Space News Update- March 21, 2014 -

In the News

Story 1: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds New Gully Channel on Mars

Story 2: NASA Observes World Water Day

Story 3: LVAC: Advancing the Technology Readiness of SLS Adaptive Controls

 Departments

The Night SkyISS Sighting Opportunities

Space CalendarNASA-TV Highlights

Food for ThoughtSpace Image of the Week

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds New Gully Channel on Mars

NASA Observes World Water Day

LVAC: Advancing the Technology Readiness of SLS Adaptive

Controls

The Night Sky

Sky & Telescope

Friday, March 21 This year's huge "Winter Diamond" — bright Jupiter on top, bright Sirius on the bottom, and Procyon and Betelgeuse forming the left and right corners — persists well into spring. It stands straight up in the south around 7 p.m. now (depending on where you live east or west in your time zone), then tips westward as the evening advances.

Saturday, March 22 When the stars come out this week, the Big Dipper is standing on its handle in the northeast. As evening grows late, the Dipper climbs higher and starts tipping to the left.

Sunday, March 23 Double shadow transit on Jupiter: Ganymede and Io are both casting their tiny black shadows onto the giant planet from 10:08 to 10:32 p.m. EDT (9:08 to 9:32 p.m. CDT). Last quarter Moon (exact at 9:46 p.m. EDT). The Moon, in northern Sagittarius, rises around 2 or 3 a.m. Monday morning. By dawn Monday look for Antares very far to the Moon's right, Altair about equally far to the Moon's upper left, and bright Venus about equally far to its lower left.

Monday, March 24 By 10 or 11 p.m. Mars and Spica are well up in the southeast. Look almost two fists at arm's length to their right for the four-star pattern of Corvus, the Crow. Normally the Crow eyes Spica in Virgo's hand. Now he may be more interested in the brighter shiny right close by.

ISS Sighting Opportunities

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

ISS For Denver:

Date VisibleMax

HeightAppears Disappears

Sat Mar 22, 5:19 AM 2 min 13° 12 above NNW 10 above NNE

Sun Mar 23, 4:31 AM < 1 min 11° 11 above NNE 10 above NNE

Sun Mar 23, 6:06 AM 2 min 10° 10 above N 10 above NNE

Mon Mar 24, 5:16 AM 2 min 10° 10 above NNW 10 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights

(all times Eastern Daylight Time)

March 23, Sunday2 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 39/40 Soyuz TMA-12M Spacecraft Mating and Rollout to the Launch Pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan plus Launch Pad Interviews - HQ (All Channels) March 24, Monday2 p.m. - Video File of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final Expedition 39/40 Pre-Launch Crew News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels)3-4 p.m. - Kid-Friendly NASA Social: Meet Astronaut Karen Nyberg - HQ (All Channels)

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar

JPL Space Calendar

Mar 21 - Moon Occults Saturn Mar 21 - Comet 124P/Mrkos Closest Approach To Earth (0.679 AU) Mar 21 - Comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte At Opposition (2.582 AU) Mar 21 - Asteroid 2014 DW110 Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU) Mar 21 - Asteroid 51829 Williemccool Closest Approach To Earth (1.194 AU) Mar 21 - Asteroid 2187 La Silla Closest Approach To Earth (1.854 AU) Mar 21 - Asteroid 76272 De Jong Closest Approach To Earth (1.917 AU) Mar 21 - Asteroid 4446 Carolyn Closest Approach To Earth (3.534 AU) Mar 22 - [Mar 21] Astra 5B/ Amazonas 4A/ Ariane 5 Launch Mar 22 - Mercury Passes 1.25 Degrees From Neptune Mar 22 - Venus At Its Greatest Western Elongation (47 Degrees) Mar 22 - Comet C/2014 C3 (NEOWISE) Closest Approach To Earth (1.064 AU) Mar 22 - Comet P/2008 J2 (Beshore) At Opposition (1.579 AU) Mar 22 - Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy At Opposition (1.960 AU) Mar 22 - Comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff Closest Approach To Earth (2.228 AU) Mar 22 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia At Opposition (11.0 Magnitude) Mar 22 - Asteroid 17023 Abbott Closest Approach To Earth (1.291 AU) Mar 22 - Asteroid 214476 Stephencolbert Closest Approach To Earth (2.283 AU) Mar 23 - Comet 244P/Scotti At Opposition (3.785 AU) Mar 23 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 0235-02148-1 (9.8 Magnitude Star) Mar 23 - Asteroid 2003 HT42 Near-Earth Flyby (0.094 AU) Mar 23 - Asteroid 9949 Brontosaurus Closest Approach To Earth (1.230 AU) Mar 23 - Asteroid 2825 Crosby Closest Approach To Earth (1.484 AU) Mar 23 - Asteroid 14827 Hypnos Closest Approach To Earth (1.952 AU) Mar 23 - Asteroid 5029 Ireland Closest Approach To Earth (2.230 AU) Mar 23 - Pierre Simon Laplace's 265th Birthday (1749) Mar 24 - Uragan-M #42 (GLONASS-M, 14F113) Soyuz-2-1b Fregat-M Launch Mar 24 - Asteroid 172 Baucis Occults HIP 96111 (6.7 Magnitude Star) Mar 24 - Asteroid 2014 DG80 Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU) Mar 24 - Asteroid 325102 (2008 EY5) Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU) Mar 24 - Asteroid 12818 Tomhanks Closest Approach To Earth (1.836 AU) Mar 24 - Asteroid 3154 Grant Closest Approach To Earth (2.446 AU)

Food for Thought

NASA's Spitzer Telescope Brings 360-Degree View of Galaxy to Our Fingertips

Space Image of the Week

Solargraphy Analemmas