Space News Update - January 25, 2019 - In the News Departments Story 1: NASA's New Horizons space probe beams back sharpest image yet of Ultima Thule Story 2: One of Our Best Views of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way Story 3: Making the Hubble's deepest images even deeper Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

NASA's New Horizons space probe beams back sharpest image yet of Ultima Thule 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)

One of Our Best Views of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way

Making the Hubble's deepest images even deeper

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, January 25 • Right after dark, face east and look very high. The bright star there is Capella, the Goat Star. To the right of it, by a couple of finger-widths at arm's length, is a small, narrow triangle of 3rd and 4th magnitude stars known as "the Kids." They're not exactly eye-grabbing, but they form a never-forgotten asterism (informal star pattern) with Capella. Saturday, January 26 • Orion is high in the southeast right after dark, and he stands highest due south around 10 p.m. Orion is the brightest of the 88 constellations, but his main pattern is surprisingly small compared to some of his dimmer neighbors. The biggest of these is Eridanus the Euphrates River just to his west, enormous but hard to trace. Dimmer Fornax the Furnace, to Eridanus's lower right, is almost as big as Orion! Even the main pattern of Lepus, the Hare cowering under Orion's feet, isn't much smaller than he is. Sunday, January 27 • Last-quarter Moon (exact at 4:10 p.m. EST). The Moon rises around 1 a.m. tonight in dim Libra. As it climbs high, its curved edge points lower left to the spot on the horizon where Jupiter will rise around 4 a.m. and Venus about 15 minutes later (depending on your location). Monday, January 28 • After dark the Great Square of Pegasus is sinking low in the west, tipped onto one corner. Look for it to the right of Mars. Meanwhile the Big Dipper is creeping up in the north-northeast, tipped up on its handle. Tuesday, January 29 • In this dark-of-the-Moon period, use binoculars to get acquainted with the little asterisms a few degrees north of the main Hyades V pattern. (Zoom in on the View here.) I call two of these the Jumping Minnow and Dragonfly, imagining warm summer afternoons by a riverbank far separated from these icy winter nights. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Fri Jan 25, 6:16 PM 3 min 37° 28° above WNW 16° above NNE Sat Jan 26, 7:00 PM 2 min 15° 10° above NW 15° above NNW Sun Jan 27, 6:09 PM 4 min 20° 14° above WNW 10° above NNE Mon Jan 28, 6:55 PM 1 min 11° 10° above NNW 11° above N Tue Jan 29, 6:03 PM 13° 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) Subject to Change due to Government Shutdown   Thursday, January 31, 1:15 p.m.: Canadian Space Agency PAO event with astronaut David Saint-Jacques from the Destiny Laboratory on the International Space Station with Kids Code Jeunesse in Vancouver, British Columbia. Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jan 25 - Comet C/2010 U3 (Boattini) At Opposition (7.930 AU) Jan 25 - [Jan 18] Apollo Asteroid 2019 AJ13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU) Jan 25 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AG11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU) Jan 25 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AN12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 4037 Ikeya Closest Approach To Earth (1.430 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 12485 Jenniferharris Closest Approach To Earth (1.509 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 13752 Grantstokes Closest Approach To Earth (1.893 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 7028 Tachikawa Closest Approach To Earth (2.064 AU) Jan 25 - Asteroid 8990 Compassion Closest Approach To Earth (2.079 AU) Jan 25 - Apollo Asteroid 3671 Dionysus Closest Approach To Earth (2.306 AU) Jan 25 - Plutino 208996 (2003 AZ84) At Opposition (43.494 AU) Jan 25 - 15th Anniversary (2004), Mars Exploration Rover B (Opportunity), Mars Landing Jan 25 - 25th Anniversary (1994), Clementine Launch (USA Moon Orbiter) Jan 26 - Comet 98P/Takamizawa At Opposition (3.943 AU) Jan 26 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AA10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU) Jan 26 - Apollo Asteroid 136617 (1994 CC) (2 Moons) Closest Approach To Earth (1.319 AU) Jan 26 - Asteroid 4444 Escher Closest Approach To Earth (1.653 AU) Jan 26 - Asteroid 224 Oceana Closest Approach To Earth (1.767 AU) Jan 26 - Asteroid 85185 Lederman Closest Approach To Earth (1.803 AU) Jan 27 - Comet 223P/Skiff Perihelion (2.431 AU) Jan 27 - Asteroid 727 Nipponia Closest Approach To Earth (1.513 AU) Jan 27 - Asteroid 11947 Kimclijsters Closest Approach To Earth (2.866 AU) Jan 27 - Isaac Roberts' 190th Birthday (1829) Jan 28 - Comet C/2010 U3 (Boattini) Closest Approach To Earth (7.929 AU) Jan 28 - Comet 1P/Halley At Opposition (33.845 AU) Jan 28 - Aten Asteroid 2019 AP11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 32096 Puckett Closest Approach To Earth (1.949 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 4356 Marathon Closest Approach To Earth (2.212 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 10792 Ecuador Closest Approach To Earth (2.340 AU) Jan 28 - Asteroid 1134 Kepler Closest Approach To Earth (2.666 AU) Jan 28 - Donald Parker's 80th Birthday (1939) Jan 28 - Lucien d'Azambuja's 135th Birthday (1884) Jan 28 - Auguste Piccard's 135th Birthday (1884) Jan 28 - Jean Felix Piccard's 135th Birthday (1884) Jan 29 - Comet 360P/WISE At Opposition (3.151 AU) Jan 29 - Aten Asteroid 2019 AN11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU) Jan 29 - Aten Asteroid 2013 CW32 Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU) Jan 29 - Asteroid 6318 Cronkite Closest Approach To Earth (1.037 AU) Jan 29 - Asteroid 5945 Roachapproach Closest Approach To Earth (1.560 AU) Jan 29 - Asteroid 5515 Naderi Closest Approach To Earth (1.663 AU) JPL Space Calendar

We May Have Found Earth's Oldest Known Rock. It Was on The Moon Food for Thought We May Have Found Earth's Oldest Known Rock. It Was on The Moon

Moon Struck Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek Space Image of the Week Moon Struck  Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek