Space News Update - September 13, 2016 - In the News Departments Story 1: Mars Rover Views Spectacular Layered Rock Formations Story 2: Study: Earth’s Carbon Points to Planetary Smash-up Story 3: Astronomers Observe Star Reborn In a Flash Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Mars Rover Views Spectacular Layered Rock Formations 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)

Study: Earth’s Carbon Points to Planetary Smash-up

Astronomers Observe Star Reborn In a Flash

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, September 13 As dusk turns to night, Arcturus twinkles due west. It's getting lower every week. And off to its right in the northwest, the Big Dipper is turning more and more level. Wednesday, September 14 How soon after sunset can you see the big Summer Triangle? Face east. Vega, the Triangle's brightest star, is practically at the zenith (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). Deneb is the first bright star you encounter to Vega's east-northeast. Altair shines less high in the southeast. Thursday, September 15 A winter preview: Step out before the first light of dawn this week, and the sky displays the same starry panorama as it will at dusk next February. Orion stands high in the south, Sirius and Canis Major sparkle to its lower left, and Gemini occupies the high east. Friday, September 16 Full Moon (exact at 3:05 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). As night comes on, look for the Great Square of Pegasus to its upper left. The Square, a bit larger than a fist at arm's length, stands on one corner. A fairly deep penumbral (fringe) eclipse of the Moon is visible from eastern Europe, eastern Africa, Asia, and the westernmost Pacific. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Wed Sep 14, 4:28 AM 1 min 12° 12° above N 10° above NNE Wed Sep 14, 6:05 AM 2 min 11° 10° above N Thu Sep 15, 5:12 AM 10° 10° above NNW Fri Sep 16, 4:21 AM < 1 min Fri Sep 16, 5:57 AM 3 min 14° 12° above NE Sat Sep 17, 5:05 AM Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website 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) Tuesday, September 13 11 a.m. - Replay of the Expedition 49-50 Crew News Conference at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia (all channels) 3 p.m. - Replay of the ISS Expedition 50-51 Crew News Conference (Whitson, Pesquet, Novitskiy) (all channels) 7 p.m. - NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition 49-50 Crew’s Departure from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia for the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, Borisenko) (all channels) 9 p.m. - NASA Television Video B-Roll Feed of Training and Previous Mission of ISS Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA (NTV-3 (Media)) 11 p.m., Tuesday, September 13 - Replay of the ISS Expedition 50-51 Crew News Conference (Whitson, Pesquet, Novitskiy) (NTV-1 (Public)) Wednesday, September 14 1 p.m. - ISS Expedition 49 In-Flight Educational Event with the Vintage High School in Napa, California and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA (all channels) 2:30 p.m. - Live Interviews with ISS Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA (starts at 2:45 p.m.) (all channels) 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. - Replay of ISS Expedition 49 In-Flight Educational Event with the Vintage High School in Napa, California and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA (all channels) Friday, September 16 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. - Replay of ISS Expedition 49 In-Flight Educational Event with the Vintage High School in Napa, California and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA (all channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Sep 13 - Tiangong 2 CZ-2F Launch (2nd Chinese Space Station) Sep 13 - Comet 188P/LINEAR-Mueller Closest Approach To Earth (1.786 AU) Sep 13 - Comet 228P/LINEAR At Opposition (3.831 AU) Sep 13 - Comet C/2015 H2 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (4.967 AU) Sep 13 - Comet 95P/Chiron Closest Approach To Earth (17.399 AU) Sep 13 - Asteroid 1217 Maximiliana Closest Approach To Earth (1.465 AU) Sep 14 - Comet 302P/Lemmon-PANSTARRS Closest Approach To Earth (2.360 AU) Sep 14 - Comet C/2016 N4 (MASTER) At Opposition (3.686 AU) Sep 14 - Amor Asteroid 2016 RG18 Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU) Sep 14 - Amor Asteroid 2016 QM10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.094 AU) Sep 14 - Asteroid 116939 Jonstewart Closest Approach To Earth (1.627 AU) Sep 14 - 180th Anniversary (1836), Aubres Meteorite Fall in France Sep 15 - Perusat 1/ SkySat 4-7 Vega Launch Sep 15 - Moon Occults Neptune Sep 15 - Comet 124P/Mrkos At Opposition (3.852 AU) Sep 15 - Comet 95P/Chiron At Opposition (17.400 AU) Sep 15 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults 2UCAC 33492853 (12.3 Magnitude Star) Sep 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2011 BT15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.051 AU) Sep 15 - Atira Asteroid 434326 (2004 JG6) Closest Approach To Earth (0.692 AU) Sep 15 - Asteroid 71000 Hughdowns Closest Approach To Earth (1.441 AU) Sep 15 - 25th Anniversary (1991), UARS Launch from Space Shuttle Discovery Sep 15 - Jean-Sylvain Bailly's 280th Birthday (1736) Sep 16 - Progress MS-3 Soyuz U Launch (International Space Station 64P) Sep 16 - WorldView 4 (GeoEye 2) Atlas 5 Launch Sep 16 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Sep 16 - International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer Sep 16 - Comet 255P/Levy Closest Approach To Earth (1.831 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Detailed Age Map Shows How Milky Way Came Together Food for Thought Detailed Age Map Shows How Milky Way Came Together

Space Image of the Week The Whirlpool Galaxy and Beyond Image Credit & Copyright: Álvaro Ibáñez Pérez