Story 2: Story 2: Comet ISON Diving Sunward as its Moment of Truth Nears Story 3: Story 3: End of the Beginning for Swarm Trio Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week Slide 2 Falcon 9 rocket launch scrubbed until Thanksgiving Slide 3 Comet ISON Diving Sunward as its Moment of Truth Nears Slide 4 End of the Beginning for Swarm Trio Slide 5 solar diameter of the Sun's edge from about noon to 3 p.m. EST. The comet swings from due south of the Sun at 12:30 p.m. EST to closely southeast of it at 1:30 p.m. EST, due east at 2:20 p.m. EST, and farther northeast for several hours thereafter. Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit the planet's central meridian tonight around 1:14 a.m. EST (10:14 p.m. PST). The waning Moon shines near Spica in the dawn Friday morning, as shown here. Friday, November 29 This is the time of year when the Great Square of Pegasus floats highest overhead at dinnertime. Its western side points far down almost to Fomalhaut shining in the south. Its eastern side points less directly down toward Beta Ceti (Diphda), less far below. The Night Sky Tuesday, November 26 Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian around 11:36 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tonight. The tiny black shadow of Jupiter's moon Io crosses the planet's face from 11:47 p.m. EST to 2:01 a.m. EST. By about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning the waning Moon is up in the east with Mars shining to its left. By dawn Wednesday morning, they're high in the southeast. Wednesday, November 27 You may think you know Cassiopeia, but I bet you've never hunted its open cluster King 20 or teased apart the multiple star ADS 16795 just to the cluster's west. And, the charming double star Struve 3022 shines in the same telescopic field. Thursday, November 28 Comet ISON comes to perihelion around 2 p.m. EST (19h UT). Its very unlikely to be bright enough to be detectable in the Sun's immediate glare. If you want to try, don't harm your eyes! Put the Sun behind something like a building corner or a streetlight fixture, not your wiggling finger. The apparent location of the comet will be within one Sky & Telescope Slide 6 ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASAs Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver: DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Wed Nov 27, 4:42 AM1 min1818 above NE11 above ENE Wed Nov 27, 6:15 AM4 min6712 above WNW30 above SE Thu Nov 28, 5:28 AM2 min6642 above NNW30 above ESE Fri Nov 29, 4:41 AM< 1 min2727 above E19 above E Fri Nov 29, 6:14 AM5 min2212 above W10 above S Slide 7 NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Daylight Time) November 27, Wednesday 7 - 8:30 a.m. - Live Interviews with Vicki Kloeris, ISS Food System Manager and Expedition 35/36 Astronaut Tom Marshburn on Thanksgiving in Space - JSC (All Channels) 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 8 p.m. - Replay of Interviews with Vicki Kloeris, ISS Food System Manager and Expedition 35/36 Astronaut Tom Marshburn on Thanksgiving in Space - HQ (All Channels) November 29, Friday 4:45 p.m. - Coverage of the Docking of the ISS Progress 53 Cargo Craft to the Zvezda Service Module (Docking scheduled at 5:28 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website Slide 8 Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Nov 25 - [Nov 25] Progress M-21M Soyuz U Launch (International Space Station 53P)Progress M-21MSoyuz U Launch Nov 25 - Comet P/2005 T2 (Christensen) At Opposition (2.508 AU)Comet P/2005 T2 (Christensen)At Opposition Nov 25 - Comet 271P/van Houten-Lemmon At Opposition (3.332 AU)Comet 271P/van Houten-LemmonAt Opposition Nov 25 - Asteroid 2010 CL19 Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU)Asteroid 2010 CL19Near-Earth Flyby Nov 25 - Asteroid 3306 Byron Closest Approach To Earth (1.525 AU)Asteroid 3306 Byron Nov 26 - Mercury Passes 0.3 Degrees From SaturnMercurySaturn Nov 26 - Comet C/2012 T4 (McNaught) At Opposition (3.890 AU)Comet C/2012 T4 (McNaught)At Opposition Nov 26 - Asteroid 2013 NJ Near-Earth Flyby (0.006 AU)Asteroid 2013 NJNear-Earth Flyby Nov 26 - Asteroid 2007 VW83 Near-Earth Flyby (0.066 AU)Asteroid 2007 VW83Near-Earth Flyby Nov 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 229762 (2007 UK126) At Opposition (42.882 AU)Kuiper Belt Object 229762 (2007 UK126)At Opposition Nov 26 - 50th Anniversary (1963), Explorer 18 LaunchExplorer 18 Nov 27 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #364 (OTM-364)Cassini Nov 27 - Comet 269P/Jedicke At Opposition (3.537 AU)Comet 269P/JedickeAt Opposition Nov 27 - Asteroid 2009 LD Near-Earth Flyby (0.082 AU)Asteroid 2009 LDNear-Earth Flyby Nov 27 - Asteroid 3263 Bligh Closest Approach To Earth (1.280 AU)Asteroid 3263 Bligh Nov 27 - Asteroid 1125 China Closest Approach To Earth (1.612 AU)Asteroid 1125 China Nov 27 - Asteroid 116939 Jonstewart Closest Approach To Earth (1.789 AU)Asteroid 116939 Jonstewart Nov 27 - Asteroid 5451 Plato Closest Approach To Earth (1.883 AU)Asteroid 5451 Plato Nov 28 - [Nov 21] Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) Perihelion (0.012 AU)Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)Perihelion Nov 28 - [Nov 26] SES-8 Falcon 9 LaunchSES-8Falcon 9 Launch Nov 28 - Kondor-E 1 Strela LaunchKondor-E 1 Nov 28 - Comet C/2013 V1 (Boattini) At Opposition (1.596 AU)Comet C/2013 V1 (Boattini)At Opposition Nov 28 - Asteroid 3524 Schulz Closest Approach To Earth (1.600 AU)Asteroid 3524 Schulz Nov 28 - Asteroid 6790 Pingouin Closest Approach To Earth (1.652 AU)Asteroid 6790 Pingouin Nov 28 - Asteroid 656 Beagle Closest Approach To Earth (2.127 AU)Asteroid 656 Beagle Nov 29 - Comet 71P/Clark At Opposition (3.402 AU)Comet 71P/ClarkAt Opposition Nov 29 - Asteroid 2000 KA Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU)Asteroid 2000 KANear-Earth Flyby Nov 29 - Asteroid 2013 VP12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)Asteroid 2013 VP12Near-Earth Flyby Nov 29 - Asteroid 3850 Peltier Closest Approach To Earth (1.264 AU)Asteroid 3850 Peltier Nov 29 - Kuiper Belt Object 2006 QH181 At Opposition (82.060 AU)Kuiper Belt Object 2006 QH181At Opposition Nov 29 - Christian Doppler's 210th Birthday (1803)Christian Doppler's Slide 9 Food for Thought Neutrino Detection Could Help Paint an Entirely New Picture of the Universe Slide 10 Space Image of the Week Cap Cloud over the Sierra Nevadas Image Credit & Copyright: Guido MontasGuido Montas