Space News Update - July 5, 2013 - In the News Departments Story 1: Ocean satellite dies after 11½-year mission Story 2: Fit Check Sets Stage for Orion Recovery Test Story 3: A Galaxy Grows Fat on Nearby Gas  Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Ocean satellite dies after 11½-year mission 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)

Fit Check Sets Stage for Orion Recovery Test

A Galaxy Grows Fat on Nearby Gas

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, July 5 · Venus, the "Evening Star," is very gradually brightening and moving higher above the west-northwest horizon in twilight. Keep watch through the summer and fall!   · During dawn Saturday morning, look low in the east-northeast for the waning Moon. It guides your way to Mars, Jupiter, Aldebaran, and Beta Tauri, as shown at right. Binoculars will help. · Earth is at aphelion, its farthest from the Sun for the year (only 1/30 farther than at perihelion in January). Saturday, July 6 · Two hours after sunset, after darkness is truly complete, the east-northeast horizon bisects the Great Square of Pegasus across two of its opposite corners. By midnight the whole Great Square is up in good view, balanced on its bottom corner. Sunday, July 7 · When the stars begin to come out these evenings, the Big Dipper hangs straight down from its handle high in the northwest, while the dim, elusive Little Dipper stands straight up on its handle from Polaris in the north. Sky & Telescope Monday, July 8 · This is the time of year when, as twilight fades to dark, the two brightest summer stars, Arcturus and Vega, shine equally close to the zenith (depending on where you are). Arcturus is the one toward the southwest; Vega is toward the east. · New Moon (exact at 3:14 a.m. on this date EDT).

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: No Sighting Opportunities through July 15. Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website (all times Eastern Daylight Time) No special programming. For NASA-TV’s daily program schedule go to: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/schedule.html Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jul 05 - Earth At Aphelion (1.017 AU From Sun) Jul 05 - Comet 271P/van Houten-Lemmon Perihelion (4.250 AU) Jul 06 - Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Perihelion (1.086 AU) Jul 06 - Comet 246P/NEAT Closest Approach To Earth (2.007 AU) Jul 06 - Comet 108P/Ciffreo At Opposition (2.921 AU) Jul 06 - Asteroid 18458 Caesar Closest Approach To Earth (1.168 AU) Jul 06 - Asteroid 11334 Rio de Janeiro Closest Approach To Earth (1.273 AU) Jul 06 - 75th Anniversary (1938), Seth Nicholson's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Lysithea Jul 07 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #352 (OTM-352) Jul 07 - Comet 174P/Echeclus At Opposition (5.567 AU) Jul 07 - Asteroid 4783 Wasson Closest Approach To Earth (2.061 AU) Jul 07 - Asteroid 44016 Jimmypage Closest Approach To Earth (2.069 AU) Jul 07 - Asteroid 2197 Shanghai Closest Approach To Earth (2.497 AU) Jul 07 - 10th Anniversary (2003), Mars Exploration Rover B (Opportunity) Launch Jul 08 - Comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR At Opposition (2.020 AU) Jul 08 - Comet 170P/Christensen At Opposition (2.672 AU) Jul 08 - Comet 270P/Gehrels Perihelion (3.602 AU) Jul 08 - Asteroid 99942 Apophis Closest Approach To Earth (0.244 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Earth Is Farthest From the Sun for 2013 Today Food for Thought Earth Is Farthest From the Sun for 2013 Today

Space Image of the Week M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind  Image Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford (Rancho Del Sol Obs.)