Space News Update- October 17, 2014 -

In the News

Story 1: Saturn Moon May Hide a 'Fossil' Core or an Ocean

Story 2: NASA's IRIS Helps Explain Mysterious Heating of the Solar Atmosphere

Story 3: Curious Signal Hints at Dark Matter - First Evidence of Axions?

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Saturn Moon May Hide a 'Fossil' Core or an Ocean

NASA's IRIS Helps Explain Mysterious Heating of the Solar

Atmosphere

Curious Signal Hints at Dark Matter - First Evidence of Axions?

The Night Sky

Sky & Telescope

Friday, October 17Before dawn Saturday morning, Jupiter shines above the waning Moon, as shown at right. Although they look rather close together, Jupiter is 2,100 times farther in the background — it's at a distance of 47 light-minutes, compared to the Moon's 1.3 light-seconds.

Saturday, October 18This is the time of year when, right after nightfall, W-shaped Cassiopeia stands on end halfway up the northeastern sky — and when, off to its left, the dim Little Dipper extends leftward from Polaris in the north.

Sunday, October 19Today the faint Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) makes its much-awaited close pass by Mars, as told in the September Sky & Telescope, page 53, with chart. This will be an extremely challenging observation photographically, and probably impossible visually, with Mars low in the southwest right at the end of twilight and the comet only about 11th magnitude, fainter than originally predicted. At least you can follow a webcast of the encounter courtesy of the Virtual Telescope project; watch in real time starting at 16:45 UT (12:45 p.m. EDT) today, or watch the recording later. Also see NASA's website for this event; NASA's fleet of spacecraft at Mars will carry out observations from their much better vantage point.

Monday, October 20The annual Orionid meteor shower should be active before dawn's first light this morning and for the next few mornings. The shower's radiant (apparent perspective point of origin) is in the top of Orion's Club, and this is highest in a dark sky just before morning twilight begins.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date VisibleMax

Height Appears Disappears

Fri Oct 17, 8:06 PM < 1 min 12° 10 above NNW 12 above N

Sat Oct 18, 7:17 PM 2 min 11° 10 above N 10 above NNE

Sun Oct 19, 8:04 PM 1 min 14° 10 above NNW 14 above N

Mon Oct 20, 7:16 PM 3 min 14° 10 above NNW 13 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Friday, October 17 6 a.m., Live Media Interviews on the “Mars flyby of Comet Siding Spring” (10/19/2014) (NTV-3 (Media)) Tuesday, October 21 11 a.m., Unberthing and Release of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-4 Cargo Craft from the ISS (all channels)

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Oct 17 - Comet 32P/Comas Sola Perihelion (2.001 AU) Oct 17 - Comet P/2013 P1 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (4.279 AU) Oct 17 - Asteroid 2014 SN260 Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU) Oct 17 - Asteroid 4581 Asciepius Closest Approach To Earth (0.273 AU) Oct 17 - Asteroid 2011 MD Closest Approach To Earth (1.506 AU) Oct 17 - Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris At Opposition (95.407 AU) Oct 18 - [Oct 11] Dragon CRS-4 Return To Earth (International Space Station) Oct 18 - [Oct 11] Ames Research Center Open House, Moffett Field, California Oct 18 - [Oct 13] 25th Anniversary (1989), STS-34 Launch (Space Shuttle Atlantis, Galileo Launch - Jupiter Orbiter) Oct 18 - Comet 108P/Ciffreo Perihelion (1.709 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 3 Juno Occults TYC 0207-00206-1 (12.0 Magnitude Star) Oct 18 - Asteroid 2014 TV Near-Earth Flyby (0.011 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 2014 SU1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 1850 Kohoutek Closest Approach To Earth (1.413 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 2315 Czechoslovakia Closest Approach To Earth (1.712 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 7307 Takei Closest Approach To Earth (1.920 AU) Oct 18 - Asteroid 5441 Andymurray Closest Approach To Earth (2.181 AU) Oct 19 - [Oct 13] Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) Near-Mars Flyby Oct 19 - Comet P/2005 RV25 (LONEOS-Christensen) Closest Approach To Earth (2.842 AU) Oct 19 - Comet 216P/LINEAR At Opposition (3.219 AU) Oct 19 - Asteroid 3144 Brosche Occults HIP 3823 (6.9 Magnitude Star) Oct 19 - Asteroid 6373 Stern Closest Approach To Earth (1.870 AU) Oct 20 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #394 (OTM-394) Oct 20 - Comet C/2014 S3 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.226 AU) Oct 20 - Comet 70P/Kojima Perihelion (2.007 AU) Oct 20 - Asteroid 2014 SM143 Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU) Oct 20 - Asteroid 5786 Talos Closest Approach To Earth (0.296 AU) Oct 20 - Asteroid 12413 Johnnyweir Closest Approach To Earth (1.156 AU) Oct 20 - Asteroid 2575 Bulgaria Closest Approach To Earth (1.451 AU) Oct 20 - Asteroid 2224 Tucson Closest Approach To Earth (1.886 AU) Oct 20 - 20th Anniversary (1994), Coleman Meteorite Fall (Hit House in Michigan)

Food for Thought

NASA's Opportunity Rover Gets Panorama Image at 'Wdowiak Ridge'

Space Image of the Week

Stuck on the Rings