Transcript NASA to Launch Twin Moon Probes This Week Next Mars Rover`s

Space News Update
- September 5, 2011 In the News
Story 1:
NASA to Launch Twin Moon Probes This Week
Story 2:
Next Mars Rover's High-Tech Landing May Raise Contamination Risks
Story 3:
NASA Gives Public New Internet Tool to Explore the Solar System
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities
Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week
NASA to Launch Twin Moon Probes This
Week
Next Mars Rover's High-Tech Landing May Raise
Contamination Risks
NASA Gives Public New Internet Tool to
Explore the Solar System
The Night Sky
Monday, Sept. 5
· Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central
meridian (the imaginary line down the center of the planet's
disk from pole to pole) around 1:24 a.m. Tuesday morning
Eastern Daylight Time.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
· Midway between sunset and sunrise this week, the Pointer
stars of the Big Dipper are straight down below Polaris and the
north celestial pole. Why? Because this is the time of year
when the Sun is passing south of the Pointers. If you could see
them when they're high in the daytime, you'd see that they're
currently pointing backward to the Sun.
Wednesday, Sept. 7
· Before dawn, Mars is passing less than 6° south (lower right)
of similarly colored Pollux from this morning through Saturday
morning. Watch the triangle that Mars forms with Pollux and
Castor change shape daily. Mars is midway in brightness
between these two stars.
· As dawn grows brighter, look far below or lower left of the
Mars-Castor-Pollux triangle to pick up Mercury close to
Regulus.
Thursday, Sept. 8
· During dawn Friday morning, spot Mercury low in the east about 45 minutes before sunrise. It's bright:
magnitude –0.9. Look less than 1° to Mercury's right for sparkly Regulus, one eighth as bright at magnitude +1.4.
Binoculars help.
Friday, Sept. 9
· The two brightest stars after dark are icy white Vega, now just west of the zenith (if you live in the mid-northern
latitudes), and Arcturus, pale yellow-orange, shining ever lower in the west. A third of the way down from Vega to
Arcturus is the Keystone of Hercules. Two-thirds of the way down, look for the semicircle of Corona Borealis, the
Northern Crown.
ISS Sighting Opportunities
For Denver:
SATELLITE
ISS
LOCAL
DURATION
DATE/TIME
(MIN)
Tue Sep 06/07:50 PM
1
MAX
ELEV
(DEG)
11
APPROACH
DEPARTURE
(DEG-DIR)
(DEG-DIR)
11 above WSW 10 above SSW
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information
NASA-TV Highlights
September 6, Tuesday
10:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 28 Crew News Conference with Ron Garan and Mike Fossum –
JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)
1 p.m. - GRAIL Prelaunch News Conference - KSC (All Channels)
September 7, Wednesday
10 a.m. - GRAIL Mission Science Briefing - KSC (All Channels)
12 p.m. - Scientist in Action – KSC (Education Channel)
3 p.m. - Tweet-Up for GRAIL Mission – KSC (Public and HD Channels)
September 8, Thursday
6 a.m. - GRAIL Launch Coverage (1st Launch Window is 8:37:06 - 8:38:06 a.m. and the 2nd
Launch Window is 9:16:12 - 9:17:12 a.m.) - KSC (All Channels)
12 p.m. - Scientist in Action – KSC (Education Channel)
Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.
Space Calendar
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Sep 06 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults 2UCAC 44961945 (13.1 Magnitude Star)
Sep 06 - Asteroid 2011 HD63 Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU)
Sep 06 - Asteroid 2008 EK1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU)
Sep 06 - 15th Anniversary (1996), Galileo, Ganymede 2 Encounter
Sep 07 - Comet C/2011 M1 (LINEAR) Perihelion (0.905 AU)
Sep 07 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults 2UCAC 44962091 (13.5 Magnitude Star)
Sep 07-08 - GRAIL Launch Tweetup
Sep 08 - GRAIL Delta 2 Heavy Launch
Sep 08 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #289 (OTM-289)
Sep 08 - 45th Anniversary (1966), 1st Star Trek Episode on TV
JPL Space Calendar
Food for Thought
What Can We Do About the Space Junk Problem?
Space Image of the Week