Space News Update - February 13, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Scientists Find New Clues About the Interiors of ‘Super-Earth’ Exoplanets Story 2: Story 2: Planck All-Sky Images Show Cold Gas and Strange Haze Story 3: Story 3: Asteroids cause black hole's X-ray hiccups Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Scientists Find New Clues About the Interiors of ‘Super-Earth’ Exoplanets

Planck All-Sky Images Show Cold Gas and Strange Haze

Asteroids cause black hole's X-ray hiccups

The Night Sky Monday, February 13 · Action at Jupiter: Io reappears out of eclipse from Jupiter's shadow around 9:06 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show Io gradually swelling into view just off Jupiter's eastern limb. Four hours later, at 10:03 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Europa emerges from eclipse at about the same location. Meanwhile, the Great Red Spot crosses Jupiter's central meridian around 10:21 p.m. EST (7:21 p.m. PST). Tuesday, February 14 · Venus, blazing in the southwest, is certainly the patron planet of Valentine's Day. As the stars come out, look to Venus's right by about two fist-widths at arm's length for the Great Square of Pegasus, which is standing on one corner. · Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 7:40 p.m. EST. Wednesday, February 15 · Brilliant Sirius shines highest due south around 9 p.m., depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. Thursday, February 16 · With your telescope, have you ever sought out the three subtle star clusters in Orion's Shield? Find them using Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders article, chart, and photos in the February Sky & Telescope, page 54. Friday, February 17 · This is the time of year when, after dinnertime, the W pattern of Cassiopeia stands vertically on end high in the northwest.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information For Denver: SATELLITELOCALDURATION MAX ELEV APPROACHDEPARTURE DATE/TIME(MIN)(DEG)(DEG-DIR) ISSMon Feb 13/06:44 PM48716 above SW30 above NE ISSTue Feb 14/07:24 PM12418 above WNW24 above NNW ISSWed Feb 15/06:28 PM44432 above W11 above NE ISSThu Feb 16/07:07 PM21613 above NW15 above N ISSFri Feb 17/06:11 PM42521 above WNW10 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights February 13, Monday 2 p.m. - NASA Budget News Conference - HQ (All Channels) February 14, Tuesday 6 a.m. - Replay of ISS Update Commentary Hour - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 7 a.m. - Interview with Expedition 28/29 Flight Engineer/Commander Michael Fossum (48:17) – 8 a.m. - Interview with Expedition 26/27 Flight Engineer Catherine “Cady” Coleman Ph.D. (36:11) 8:40 a.m. - Interview with Expedition 27/28 Flight Engineer Ronald Garan, Jr (40:13) 9:20 a.m. - ISS Expedition 30 ESA In-Flight Event with ZDF Television, Germany – 10:30 a.m. - Presentation by Expedition 26,27, 28 and 29 Crew Members – 11:30 a.m. - ISS Update Commentary Hour - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels) 12:30 p.m. - NASA Television Video File - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) 2 p.m. - NASA Tweet Up with Ron Garan - HQ (Public, HD and Education Channels) February 15, Wednesday 9:55 a.m. - ISS Expedition 30 Educational In-Flight Event with the Crayton Middle School in Columbia, S.C. – February 16, Thursday 8:45 a.m. - ISS Russian Spacewalk Coverage (Spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. ET) February 17, Friday 10 a.m. - Kennedy Space Center Celebrates the 50Th Anniversary of Orbital Flight with Senator John Glenn and Astronaut Scott Carpenter - KSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.NASA website

Space Calendar · Feb 13 - Laser Relativity Satellite (LARES)/ Cubesats/ PW-Sat 1/ Vega Launch (Inaugural Vega Launch), Successful · Feb 13 - Asteroid Cortina Closest Approach To Earth (1.266 AU) · Feb 13 - Asteroid 9998 ISO Closest Approach To Earth (1.285 AU) · Feb 13 - John Dreyer's 160th Birthday (1852) · Feb 14 - SES-4 Proton M-Briz M Launch · Feb 14 - Mercury Passes 1.3 Degrees From Neptune · Feb 14 - Asteroid 3 Juno Occults TYC (11.7 Magnitude Star) · Feb 14 - Asteroid Parsec Closest Approach To Earth (1.101 AU) · Feb 14 - Asteroid Payton Closest Approach To Earth (1.982 AU) · Feb th Anniversary (1972), Luna 20 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample Return) · · Feb 15 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #310 (OTM-310) · Feb 15 - Comet 198P/ODAS Perihelion (1.997 AU) · Feb 16 - Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 1) Atlas 5 Launch · Feb 16 - Asteroid Creedence Closest Approach To Earth (1.744 AU) · Feb 16 - Asteroid 243 Ida Closest Approach To Earth (1.837 AU) · Feb 16 - Asteroid 3526 Jeffbell Closest Approach To Earth (2.019 AU) · Feb 16 - Asteroid 3780 Maury Closest Approach To Earth (2.066 AU) · Feb 17 - Comet C/2011 L2 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (1.899 AU) · Feb 17 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults TYC (10.0 Magnitude Star) · Feb 17 - Asteroid 1993 DA Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU) · Feb 17 - Asteroid 1221 Amor Closest Approach To Earth (0.736 AU)q · Feb 17 - Asteroid 136 Austria Closest Approach To Earth (1.503 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought Antarctica's Lake Vostok is Test Case for Exploring Icy Jupiter Moon

Space Image of the Week