Space News Update - July 29, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Progress M-20M arrives at ISS with spacesuit repair tools Story 2: Story 2: The Weakest Solar Cycle in 100 Years Story 3: Story 3: Opportunity rover Days Away from Mars Mountain Quest Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Progress M-20M arrives at ISS with spacesuit repair tools

The Weakest Solar Cycle in 100 Years

Opportunity rover Days Away from Mars Mountain Quest

The Night Sky Monday, July 29 · Last-quarter Moon (exact at 1:43 p.m. EDT). The Moon rises around midnight tonight, shining below the stars of Aries. As it climbs higher through the morning hours, look well to its lower left for the Pleiades. Tuesday, July 30 · Bright Vega shines nearly overhead these evenings, for those of us at mid-northern latitudes. Look southeast for Altair, almost as bright. Above Altair by a finger-width at arm's length is its little orange sidekick Tarazed, 3rd magnitude. Wednesday, July 31 · Find Altair again high in the southeast after dark. To its right, by about a fist and a half at arm's length, is the dim but distinctive little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin, jumping leftward. Thursday, August 1 · The asteroid 3 Juno is brightest at opposition this week, glimmering at magnitude 9.0 at the Aquarius-Aquila border. Pick it up with your scope using the finder chart in the August Sky & Telescope, page 51.August Sky & Telescope Friday, August 2 · As summer begins to wane, The Big Dipper hangs diagonally on the wall of the northwestern sky during evening. It's about as high as bright Arcturus, shining left of it in the west.</p · In early dawn Saturday morning (you can set your alarm), the waning crescent Moon hangs to the upper right of Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury low in the east-northeast, as shown at right. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver: DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Tue Jul 30, 3:05 AM1 min11°10 above NNW11 above N Tue Jul 30, 4:42 AM2 min15°11 above NNW15 above NNE Wed Jul 31, 2:17 AM< 1 min12°12 above NNW12 above N Wed Jul 31, 3:54 AM1 min12°10 above NNW12 above NNE Wed Jul 31, 5:29 AM3 min37°10 above NW37 above NE Thu Aug 1, 3:05 AM1 min11°10 above NNW11 above N Thu Aug 1, 4:41 AM3 min25°11 above NNW25 above NNE Fri Aug 2, 2:17 AM< 1 min10°10 above NNW10 above N Fri Aug 2, 3:53 AM2 min19°10 above NNW19 above NNE Fri Aug 2, 5:29 AM6 min79°10 above NW12 above SE

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Daylight Time) July 31, Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 36 In-Flight Event for the European Space Agency with the Italian TG1 Network - JSC (All Channels) August August 2, Friday 12:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 36 In-Flight Event with Minnesota Public Radio and the U.S. Navy’s Emerging Media Division - JSC(All Channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jul 29 - South Delta-Aquarids Meteor Shower PeakSouth Delta-Aquarids Meteor Shower Jul 29 - Asteroid 3 Juno Occults PPMX (11.3 Magnitude Star)Asteroid 3 Juno Occults PPMX Jul 29 - Asteroid 5760 Mittlefehldt Closest Approach To Earth (1.692 AU)Asteroid 5760 Mittlefehldt Jul 29 - Asteroid 7225 Huntress Closest Approach To Earth (1.799 AU)Asteroid 7225 Huntress Jul 29 - Asteroid 7934 Sinatra Closest Approach To Earth (1.933 AU)Asteroid 7934 Sinatra Jul 30 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #356 (OTM-356)Cassini Jul 30 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (20 Degrees)MercuryElongation Jul 30 - Comet C/2012 S3 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (1.341 AU)Comet C/2012 S3 (PANSTARRS)At Opposition Jul 30 - Asteroid 3 Juno Occults 2UCAC (12.3 Magnitude Star)Asteroid 3 Juno Occults 2UCAC Jul 30 - Asteroid 2003 DZ15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)Asteroid 2003 DZ15Near-Earth Flyby Jul 30 - Asteroid 2013 BO76 Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU)Asteroid 2013 BO76Near-Earth Flyby Jul 30 - Asteroid 1213 Algeria Closest Approach To Earth (1.981 AU)Asteroid 1213 Algeria Jul th Anniversary (1938), Seth Nicholson's Discovery of Jupiter Moon CarmeSeth Nicholson'sCarme Jul 31 - Mars Spring EquinoxMars Spring Equinox Jul 31 - Comet P/2013 N3 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.370 AU)Comet P/2013 N3 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth Jul 31 - Asteroid Hermes Closest Approach To Earth (1.681 AU)Asteroid HermesClosest Approach To Earth Aug 01 - Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower PeakAlpha Capricornids Meteor Shower Aug 01 - Comet C/2012 S3 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.338 AU)Comet C/2012 S3 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth Aug 01 - Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT At Opposition (3.951 AU)Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEATAt Opposition Aug 01 - Comet C/2013 G8 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (4.310 AU)Comet C/2013 G8 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth Aug 01 - Comet C/2012 C1 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (4.558 AU)Comet C/2012 C1 (McNaught)Closest Approach To Earth Aug 01 - Asteroid Hertz Closest Approach To Earth (1.386 AU)Asteroid Hertz Aug 01 - Asteroid 5382 McKay Closest Approach To Earth (1.771 AU)Asteroid 5382 McKay Aug 01 - Maria Mitchell's 195th Birthday (1818)Maria Mitchell's Aug 02 - Comet 278P/McNaught Perihelion (2.098 AU)Comet 278P/McNaughtPerihelion Aug 02 - Comet 227P/Catalina-LINEAR At Opposition (4.297 AU)Comet 227P/Catalina-LINEARAt Opposition Aug 02 - Asteroid 2013 OF Near-Earth Flyby (0.068 AU)Asteroid 2013 OFNear-Earth Flyby Aug 02 - Asteroid 2579 Spartacus Closest Approach To Earth (1.101 AU)Asteroid 2579 Spartacus Aug 02 - Asteroid 2710 Veverka Closest Approach To Earth (1.612 AU)Asteroid 2710 Veverka

Food for Thought A Weird West Tale and the Hunt for Planet Vulcan

Space Image of the Week Saturn, Titan, Rings, and Haze