Space News Update - December 12, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Colorado launches bid for spaceport near Denver Story 2: Story 2: Full Moon May Spoil Geminid Meteor Shower's Peak Tuesday Story 3: Story 3: Supermassive black holes smash all the records Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Colorado launches bid for spaceport near Denver

Full Moon May Spoil Geminid Meteor Shower's Peak Tuesday

Supermassive black holes smash all the records

The Night Sky · Monday, Dec. 12 · By mid-evening the waning gibbous Moon is up in the east. It's between Pollux and Castor to its upper left and Procyon to its lower right. Much farther to Procyon's right, and perhaps lower, twinkles brighter Sirius. · Tuesday, Dec. 13 · The annual Geminid meteor shower should be strongest late tonight and tomorrow night. But the light of the waning gibbous Moon will hide all but the brightest meteors. The shower's radiant, or perspective point of origin, is near Castor and Pollux above the Moon (which is not plotted here). The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but their paths, if traced backward far enough across the sky, would cross the radiant. Wednesday, Dec. 14 · Wintry Orion is up in the east-southeast after dinnertime, and higher in the southeast later in the evening. Introduce it to someone! The bright, fire-colored star marking Orion's left corner is Betelgeuse, a prototype red supergiant. The bright star forming Orion's right corner is white Rigel. Midway between them is Orion's three-star Belt, nearly vertical. Thursday, Dec. 15 · The waning Moon rises in the east late this evening with Regulus to its left or upper left. Mars follows them up an hour later. · Jupiter's Great Red Spot transits Jupiter's central meridian around 10:33 p.m. EST (7:33 p.m. PST). Friday, Dec. 16 · The waning Moon rises around 11 or midnight tonight with Mars to its left and Regulus higher above it.

ISS Sighting Opportunities SATELLITELOCALDURATION MAX ELEV APPROACHDEPARTURE DATE/TIME(MIN)(DEG)(DEG-DIR) Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information For Denver: ISSTue Dec 13/06:47 PM< above SSW ISSWed Dec 14/05:53 PM11310 above SSE13 above SE ISSThu Dec 15/06:31 PM23510 above SW35 above SSW ISSFri Dec 16/05:36 PM42810 above SSW19 above E

NASA-TV Highlights December 13, Tuesday 9:35 a.m. – ISS Expedition 30 In-Flight Interview with KPRC-TV, Houston – JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels) December 16, Friday 12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/31 Crew Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels) 4 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/31 Crew Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 8 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/31 Crew Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 11 p.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/31 Crew Activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.NASA website

Space Calendar · Dec 12 - Cassini, Dione Flyby · Dec 12 - IGS-6 (Radar-3) H-2A Launch · Dec 12 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Calypso, Enceladus & Tethys · Dec 12 - Asteroid 1243 Pamela Occults HIP (6.6 Magnitude Star) · Dec 12 - Asteroid Robmanning Closest Approach To Earth (1.192 AU) · Dec th Anniversary (1961), Oscar 1 Launch · Dec 13 - Cassini, Titan Flyby · Dec 13 - Geminids Meteor Shower Peak · Dec 13 - Comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) Closest Approach To Earth (2.244 AU) · Dec 13 - Comet P/2011 W1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.407 AU) · Dec 13 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults HIP (8.9 Magnitude Star) · Dec 13 - Asteroid 2011 UV158 Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU) · Dec 13 - Asteroid Billhaley Closest Approach To Earth (1.553 AU) · Dec 14 - Comet 244P/Scotti Closest Approach To Earth (2.937 AU) · Dec 14 - Asteroid 2004 BG41 Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU) · Dec 14 - Asteroid 1814 Bach Closest Approach To Earth (0.954 AU) · Dec 14 - Asteroid 2753 Duncan Closest Approach To Earth (1.732 AU) · Dec 14 - Tycho Brahe's 465th Birthday (1546) · Dec 15 - CBERS 2-C (Zi Yuan 1-B3) CZ-4B Launch · Dec 15 - Comet 71P/Clark Perihelion (1.567 AU) · Dec 15 - Asteroid 1607 Mavis Occults HIP (5.7 Magnitude Star) · Dec 15 - Asteroid 4342 Freud Closest Approach To Earth (1.927 AU) · Dec 15 - Asteroid 697 Galilea Closest Approach To Earth (1.948 AU) · Dec th Anniversary (1966), Audouin Dollfus' Discovery of Saturn Moon Janus · Dec 16 - Comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) Perihelion (0.006 AU) · Dec 16 - Comet P/2011 U1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.779 AU) · Dec 16 - Comet C/2011 A3 (Gibbs) Perihelion (2.345 AU) · Dec 16 - Giovanni Donati's 185th Birthday (1826) JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought Martian Sundial – A New “Curiosity”

Space Image of the Week