Space News Update - August 23, 2016 - In the News Departments Story 1: NASA ‘hears’ from lost spacecraft after nearly two years Story 2: Earth-like Exoplanet Orbiting Nearby Star? Story 3: One of NASA’s cleanest spacecraft ever is ready to fly Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

NASA ‘hears’ from lost spacecraft after nearly two years In this computer graphic, NASA's Voyager 1 probe, moving toward upper left, nears the edge of the sun's influence, flying through a region of space dominated by a "magnetic highway" that helps mediate the flow of particles into and out of the solar system. The region includes particles from the sun's southern hemisphere that have been forced northward by the pressure of the interstellar wind. Voyager 1 is expected to cross the boundary into interstellar space sometime within the next few years if not sooner. (Credit: NASA)

Earth-like Exoplanet Orbiting Nearby Star?

One of NASA’s cleanest spacecraft ever is ready to fly

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, August 23 • Saturn, Mars, and Antares finally line up. They make a nearly straight, nearly vertical line in the south-southwest as the stars come out, as shown above. Tomorrow the line will be nearly as straight, but with Mars now on the other side of the Saturn-Antares line (at the time of twilight for the Americas). Wednesday, August 24 • Last chance to catch Saturn, Mars, and Antares in their evening lineup. Think photo opportunity! • Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 11:41 p.m. EDT). The Moon, in Taurus, rises around midnight. By early dawn Thursday morning they're high in the south with Aldebaran to the Moon's left. They're drawing closer hour by hour: see the next entry. Thursday, August 25 • During the middle of the day today, the last-quarter Moon occults Aldebaran for much of the central and western U.S. Using a telescope under a clean, haze-free blue sky, you may be able to see the orange star wink out on the Moon's bright edge, then reappear from behind the Moon's invisible dark edge up to an hour or more later. When these events happen depends on where you are. Some times: at Kansas City, the star's disappearance is at 12:56 p.m., and its reappearance is at 1:11 p.m. CDT; at Denver, disappearance 11:43 a.m., reappearance 12:14 p.m. MDT; Los Angeles, disappearance 10:21, reappearance 11:26 a.m. PDT; Berkeley, disappearance 10:17, reappearance 11:15 a.m. PDT; Honolulu, disappearance 5:52, reappearance 7:17 a.m. HAST. • August is prime Milky Way time. After dark, the Milky Way runs from Sagittarius in the south, up and left across Aquila and through the Summer Triangle very high in the east, and on down through Cassiopeia to Perseus rising low in the north-northeast. Sky & Telescope Friday, August 26 • Venus and Jupiter have closed to only 1° apart, very low in the west after sunset. That's less than a finger-width at arm's length. See tomorrow below.

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: No Sightings for Denver Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA NASA-TV Highlights   (all times Eastern Time Zone) 2 p.m., Wednesday, August 24 - ISS Expedition 48 U.S. Spacewalk #37 Preview Briefing (all channels)   5:30 a.m., Friday, August 26 - Coverage of the Release of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-9 Cargo Ship from the ISS (Release scheduled at 6:10 a.m. ET) (starts at 5:45 a.m.) (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-3 (Media)) 1 p.m., Friday, August 26 - ISS Expedition 48 In-Flight Event with ISS Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA (starts at 1:25 p.m.) (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-3 (Media)) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Aug 23 - [Aug 18] 50th Anniversary (1966), 1st Photo of Earth from Moon (Lunar Orbiter 1) Aug 23 - Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos Closest Approach To Earth (1.563 AU) Aug 23 - Comet P/2015 F1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.602 AU) Aug 24 - [Aug 18] 50th Anniversary (1966), Luna 11 Launch (USSR Moon Orbiter) Aug 24 - [Aug 21] Intelsat 33e/ Intelsat 36 Ariane 5 Launch Aug 24 - Comet P/1998 VS24 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (3.066 AU) Aug 24 - Aten Asteroid 326290 Akhenaten Closest Approach To Earth (0.494 AU) Aug 24 - Asteroid 44597 Thoreau Closest Approach To Earth (1.354 AU) Aug 24 - Asteroid 4337 Arecibo Closest Approach To Earth (2.341 AU) Aug 24 - 10th Anniversary (2006), Pluto Demoted As A Planet Aug 25 - Moon Occults Aldebaran Aug 25 - Mars Passes 4.4 Degrees from Saturn Aug 25 - Northern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak Aug 25 - Comet 73P-AJ/Schwassmann-Wachmann Closest Approach To Earth (0.479 AU) Aug 25 - Comet 176P/LINEAR At Opposition (1.725 AU) Aug 25 - Asteroid 4 Vesta Occults TYC 1343-01188-1 (9.5 Magnitude Star) Aug 25 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 PS26 Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU) Aug 25 - Apollo Asteroid 2005 QQ87 Near-Earth Flyby (0.085 AU) Aug 25 - Asteroid 3313 Mendel Closest Approach To Earth (1.567 AU) Aug 25 - Asteroid 242516 Lindseystirling Closest Approach To Earth (1.745 AU) Aug 25 - Asteroid 2919 Dali Closest Approach To Earth (1.797 AU) Aug 25 - Kuiper Belt Object 2004 NT33 At Opposition (38.053 AU) Aug 26 - Amor Asteroid 433 Eros Closest Approach To Earth (0.725 AU) Aug 26 - Asteroid 2281 Biela Closest Approach To Earth (0.877 AU) Aug 26 - Atira Asteroid 2007 EB26 Closest Approach To Earth (0.882 AU) Aug 26 - Asteroid 149 Medusa Closest Approach To Earth (1.128 AU) Aug 26 - Asteroid 19019 Sunflower Closest Approach To Earth (1.223 AU) Aug 26 - Asteroid 2451 Dollfus Closest Approach To Earth (1.376 AU) Aug 26 - Asteroid 7554 Johnspencer Closest Approach To Earth (2.950 AU) Aug 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 225088 (2007 OR10) At Opposition (86.592 AU) Aug 26 - 35th Anniversary (1981), Voyager 2, Saturn Flyby JPL Space Calendar

A new Goldilocks for habitable planets Food for Thought A new Goldilocks for habitable planets

First Earthrise Image Taken 50 Years Ago Today Space Image of the Week First Earthrise Image Taken 50 Years Ago Today