Transcript Forensic Sleuthing Ties Ring Ripples to Impacts

Space News Update
- April 1, 2011 In the News
Story 1:
Forensic Sleuthing Ties Ring Ripples to Impacts
Story 2:
New Results from GOCE: Earth is a Rotating Potato
Story 3:
New Images from Mercury: Just the Beginning for MESSENGER in Orbit
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities
Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week
Forensic Sleuthing Ties Ring Ripples to
Impacts
Alternating light and dark bands, extending a great
distance across Saturn's D and C rings, are shown
here
These images show the subtle ripples in the ring of
Jupiter that scientists have been able to trace back
to the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in July
1994.
Click image to view animation
New Results from GOCE: Earth is a
Rotating Potato
New Images from Mercury: Just the
Beginning for MESSENGER in Orbit
The Night Sky
Friday, March 11
· Look lower left of the Moon this evening for Aldebaran, an orange giant star 65 light-years away. About
three times farther to the Moon's upper right shines brighter Capella, 42 light-years distant.
Saturday, March 12
· This evening until next Friday, Mercury is within 5° of brighter Jupiter very low in the western twilight —
your easiest opportunity to spot Mercury all year. Mercury passes Jupiter on Tuesday, as shown below.
Watch their changing configuration. Although they look close together, Jupiter is more than five times farther
than Mercury; see article.
· First-quarter Moon (exact at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time). The Moon is between the horn stars of
Taurus: Beta (β) and Zeta (ζ) Tauri.
· Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for most of the U.S. and Canada.
The Night Sky
Friday, April 1
· Early spring is when Orion tilts downward in the
southwest after dark, with his three-star belt horizontal
as seen from north temperate latitudes. Orion's Belt
points left toward bright Sirius (out of the frame here),
and to the right more or less toward orange Aldebaran
(also outside the frame). Right of Aldebaran are the
Pleiades.
Saturday, April 2
· Sirius, the Dog Star, is the brightest star shining in
the south-southwest after dusk. At a distance of only
8.6 light-years, it's the nearest thing outside our solar
system that's visible to the naked eye from Earth's
mid-northern latitudes. Look high above Sirius for
Procyon, the Little Dog Star, not much farther away at
11 light-years.
Sunday, April 3
· Saturn is at opposition tonight, opposite the Sun in
Earth's sky. Look for the brightening of Saturn's rings
this week due to the Seeliger effect, described in "This
Week's Planet Roundup" below.
· New Moon (exact at 10:32 a.m. EDT).
Monday, April 4
· Look very high in the northeast after dark this week
for the Big Dipper starting to tip over to the left, after
standing straight up on its handle when winter was
nearing its end.
ISS Sighting Opportunities
For Denver:
SATELLITE
LOCAL
DURATION
DATE/TIME
(MIN)
MAX
ELEV
(DEG)
APPROACH
DEPARTURE
(DEG-DIR)
(DEG-DIR)
ISS
Sat Apr 02/05:27 AM
2
13
11 above NW
10 above N
ISS
Sun Apr 03/04:20 AM
<1
13
13 above NNE
11 above NNE
ISS
Mon Apr 04/04:45 AM
1
12
12 above N
10 above N
ISS
Sat Apr 02/05:27 AM
2
13
11 above NW
10 above N
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information
NASA-TV Highlights
April 1, Friday
9 p.m. - Interviews with Participants of the Great Moonbuggy Race - HQ (Education and Media
Channels)
12 - 8 p.m., 4 – 8 p.m. - The FIRST/Silicon Valley Regional Broadcast - AMES (Education Channel)
8 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket Mating and Crew Activities
in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
April 2, Saturday
6 a.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket Mating and Crew Activities
in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
9 - 11 a.m., 1 – 3 p.m., 5 – 6 p.m., 9 p.m. - Interviews with Participants of the Great Moonbuggy Race HQ (Education and Media Channels)
12 - 8 p.m., 4 – 8 p.m. - The FIRST/Silicon Valley Regional Broadcast - AMES (Education Channel)
12 - 1 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket Rollout to the Launch Pad in
Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)
3 p.m., 8 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket Rollout to the
Launch Pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 11 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket
Rollout to the Launch Pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Media Channel)
Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website
NASA-TV Highlights
April 3, Sunday
5 a.m., 11:10 a.m. – Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Rocket Rollout to the Launch Pad in
Baikonur, Kazakhstan – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
6 a.m., 6:20 a.m., 6:40 a.m. – Replay of STS-134 Crew Question and Answer Session for Countdown Dress Rehearsal –
HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
7 a.m. – Interview with STS-134 Commander, Mark E. Kelly (Captain, United States Navy) (28:01) – HQ (Public, HD and
Media Channels)
7:30 a.m. – Interview with STS-134 Pilot, Gregory H. Johnson (Lt. Col., United States Air Force) (37:27) – HQ (Public, HD
and Media Channels)
8:10 a.m – Interview with STS-134 Mission Specialist 4, Gregory E. Chamitoff, Ph.D. (49:39) – HQ (Public, HD and Media
Channels)
9 a.m. – Interview with STS-134 Mission Specialist 1, Edward M. Fincke (Colonel, United States Air Force) (53:15) – HQ
(Public, HD and Media Channels)
9:55 a.m. – Interview with STS-134 Mission Specialist 3, Andrew J. Feustel, Ph.D. (43:25) – HQ (Public, HD and Media
Channels)
10:40 a.m. – Interview with STS-134 Mission Specialist 2, ESA Astronaut Roberto Vittori (Colonel, Italian Air Force)
(25:41) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
12:10 p.m. – NASA TV Video File – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
1 p.m. – STS-134 Crew Training Resource Reel – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
2 p.m. – Replay of ISS Update (3/28/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
3 p.m. – Replay of ISS Update (3/29/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
4 p.m. – Replay of ISS Update (3/30/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
6 p.m. – Replay of ISS Update (3/31/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
7 p.m. – Replay of ISS Update (4/1/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
8 p.m. – NASA Education Special “NASA Challenges New York Student to Reach for the Stars” (3/22/11) – HQ
(Education Channel)
8 p.m. – Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 27 Final Pre-Launch Crew News Conference and Russian State
Commission Meeting in Baikonur, Kazakhstan – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
9 p.m. – Replay of STS-134 Crew News Conference (3/24/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
9:40 p.m. - Replay of STS-134 Spacewalk Overview Briefing (3/24/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
10:30 p.m. - Replay of STS-134 Program Overview Briefing (3/24/11) – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)
Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website
NASA-TV Highlights
April 4, Monday
11:05 a.m. - ISS Expedition 27 ESA News Conference for Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli (in native language)
- JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)
4:45 p.m. - Video Feed of the ISS Expedition 27 Crew Pre-Launch Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC
via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Public, HD and Media Channels)
5:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 6:18 p.m. ET) - JSC
via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Public, Media and HD Channels)
9 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 27/Soyuz TMA-21 Pre-Launch, Launch and Post-Launch Interviews JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)
Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website
Space Calendar
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Apr 01 - Asteroid 1582 Martir Occults HIP 64445 (5.8 Magnitude Star)
Apr 01 - [Mar 30] Asteroid 2011 FT9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Apr 01 - [Mar 27] Asteroid 2011 FR2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.093 AU)
Apr 01 - Asteroid 7231 Porco Closest Approach To Earth (2.375 AU)
Apr 02 - [Mar 29] Asteroid 2009 UD Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU)
Apr 03 - Saturn At Opposition
Apr 03 - Asteroid 9661 Hohmann Closest Approach To Earth (3.775 AU)
Apr 03 - 45th Anniversary (1966), Luna 10, Moon Orbit Insertion (USSR)
Apr 04 - [Mar 28] Soyuz TMA-21 Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 26S)
Apr 04 - [Mar 29] Comet C/2011 A2 (Scotti) Closest Approach To Earth (0.886 AU)
Apr 04 - Asteroid 11714 Mikebrown Closest Approach To Earth (1.948 AU)
Food for Thought
Space Will Make You Cranky and Euphoric
Space Image of the Week
Sun Fades Away in Spectacular Eclipse Photo
CREDIT: NASA/GSFC/SDO