Space News Update- February 1, 2013 -

In the News

Story 1: Lockheed Martin joins Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser team

Story 2: 'Habitable zone' redefined for alien planets — and maybe life

Story 3: NASA's SDO Provides First Sightings of How a CME Forms

Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

NASA-TV HighlightsSpace CalendarFood for Thought

Space Image of the Week

Lockheed Martin joins Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser team

'Habitable zone' redefined for alien planets — and maybe life

>

NASA's SDO Provides First Sightings of How a CME Forms

The Night Sky

Friday, February 1 · The sky's biggest well-known asterism (informal star pattern) is the Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle. It fills the sky toward the east and south these evenings. Start with brilliant Sirius at its bottom. Going clockwise from there, march through Procyon, then Pollux and Castor, then Menkalinen and Capella overhead, down to Aldebaran (overshone by Jupiter this season!), down to Rigel, and back to Sirius.

Saturday, February 2 · Your latitude makes a big difference in how the constellations appear. (Your longitude does not.) For instance, if you're as far north as 46° — roughly Portland, Minneapolis, Montreal, central France ° bright Capella passes straight through your zenith sometime around 8 or 9 p.m. If you're as far south as 21° N — roughly Guadalajara, Cuba, the mid-Sahara, Kolkata — Jupiter currently crosses straight overhead in the evening. Wherever you are, they now pass closest to your zenith exactly one hour apart, with Jupiter going first.

The Night Sky

Sunday, February 3· February is when Orion stands highest in the south in early evening. And this season, Orion is framed between the two brightest points in the sky: Jupiter high to its upper right and Sirius down to its lower left. Introduce them to someone!

Monday, February 4· Jupiter's biggest moon, Ganymede, fades into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow around 7:35 p.m. EST. It reappears around 9:53 p.m. EST. Both events take place just east of the planet. Europa happens to be just south of Ganymede's reappearance point, by a bit less than a Jupiter diameter. When can you detect the first trace of Ganymede coming back?Later, Jupiter's Great Red Spot rotates across the planet's centerline at 11:25 p.m. EST.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

For Denver:

No sightings for Denver

NASA-TV Highlights

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

February 1, Friday1 p.m. - Replay of Kennedy Space Center’s Day of Remembrance Ceremony - HQ (All Channels)8 p.m. - Replay of Kennedy Space Center’s Day of Remembrance Ceremony - HQ (All Channels)

February 4, Monday8 p.m. - Science Uncut - Arctic on the Edge? - HQ (All Channels)

Space Calendar

Feb 01 - [Jan 29] 10th Anniversary (2003), Space Shuttle Columbia DisasterFeb 01 - Comet 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett Perihelion (3.704 AU)Feb 01 - Asteroid 3918 Brel Occults HIP 30586 (6.9 Magnitude Star)Feb 01 - Asteroid 14566 Hokule'a Occults HIP 39271 (6.2 Magnitude Star)Feb 01 - Asteroid 2012 YN6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU)Feb 01 - Asteroid 15000 CCD Closest Approach To Earth (1.797 AU)Feb 01 - Asteroid 1143 Odysseus Closest Approach To Earth (3.864 AU)Feb 02 - Comet P/2000 R2 (LINEAR) Perihelion (1.458 AU)Feb 03 - Comet 244P/Scotti Closest Approach To Earth (3.188 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 2013 BS15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 5000 IAU Closest Approach To Earth (1.708 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 716 Berkeley Closest Approach To Earth (1.736 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 4104 Alu Closest Approach To Earth (1.865 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 18932 Robinhood Closest Approach To Earth (1.922 AU)Feb 03 - Asteroid 1031 Arctica Closest Approach To Earth (1.984 AU)Feb 04 - Mars Passes 0.5 Degrees From NeptuneFeb 04 - Comet C/2012 C1 (McNaught) Perihelion (4.838 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 2003 BN4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 7816 Hanoi Closest Approach To Earth (1.382 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 18132 Spector Closest Approach To Earth (1.422 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 472 Roma Closest Approach To Earth (1.477 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 6042 Chesirecat Closest Approach To Earth (2.547 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 15417 Babylon Closest Approach To Earth (3.083 AU)Feb 04 - Asteroid 5254 Ulysses Closest Approach To Earth (4.157 AU)

JPL Space Calendar

Crew of STS-107: From left to right are mission specialist David Brown, commander Rick Husband, mission specialist Laurel Clark, mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist Michael Anderson, pilot William McCool, and Israeli payload specialist Ilan Ramon.

Food for Thought

Obama Honors Astronauts Who Gave Their Lives for Space

Space Image of the Week

Image Credit & Copyright: Ben Cooper (Launch Photography)