Space News Update - February 14, 2017 - In the News Departments Story 1: Scientists Shortlist Three Landing Sites for Mars 2020 Story 2: Mind the Gap: ‘Rapid Burster’ Behavior Explained Story 3: Team Makes Planet Hunting a Group Effort, Finds More Than 100 Candidates Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Scientists Shortlist Three Landing Sites for Mars 2020 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)

Mind the Gap: ‘Rapid Burster’ Behavior Explained

Team Makes Planet Hunting a Group Effort, Finds More Than 100 Candidates

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, February 14 The Moon rises around 9 or 10 p.m., with Jupiter following up below it 30 or 40 minutes later. Then only 10 or 15 minutes later, fainter Spica follows Jupiter (look to Jupiter's lower right). By dawn on the 15th the trio has moved over to the high southwest, as shown here.   Wednesday, February 15 Orion is now high in the southeast at nightfall. Left of Orion's upper part is Gemini, headed by Castor and Pollux at far left. The stick-figure Twins are still lying on their sides. Well below their legs is bright Procyon in little Canis Minor: the doglet whose top is barely visible in profile in a dark sky. He's currently vertical. Procyon marks his rump. Thursday, February 16 The inside of the Winter Triangle (Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Procyon) looks pretty empty. But of course it's not. It's full of dim Monoceros, the Unicorn, with the winter Milky Way and telescopic deep-sky sights — as told in Fred Schaaf's "Under The Stars" column in the February Sky & Telescope, page 45. Friday, February 17 By 9 p.m. or so, the Big Dipper stands on its handle in the northeast. In the northwest, Cassiopeia also stands on end at about the same height. As spring approaches, the Dipper will rise higher and Cassiopeia will move lower. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Tue Feb 14, 6:46 PM 5 min 77° 10° above NW 23° above SE Wed Feb 15, 5:57 PM 3 min 52° 52° above NE 12° above ESE Wed Feb 15, 7:32 PM 2 min 15° 14° above WSW 12° above SSW Thu Feb 16, 6:41 PM 29° 28° above SW 10° 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) Friday, February 17 6 a.m. - Live Interviews with NASA Scientists on NASA’s Global View of Snow: Deciphering How Winter Storms Impact the World’s Water Resources (NTV-3 (Media)) 1:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 50 In-Flight Event with ISS Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA (starts at 1:45 p.m.) (all channels)   Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Feb 14 - Intelsat 32e (SKY-Brasil 1)/ Telkom 3S Ariane 5 Launch Feb 14 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Aegaeon & Methone Feb 14 - Comet 73P-BK/Schwassmann-Wachmann Perihelion (0.976 AU) Feb 14 - Amor Asteroid 2017 BX5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 5641 McCleese Closest Approach To Earth (0.743 AU) Feb 14 - Atira Asteroid 2006 WE4 Closest Approach To Earth (1.556 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 1022 Olympiada Closest Approach To Earth (1.795 AU) Feb 14 - Aten Asteroid 341843 (2008 EV5) Closest Approach To Earth (1.862 AU) Feb 14 - Asteroid 2801 Huygens Closest Approach To Earth (2.268 AU) Feb 15 - Galileo Day Feb 15 - Comet P/2015 W2 (Catalina) At Opposition (3.656 AU) Feb 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 CN248 Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU) Feb 15 - Asteroid 797 Montana Closest Approach To Earth (1.542 AU) Feb 15 - Asteroid 90388 Philchristensen Closest Approach To Earth (2.078 AU) Feb 15 - Asteroid 12846 Fullerton Closest Approach To Earth (2.181 AU) Feb 15 - Malcomb Hartley's 70th Birthday (1947) Feb 16 - Comet 202P/Scotti Closest Approach To Earth (1.952 AU) Feb 16 - Comet 346P/Catalina Perihelion (2.221 AU) Feb 16 - Comet P/2014 W4 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (3.757 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 1602 Indiana Closest Approach To Earth (1.027 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 10346 Triathlon Closest Approach To Earth (1.415 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 1501 Baade Closest Approach To Earth (1.781 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 6714 Montreal Closest Approach To Earth (1.898 AU) Feb 16 - Asteroid 19155 Lifeson Closest Approach To Earth (1.999 AU) Feb 17 - Cartosat 2D/ INS 1A & 1B/ Flock-3P 1-88/ BGUSat/ DIDO 2/ PEASSS/ Al-Farabi 1/ Nayif 1 (FUNcube 5) JPL Space Calendar

NASA Receives Science Report on Europa Lander Concept New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale Food for Thought NASA Receives Science Report on Europa Lander Concept

Space Image of the Week Cloud Swirls around Southern Jupiter from Juno Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SwRI, MSSS; Processing: Damian Peach