Space News Update - January 14, 2013 - In the News Departments Story 1: Rover Team Chooses 1st Rock Drilling Target for Curiosity Story 2: NGC 6872: Largest Spiral Galaxy Known Story 3: NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Rover Team Chooses 1st Rock Drilling Target for Curiosity

NGC 6872: Largest Spiral Galaxy Known > NGC 6872: Largest Spiral Galaxy Known

NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis

The Night Sky Monday, January 14 · Before moonlight returns in force to wash out low-surface-brightness telescopic objects, try tonight for the Bubble and Pac-Man Nebulae in Cassiopeia using Ken Hewitt-White's "Hot Gas in Cass" article with finder chart and photos in the January Sky & Telescope, page 65. Tuesday, January 15 · In this coldest time of the year, the dim Little Dipper hangs straight down from Polaris after dinnertime, as if (per Leslie Peltier) from a nail on the cold barn wall of the sky. Wednesday, January 16 · Of course you often turn your telescope to Jupiter, high and bright this season. But how well do you know all that you can actually look for? See "Observing Dynamic Jupiter" in the January Sky & Telescope, page 52 — including all of Jupiter's satellite events for January. Thursday, January 17 · Bright Capella high overhead and bright Rigel in Orion's foot, both magnitude 0, have almost the same right ascension — so they transit your north-south meridian at the almost same time. Capella passes closest to the zenith around 9 or 10 p.m. this week, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. (It goes exactly through the zenith if you're at latitude 46° north: Portland, Oregon; Montreal; central France.) So, whenever Capella is closest to the zenith, Rigel always marks true south over your landscape. Friday, January 18 · First-quarter Moon. The Moon is exactly half lit at 6:45 p.m. EST. In early evening, look above the Moon by about about a fist-width at arm's length for the brightest two or three stars of Aries. These are aligned more or less vertically.

ISS Sighting Opportunities For Denver: SATELLITE LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) ISS Mon Jan 14/05:54 AM 3 37 37 above NW 11 above NE Tue Jan 15/05:07 AM < 1 17 17 above NE Tue Jan 15/06:39 AM 4 15 10 above NW 11 above NNE Wed Jan 16/05:51 AM 2 19 19 above N 10 above NNE Thu Jan 17/05:03 AM 10 10 above NE Thu Jan 17/06:36 AM 11 10 above NNW Fri Jan 18/05:48 AM 1 13 13 above N Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website. January 16, Wednesday 11:30 a.m. - NASA/ESA Orion Partnership News Conference - JSC (All Channels) January 17, Thursday 6 - 9:30 a.m. - Live Interviews on “RRM” - GSFC (Media Channel) 10:20 a.m. - ISS Expedition 34 In-Flight Educational Event for the Canadian Space Agency with the Chris Hadfield Public School in Sarnia, Ontario - JSC (All Channels) 12 p.m. - ISS Program and Science Overview Briefing - JSC (All Channels) 1:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35/36 Video B-Roll Footage of Training - JSC (All Channels) 2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35/36 Crew News Conference (Vinogradov, Misurkin, Cassidy) - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jan 14 - Asteroid 13188 Okinawa Closest Approach To Earth (1.191 AU) Jan 14 - Asteroid 1913 Sekanina Closest Approach To Earth (1.842 AU) Jan 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 20000 Varuna At Opposition (42.669 AU) Jan 14 - 5th Anniversary (2008), MESSENGER, 1st Mercury Flyby Jan 15 - Cosmos 2482-2484 (Rodnik-S N1, N2 & N3) Rokot KM Launch Jan 15 - Comet C/2012 X2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (3.821 AU) Jan 15 - Asteroid 2012 UW68 Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU) Jan 15 - Asteroid 4636 Chile Closest Approach To Earth (1.657 AU) Jan 16 - Comet 131P/Mueller 2 Closest Approach To Earth (2.313 AU) Jan 16 - Asteroid 253382 (2003 JG8) Occults IP 51047 (6.5 Magnitude Star) Jan 16 - Asteroid 30826 Coulomb Closest Approach To Earth (1.878 AU) Jan 17 - Comet P/2012 T7 (Vorobjov) Perihelion (3.924 AU) Jan 17 - Asteroid 2266 Tchaikovsky Closest Approach To Earth (1.963 AU) Jan 17 - Asteroid 12284 Pohl Closest Approach To Earth (2.351 AU) Jan 17 - Asteroid 3552 Don Quixote Closest Approach To Earth (6.094 AU) Jan 18 - [Jan 12] Asteroid 2012 YF8 Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU) Jan 18 - Asteroid 6594 Tasman Closest Approach To Earth (2.223 AU) Jan 18 - Kuiper Belt Object 208996 (2003 AZ84) At Opposition (44.126 AU) Messenger at Mercury JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought Private Test Pilots to Fly 1st Commercial Crewed Space Flights for NASA

Space Image of the Week Stratocumulus Clouds Over Pacific Credit: NASA