Space News Update - April 26, In the News Story 1: Story 1: NASA Probes Near Sun Safe from Triple Solar Eruption Story 2: Story 2: SpaceShipTwo could go supersonic Monday, billionaire backer says Story 3: Story 3: Record-breaking pulsar takes tests of general relativity into new territory Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Record-breaking pulsar takes tests of general relativity into new territory >

SpaceShipTwo could go supersonic Monday, billionaire backer says

Record-breaking pulsar takes tests of general relativity into new territory

The Night Sky Friday, April 26 · Around the end of twilight, the Moon rises below Saturn. With binoculars, look closer below Saturn for the wide double star Alpha2 and Alpha1 Librae, magnitudes 2.8 and 5.2 respectively. (They're numbered in order of their westward progression across the sky, not in order of brightness). Saturday, April 27 · Saturn is at opposition tonight: opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. See more under "This Week's Planet Roundup" below. · The waning gibbous Moon rises in the southeast very late this evening, with the red supergiant Antares sparkling to its right. By early dawn Sunday morning Antares is below the Moon in the southwest, as shown above.

The Night Sky Sunday, April 28 · The classic small-scope binary star Gamma Virginis, or Porrima, shines upper right of Spica, 14° from it (about a fist and a half at arm's length) these evenings. Porrima's two equal components were almost unresolvably close together for much of the last decade, but this spring they've widened to 2 arcseconds apart. Use high power. (An orbit diagram is in the May Sky & Telescope, page 51.) Monday, April 29 · It's almost May, yet the winter star Sirius still twinkles low above the west- southwest horizon in late twilight. How much later into the spring can you keep it in view?

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) ISSFri Apr 26/08:23 PM45238 above W10 above SE ISSSat Apr 27/09:09 PM< above WSW10 above SW ISSSun Apr 28/08:19 PM31916 above WSW10 above S

NASA-TV Highlights Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.NASA website April 26, Friday 6:30 a.m. - ISS Progress 51 Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at approximately 8:30 a.m. EDT) - JSC (All Channels) 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. - NASA’s Great Moon Buggy Race - MSFC (Education Channel) 9:30 a.m. - 7:15 p.m. - Live Coverage of FIRST Robotic Finals from St. Louis Missouri - HQ (Public Channel) 11 a.m. - Space Station Live - JSC (Media Channel) April 27, Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. - NASA’s Great Moon Buggy Race - MSFC (Education Channel) 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. - Live Coverage of FIRST Robotic Finals from St. Louis Missouri - HQ (Public Channel)

Space Calendar Apr 26 - Comet 193P/LINEAR-NEAT At Opposition (2.976 AU) Apr 26 - Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann Closest Approach To Earth (5.230 AU) Apr 26 - Asteroid 2612 Kathryn Occults HIP (6.4 Magnitude Star) Apr 26 - [Apr 22] Asteroid 2013 GE55 Near-Earth Flyby (0.069 AU) Apr 26 - Asteroid 2575 Bulgaria Closest Approach To Earth (1.008 AU) Apr 26 - Asteroid 3153 Lincoln Closest Approach To Earth (1.727 AU) Apr 26 - Asteroid Thumper Closest Approach To Earth (1.925 AU) Apr th Anniversary (1998), Cassini, Venus Flyby Apr th Anniversary (1848), Andrew Graham's Discovery of Asteroid 9 Metis Apr 27 - Comet 278P/McNaught At Opposition (1.224 AU) Apr 27 - Comet 162P/Siding Spring At Opposition (3.764 AU) Apr 27 - Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS) At Opposition (4.851 AU) Apr 27 - Comet C/2010 L3 (Catalina) Closest Approach To Earth ( AU) Apr 27 - [Apr 24] Asteroid 2013 HP11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU) Apr 28 - Saturn At Opposition Apr 28 - Comet C/2013 F1 (Boattini) At Opposition (1.738 AU) Apr th Anniversary (2003), Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Launch Apr 28 - Eugene Shoemaker's 85th Birthday (1928) Apr 29 - Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu At Opposition (2.433 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid 1909 Alekhin Occults HIP (3.9 Magnitude Star) Apr 29 - Asteroid (2005 NZ6) Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid 7016 Conandoyle Closest Approach To Earth (1.184 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid 9134 Encke Closest Approach To Earth (1.919 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid Amsterdam Closest Approach To Earth (2.150 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid Usuda Closest Approach To Earth (2.180 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid 9252 Goddard Closest Approach To Earth (2.413 AU) Apr 29 - Asteroid 1537 Transylvania Closest Approach To Earth (2.890 AU) Eugene Shoemaker wearing a Bell Rocket Belt while training astronauts. Apr 29 - Asteroid 3202 Graff Closest Approach To Earth (3.019 AU) JPL Space Calendar Eugene Shoemaker wearing a Bell Rocket Belt while training astronauts

Food for Thought NASA Invites the Public to Fly Along with Voyager

Space Image of the Week Image Credit: NASA, Solar Dynamics Observatory