Space News Update - November 15, 2016 - In the News Departments Story 1: Colorado-built GOES-R Readied for Launch Story 2: NASA Finds Unusual Origins of High-Energy Electrons Story 3: Clearing the Air in Space: Improving Life Support on International Space Station and For Deep Space Exploration Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Colorado-built GOES-R Readied for Launch 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)

NASA Finds Unusual Origins of High-Energy Electrons

Clearing the Air in Space: Improving Life Support on International Space Station and For Deep Space Exploration

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, November 15 The Moon, just past full, has now stepped to the lower left of Aldebaran (as seen in the evening). Wednesday, November 16 Vega is the brightest star in the west early on November evenings. Vega's little constellation Lyra extends to its left, pointing in the direction of Altair, the brightest star in the southwest. Thursday, November 17 Look carefully at Venus as twilight ends. This evening it's only ½° from 3rd-magnitude Lambda Sagittarii, the lid star of the Sagittarius Teapot. Friday, November 18 Around 8 or 9 p.m. this week, the Great Square of Pegasus stands in its level position very high toward the south. (It's straight overhead if you're as far south as Miami.) Its right (western) side points very far down toward Fomalhaut. Its eastern side points down less directly toward Beta Ceti, not as far down. If you have a very good view down to a dark south horizon — and if you're not much farther north than roughly New York, Denver, or Madrid — picture an equilateral triangle with Fomalhaut and Beta Ceti forming its top two corners. Near where the third corner would be is Alpha Phoenicis, or Ankaa, in the constellation Phoenix. It's magnitude 2.4, not very bright but the brightest thing in its area. It has an orange tint (binoculars help). Have you ever seen anything of the constellation Phoenix before? Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Wed Nov 16, 5:39 AM 4 min 26° 14° above NNW 18° above ENE Thu Nov 17, 4:50 AM 2 min 18° 18° above NNE 11° above ENE Thu Nov 17, 6:23 AM 28° 10° above NW 28° above WNW Fri Nov 18, 5:33 AM 3 min 53° 22° above NW 32° above E Sat Nov 19, 4:43 AM 1 min 28° above NE 19° above E Sat Nov 19, 6:17 AM 5 min 11° above WNW 11° above SSE 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) Wednesday, November 16 TBD - NASM’S “STEM in 30” – Scientist or Guinea Pig: Science in Space (NTV-1 (Public)) 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. - Replay of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final ISS Expedition 50-51 Pre-Launch Crew News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Novitskiy, Whitson, Pesquet) (all channels) 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.. - Replay of NASM’S “STEM in 30” – Scientist or Guinea Pig: Science in Space (NTV-1 (Public)) Thursday, November 17 1 p.m. - GOES-R Prelaunch News Conference (all channels) 2 p.m. - GOES-R Mission Briefing (all channels) 2:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 50-51/Soyuz MS-03 Launch Coverage (Novitskiy, Whitson, Pesquet; launch is scheduled at 3:20 p.m. ET; includes video B-roll of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities at 2:45 p.m. ET) (NTV-1 until the end of the GOES Mission Briefing on (all channels) 6 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 50-51/Soyuz MS-03 (Novitskiy, Whitson, Pesquet) Pre-Launch and Launch Video and Post-Launch Interviews (all channels) Friday, November 18 12:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 50 Educational In-Flight Event with the Wheat Ridge High School in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and ISS Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA (Starts at 12:40p.m.) (all channels) 1:30 p.m. - GOES-R Social (all channels)   Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Nov 15 - Moon Occults Aldebaran Nov 15 - Comet 73P-BR/Schwassmann-Wachmann Closest Approach To Earth (1.804 AU) Nov 15 - Comet 324P/La Sagra At Opposition (2.002 AU) Nov 15 - Comet 128P-B/Shoemaker-Holt At Opposition (2.084 AU) Nov 15 - Comet P/1999 XN120 (Catalina) Closest Approach To Earth (2.434 AU) Nov 15 - Comet 264P/Larsen At Opposition (4.042 AU) Nov 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 VE4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.013 AU) Nov 15 - Asteroid 4031 Mueller Closest Approach To Earth (0.842 AU) Nov 15 - Plutino 2003 UZ413 At Opposition (42.702 AU) Nov 16 - Mars Express, Phobos Flyby Nov 16 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #464 (OTM-464) Nov 16 - Comet 30P/Reinmuth Closest Approach To Earth (1.973 AU) Nov 16 - Comet 128P-B/Shoemaker-Holt Closest Approach To Earth (2.083 AU) Nov 16 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 VK2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU) Nov 16 - Apollo Asteroid 326302 (1998 VN) Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU) Nov 16 - Apollo Asteroid 1865 Cerberus Closest Approach To Earth (0.339 AU) Nov 16 - Asteroid 9249 Yen Closest Approach To Earth (1.460 AU) Nov 16 - Asteroid 15402 Suzaku Closest Approach To Earth (1.547 AU) Nov 16 - Asteroid 4345 Rachmaninoff Closest Approach To Earth (1.876 AU) Nov 16 - Neptune Trojan 2011 WG157 At Opposition (29.833 AU) Nov 17 - Soyuz MS-3/ ITASAT 1 Soyuz-FG Launch (International Space Station 49S) Nov 17 - Galileo 15-18 Ariane 5 Launch Nov 17 - Leonids Meteor Shower Peak Nov 17 - Comet 34D/Gale At Opposition (4.016 AU) Nov 17 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 VV2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU) Nov 17 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 UZ25 Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU) Nov 17 - Asteroid 3714 Kenrussell JPL Space Calendar

Atomic Beltway Could Solve Problems of Cosmic Gravity Food for Thought Atomic Beltway Could Solve Problems of Cosmic Gravity

Supermoon and Expedition 50 Soyuz Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Space Image of the Week Supermoon and Expedition 50 Soyuz Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls