Space News Update - May 27, In the News Story 1: Japanese Craft Launched with Night-Vision Mapping Radar Story 2: Rosetta’s Target Comet is Becoming Active Story 3: Story 3: NASA Mars Weather Camera Helps Find New Crater on Red Planet Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Japanese Craft Launched with Night- Vision Mapping Radar

Rosetta’s Target Comet is Becoming Active

NASA Mars Weather Camera Helps Find New Crater on Red Planet

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, May 27  Comet 209P/LINEAR, the source of last Saturday morning's meteors, is closest to Earth for the next five days. It was only 13th magnitude as of May 22 nd. It's south of Leo, crossing Sextans and Crater.  Watch the crescent Moon pass between Jupiter and Procyon as it waxes from evening to evening. Wednesday, May 28  What is the oldest thing you have ever seen? The Earth, Sun, Moon, and planets are 4.6 billion years old. The age record for people who just glance at the sky might be Arcturus, about 7 billion years old. But with a pair of binoculars, you can pick up the 7.2-magnitude star HD in Libra. This star is in competition for the title of the oldest known, with an age recently measured at about 13 billion years. That means it formed just several hundred million years after the Big Bang. Spot it using the finder chart with Gary Seronik's Binocular Highlight column in the June Sky & Telescope, page 45. This is almost certainly the oldest thing you will ever see.  New Moon today (exact at 2:40 p.m. EDT). Thursday, May 29  As twilight turns to darkness, Mars shines brightly fire-colored in the south. Look below it for the four-star pattern of Corvus, the Crow. Friday, May 30  Look very low in the west-northwest in twilight for the hairline crescent Moon with Mercury to its right. They're far to the lower right of bright Jupiter, as shown here. Binoculars will help.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver : DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Wed May 28, 1:35 AM< 1 min18°18 above NNE13 above NNE Wed May 28, 3:09 AM2 min11°10 above NNW11 above N Wed May 28, 4:47 AM1 min13°10 above NNW13 above N Thu May 29, 00:47 AM< 1 min10°10 above NE Thu May 29, 2:20 AM2 min13°10 above NW13 above N Thu May 29, 3:58 AM1 min11°10 above NNW11 above N Fri May 30, 1:32 AM< 1 min16°16 above NNW15 above N Fri May 30, 3:09 AM< 1 min10°10 above N Fri May 30, 4:45 AM2 min19°10 above NNW19 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA May 27, Tuesday 8 a.m. - Replay of Video File of the ISS Expedition 40/41 Crew Activities, Soyuz TMA-13M Spacecraft Mating and Rollout to the Launch Pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan plus Launch Pad Interviews - HQ (All Channels) 2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40 In-Flight Event with the CBS Radio Network and ABC Digital News - JSC (All Channels) 3 p.m. - Video File of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final Expedition 40/41 Pre-Launch Crew News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels) May 28, Wednesday 3 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40/41 Soyuz TMA-13M Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 3:57 p.m. ET; includes video B-roll of the crew’s pre-launch activities at 3:15 p.m. ET) - JSC via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels) 6 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 40/41 Soyuz TMA-13M Pre-Launch, Launch B-Roll and Post- Launch Interviews (All Channels) 9 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40/41 Soyuz TMA-13M Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 9:48 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels) 11 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40/41 Soyuz TMA-13M Hatch Opening and Other Activities (Hatch Opening scheduled at 11:25 p.m. ET) - JSC via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels) May 29, Thursday 1 a.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition 40/41 Soyuz TMA-13M Docking, Hatch Opening and Other Activities - JSC (All Channels)

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar May 27 - Asteroid 4047 Chang'E Closest Approach To Earth (1.626 AU) May 27 - Asteroid 716 Berkeley Closest Approach To Earth (1.636 AU) May 27 - Asteroid 472 Roma Closest Approach To Earth (1.819 AU) May 27 - Asteroid 1008 La Paz Closest Approach To Earth (2.296 AU) May 28 - Soyuz TMA-13M Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 39S) May 28 - Comet 222P/LINEAR Closest Approach To Earth (0.798 AU) May 28 - Comet 136P/Mueller At Opposition (3.427 AU) May 28 - Asteroid 4104 Alu Closest Approacn To Earth (1.344 AU) May 28 - Asteroid 9340 Williamholden Closest Approach To Earth (1.716 AU) May 28 - Kuiper Belt Object (2007 JJ43) At Opposition ( AU) May th Anniversary (1959), Jupiter C Launch Of Two Monkeys (Able & Baker) May 29 - Comet 209P/LINEAR Near-Earth Flyby (0.056 AU) May 29 - Comet 300P/Catalina Perihelion (0.826 AU) May 29 - Comet 4P/Faye Perihelion (1.655 AU) May 29 - Comet C/2013 O3 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (3.273 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 3808 Tempel Closest Approach To Earth (1.248 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 951 Gaspra Closest Approach To Earth (1.458 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 9880 Stegosaurus Closest Approach To Earth (1.527 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 2034 Bernoulli Closest Approach To Earth (1.631 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 2068 Dangreen Closest Approach To Earth (2.037 AU) May 29 - Asteroid Burroughs Closest Approach To Earth (2.447 AU) May th Anniversary (1974), Luna 22 Launch (Soviet Moon Orbiter) May 30 - Comet 92P/Sanguin At Opposition (2.216 AU) May 30 - Asteroid Robinhood Closest Approach To Earth (1.064 AU) May 30 - Asteroid CCD Closest Approach To Earth (1.476 AU)

Food for Thought Failed Dwarf Galaxy Survives Galactic Collision Thanks to Full Dark-Matter Jacket New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale

Space Image of the Week In the Center of Spiral Galaxy M61 Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA; Acknowledgements: G. Chapdelaine & L. Limatola