Space News Update - August 16, 2019 - In the News Departments Story 1: Explosion of Monster Star Requires New Supernova Mechanism Story 2: Robotic Toolkit Added to NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Story 3: Milky Way's Black Hole Just Flared, Growing 75 Times as Bright For a Few Hours Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Explosion of Monster Star Requires New Supernova Mechanism NASA's InSight Prepares to Take Mars' Temperature 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)

Robotic Toolkit Added to NASA's Mars 2020 Rover

Milky Way's Black Hole Just Flared, Growing 75 Times as Bright For a Few Hours

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, August 16 • As August proceeds and nights begin to turn chilly, the Great Square of Pegasus lifts up in the east, balancing on one corner. Its stars are only 2nd and 3rd magnitude, and your fist at arm's length fits inside it. Late this evening the waning gibbous Moon rises below it. From the Square's left corner extends the main line of the constellation Andromeda: three stars (including the corner) about as bright as those forming the Square. This whole giant pattern was named "the Andromegasus Dipper" by the late Sky & Telescope columnist George Lovi. It's shaped sort of like a giant Little Dipper with an extra-big bowl, and it's currently raising its contents upward. Saturday, August 17 • The actual Little Dipper, meanwhile, is tipping far over leftward in the north. It's less than half as long as the Andromegasus Dipper, and most of it is much fainter. As always, you'll find that it's oriented more than 90° counterclockwise compared to Andromegasus. Sunday, August 18 • As summer progresses and Arcturus moves down the western sky, the kite figure of Bootes that sprouts from Arcturus tilts to the right (depending on your latitude). The kite is narrow, slightly bent with its top leaning right, and 23° long: about two fists at arm's length. Arcturus is its bottom point where the stubby tail is tied on. The Big Dipper now slants at about the same height in the northwest, to the Kite's right. Monday, August 19 • Whenever bright Vega crosses nearest your zenith, as it does right after dark now, you know that the Sagittarius Teapot must be at its highest due south, even if it's hidden by buildings or trees. Two hours later when Deneb crosses closest to the zenith, it's the turn of little Delphinus and boat-shaped Capricornus down below it to stand at their highest due south.   Sky & Telescope

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

NASA-TV Highlights No Special Programming (all times Eastern Time Zone) No Special Programming Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Aug 16 - Comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley Closest Approach To Earth (2.322 AU) Aug 16 - Comet C/2018 R5 (Lemmon) Closest Approach To Earth (3.325 AU) Aug 16 - Comet C/2019 K7 (Smith) Closest Approach To Earth (4.153 AU) Aug 16 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 PJ Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU) Aug 16 - Amor Asteroid 3757 Anagolay Closest Approach To Earth (1.237 AU) Aug 16 - Asteroid 6524 Baalke Closest Approach To Earth (1.312 AU) Aug 16 - Valeri Ryumin's 80th Birthday (1939) Aug 16 - Pierre Mechain's 275th Birthday (1744) Aug 17 - [Aug 09] Qiancheng 01/ Tianqi 2 Jeilong-1 F1 Launch Aug 17 - Comet 112P/Urata-Niijima At Opposition (1.394 AU) Aug 17 - Comet P/2012 K3 (Gibbs) Perihelion (2.089 AU) Aug 17 - Comet 366P/Spacewatch At Opposition (2.259 AU) Aug 17 - Atira Asteroid 481817 (2008 UL90) Closest Approach To Earth (0.577 AU) Aug 17 - Comet 25D/Neujmin Closest Approach To Earth (2.275 AU) Aug 17 - Apollo Asteroid 141593 (2002 HK12) Near-Earth Flyby (0.062 AU) Aug 17 - Jupiter Trojan 588 Achilles At Opposition (4.574 AU) Aug 17 - Galaxy Forum Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii Aug 18 - Hyperbolic Object A/2018 V3 At Opposition (0.374 AU) Aug 18 - Comet 25D/Neujmin Perihelion (1.291 AU) Aug 18 - Comet P/2011 W1 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (3.984 AU) Aug 18 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 PK Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU) Aug 18 - Asteroid 2801 Huygens Closest Approach To Earth (1.366 AU) Aug 18 - Asteroid 1815 Beethoven Closest Approach To Earth (2.605 AU) Aug 18 - Jupiter Trojan 4063 Euforbo At Opposition (4.289 AU) Aug 18 - 20th Anniversary (1999), Cassini, Earth Flyby Aug 18 - 45th Anniversary (1974), Naragh Meteorite Fall (Hit Building in Iran) Aug 19 - [Aug 09] Apstar 6D CZ-3B/G2 Launch Aug 19 - [Aug 11] Chinasat 18 (Zhongxing-18) CZ-3B/G2 Launch Aug 19 - Moon Occults Asteroid 21 Lutetia Aug 19 - Hyperbolic Object A/2018 V3 Closest Approach To Earth (0.373 AU) Aug 19 - Comet C/2019 M3 (ATLAS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.600 AU) Aug 19 - Comet C/2018 F1 (Grauer) At Opposition (3.074 AU) Aug 19 - Comet C/2018 C2 (Lemmon) At Opposition (4.285 AU) Aug 19 - Asteroid 4125 Lew Allen Closest Approach To Earth (0.806 AU) Aug 19 - Asteroid 4871 Riverside Closest Approach To Earth (1.198 AU) Aug 19 - Asteroid 16857 Goodall Closest Approach To Earth (1.677 AU) Aug 19 - Asteroid 8657 Cedrus Closest Approach To Earth (1.837 AU) Aug 19 - Asteroid 157064 Sedona Closest Approach To Earth (2.152 AU Aug 19 - Asteroid 5335 Damocles (Burnt Out Comet) At Opposition (18.610 AU) Aug 19 - Willard Boyle's 95th Birthday (1924) JPL Space Calendar

The Moon Rock that Turned Out to Be from Earth Food for Thought The Moon Rock that Turned Out to Be from Earth

The Perseids and the Plough Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN) Space Image of the Week The Perseids and the Plough  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)