Space News Update - April 7, 2015 - In the News Departments Story 1: Hot, Young Star 'Missing Link' of Stellar Evolution Story 2: NASA's Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Veins on Mars Story 3: NASA Mercury Probe Trying to Survive for Another Month Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Hot, Young Star 'Missing Link' of Stellar Evolution 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's Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Veins on Mars Ratchet Wrench ‘E-mailed’ to Space Station

NASA Mercury Probe Trying to Survive for Another Month

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, April 7 As dawn brightens on Wednesday morning the 8th, look south for Saturn glowing near the waning gibbous Moon, as shown above. Wednesday, April 8 April always finds Orion leaning over at dusk low in the southwest, with his three-star belt almost horizontal (depending on your latitude). The belt points left toward bright Sirius, and to the right toward Aldebaran and, farther on, Venus and the Pleiades. Thursday, April 9 Sirius still shines brightly in the southwest right at nightfall, though it's no match for Venus in the west. Sirius is the Dog Star, the brightest of Canis Major, and now the constellation stick figure of the dog has turned nearly horizontal, as if he's walking westward. His triangular head is much fainter than the rest. Friday, April 10 Look for the Pleiades just 3° to the upper right of Venus during and after late twilight. That's about two finger-widths at arm's length. Upper left of Venus by 13° is 1st-magnitude Aldebaran, an orange-yellow firespark. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Tue Apr 7, 9:05 PM 3 min 18° 18 above NNW 10 above NNE Wed Apr 8, 8:11 PM 27° 27 above NW Wed Apr 8, 9:48 PM 2 min 11° 10 above NNW 10 above N Thu Apr 9, 8:54 PM 13° 12 above NNW Fri Apr 10, 8:01 PM 17° 17 above NNW 11 above NNE Fri Apr 10, 9:38 PM < 1 min 10° Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) Tuesday, April 7 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, April 7 1 p.m. - Live NASA Science Update: Our Solar System and Beyond: The Search for Water and Habitable Planets (all channels) Wednesday, April 8 9:15 a.m. - ISS Expedition 43 In-Flight Event for ESA with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti (all channels) 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 8 - Live from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum -- WWI: How History Shaped Technology (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-2 (Education))   Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Apr 07 - Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.902 AU) Apr 07 - Comet P/2004 FY140 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (3.078 AU) Apr 07 - Comet 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett Closest Approach To Earth (3.221 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 2063 Bacchus Closest Approach To Earth (0.195 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 5392 Parker Closest Approach To Earth (0.739 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 116939 Jonstewart Closest Approach To Earth (1.061 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 65803 Didymos Closest Approach To Earth (1.240 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 7028 Tachikawa Closest Approach To Earth (2.006 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 3341 Hartmann Closest Approach To Earth (2.754 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 247553 Berndpauli Closest Approach To Earth (3.553 AU) Apr 07 - Asteroid 42355 Typhon Closest Approach To Earth (18.976 AU) Apr 08 - Mercury Passes 0.5 Degrees From Uranus Apr 08 - Comet 42P/Neujmin Perihelion (2.028 AU) Apr 08 - Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (2.902 AU) Apr 08 - Asteroid 2015 FS33 Near-Earth Flyby (0.063 AU) Apr 08 - Asteroid 3001 Michelangelo Closest Approach To Earth (1.526 AU) Apr 08 - Asteroid 7000 Curie Closest Approach To Earth (2.110 AU) Apr 08 - Asteroid 8423 Macao Closest Approach To Earth (2.908 AU) Apr 08 - 35th Anniversary (1980), Voyager 1's Discovery of Saturn Moon Telesto Apr 08 - 55th Anniversary (1960), Project Ozma (1st Radio SETI by Frank Drake) Apr 09 - Comet 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett At Opposition (3.221 AU) Apr 09 - Asteroid 9618 Johncleese Closest Approach To Earth (1.653 AU) Apr 09 - Asteroid 1554 Yugoslavia Closest Approach To Earth (2.075 AU) Apr 09 - Asteroid 35977 Lexington Closest Approach To Earth (2.108 AU) Apr 09 - Asteroid 6030 Zolensky Closest Approach To Earth (2.348 AU) Apr 10 - Comet P/2010 P4 (WISE) At Opposition (4.086 AU) Apr 11 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Titan, Tethys & Dione JPL Space Calendar

The Evolution of NASA's Ambitious Asteroid-Capture Mission New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale Food for Thought The Evolution of NASA's Ambitious Asteroid-Capture Mission

Hubble Finds Phantom Objects Near Dead Quasars Space Image of the Week Hubble Finds Phantom Objects Near Dead Quasars Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)