Space News Update - March 14, In the News Story 1: Story 1: SpaceX delays weekend Falcon 9 rocket launch Story 2: Story 2: CU-Boulder-led study on lunar crater counting shows crowdsourcing is accurate tool Story 3: Story 3: How Giant Galaxies Bind The Milky Way’s Neighborhood With Gravity Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

SpaceX delays weekend Falcon 9 rocket launch

CU-Boulder-led study on lunar crater counting shows crowdsourcing is accurate tool

How Giant Galaxies Bind The Milky Way’s Neighborhood With Gravity

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, March 14  This evening, look for Regulus and the Sickle of Leo above the almost-full Moon, as shown here. Saturday, March 15  The Big Dipper glitters high in the northeast these evenings, standing on its handle. You probably know that the two stars forming the front of the Dipper's bowl (currently on top) are the Pointers; they point to Polaris, currently to their left. And, you may know that if you follow the curve of the Dipper's handle out and around by a little more than a Dipper length, you'll arc toArcturus, now rising in the east. But did you know that if you follow the Pointers backward, you'll land inLeo? Draw a line diagonally across the Dipper's bowl from where the handle is attached, continue far on, and you'llgo to Gemini. And look at the two stars forming the open top of the Dipper's bowl. Follow this line past the bowl's lip far across the sky, and you crash into Capella. Sunday, March 16  Full Moon (exact at 1:08 p.m. EDT). The Moon rises around sunset and shines far below Leo in the evening, as shown above. Later in the night, look far to the Moon's lower left for Mars and fainter Spica. Monday, March 17  Once the Moon is well up in the southeast late this evening, look below it to spot bright Mars and fainter Spica. By dawn on the 18th they're off in the west-southwest. Tuesday, March 18  The Moon, Mars, and Spica form a striking triangle after they rise in the east late tonight and on into dawn on the morning of the 19th.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver: DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Sat Mar 15, 4:38 AM< 1 min13°13 above E10 above E Sat Mar 15, 6:11 AM5 min50°21 above WSW11 above NE Sun Mar 16, 5:24 AM2 min64°64 above NE20 above NE Mon Mar 17, 4:37 AM< 1 min17°17 above ENE Mon Mar 17, 6:10 AM4 min23°17 above WNW10 above NNE Tue Mar 18, 5:23 AM2 min32°32 above N11 above NE

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Daylight Time) March 17, Monday 7:45 a.m. - News Conference for Media in Europe with Expedition 40/41 Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (in native language) - JSC (NTV-3 only) March 18, Tuesday 12 p.m. - ISS Mission Control On-Console Interview with the Digital Learning Network - JSC (All Channels) 1:30 p.m. - Video B-Roll Feed of ISS Expedition 40/41 Crew Training (precedes the Crew News Conference) - JSC (All Channels) 2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 40/41 Crew News Conference (Suraev, Wiseman, Gerst) - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Mar 14 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (28 Degrees)MercuryElongation Mar 14 - Comet 124P/Mrkos At Opposition (0.686 AU)Comet 124P/MrkosAt Opposition Mar 14 - Comet 219P/LINEAR At Opposition (3.875 AU)Comet 219P/LINEARAt Opposition Mar 14 - Comet 243P/NEAT At Opposition (4.086 AU)Comet 243P/NEATAt Opposition Mar 14 - [Mar 13] Asteroid 2014 EB25 Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)Asteroid 2014 EB25Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - [Mar 11] Asteroid 2014 EP12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)Asteroid 2014 EP12Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - Asteroid 2014 DU22 Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)Asteroid 2014 DU22Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - [Mar 12] Asteroid 2014 EJ24 Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)Asteroid 2014 EJ24Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - Asteroid 4442 Garcia Closest Approach To Earth (1.366 AU)Asteroid 4442 Garcia Mar 14 - Asteroid Grand Challenge Virtual SeminarAsteroid Grand Challenge Virtual Seminar Mar 14 - Gene Cernan's 80th Birthday (1934)Gene Cernan's Mar 14 - Albert Einstein's 135th Birthday (1879)Albert Einstein's Mar 15 - Express-AT1/ Express-AT2 Proton-M Briz-M LaunchExpress-AT1Express-AT2 Mar 15 - Comet 294P/LINEAR Closest Approach To Earth (0.630 AU)Comet 294P/LINEARClosest Approach To Earth Mar 15 - Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner At Opposition (4.455 AU)Comet 21P/Giacobini-ZinnerAt Opposition Mar 15 - Comet C/2013 C2 (Tenagra) At Opposition (8.418 AU)Comet C/2013 C2 (Tenagra)At Opposition Mar 15 - [Mar 07] Asteroid 2014 EM Near-Earth Flyby (0.011 AU)Asteroid 2014 EMNear-Earth Flyby Mar 15 - [Mar 11] Asteroid 2014 EN12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.066 AU)Asteroid 2014 EN12Near-Earth Flyby Mar 15 - Asteroid Krakow Closest Approach To Earth (1.738 AU)Asteroid Krakow Mar 16 - Comet 131P/Mueller At Opposition (3.454 AU)Comet 131P/MuellerAt Opposition Mar 16 - Comet P/2009 SK280 (Spacewatch-Hill) At Opposition (4.358 AU)Comet P/2009 SK280 (Spacewatch-Hill)At Opposition Mar 16 - [Mar 11] Asteroid 2014 DM23 Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU)Asteroid 2014 DM23Near-Earth Flyby Mar 16 - Asteroid Costello Closest Approach To Earth (1.484 AU)Asteroid Costello Mar 16 - Asteroid Hughdowns Closest Approach To Earth (1.917 AU)Asteroid Hughdowns Mar 16 - Asteroid 3130 Hillary Closest Approach To Earth (1.968 AU)Asteroid 3130 Hillary Mar 17 - [Mar 11] NASA's Asteroid Data Hunter Contest BeginsNASA's Asteroid Data Hunter Contest Begins Mar 17 - Asteroid 2014 AY28 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)Asteroid 2014 AY28Near-Earth Flyby Mar 18 - Comet 169P/NEAT Closest Approach To Earth (1.121 AU)Comet 169P/NEATClosest Approach To Earth Mar 18 - Comet 244P/Scotti Closest Approach To Earth (3.782 AU)Comet 244P/ScottiClosest Approach To Earth Mar 18 - Comet P/2008 O2 (McNaught) At Opposition (4.176 AU)Comet P/2008 O2 (McNaught)At Opposition Mar 18 - Comet C/2013 G7 (McNaught) Perihelion (4.677 AU)Comet C/2013 G7 (McNaught)Perihelion Mar 18 - [Mar 13] Asteroid 2014 EY24 Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)Asteroid 2014 EY24Near-Earth Flyby Mar 18 - Asteroid 2013 WT44 Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)Asteroid 2013 WT44Near-Earth Flyby Mar 18 - [Mar 11] Asteroid 2014 EO12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)Asteroid 2014 EO12Near-Earth Flyby Mar 18 - Asteroid 2005 FN Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)Asteroid 2005 FNNear-Earth Flyby Mar 18 - Asteroid Stooke Closest Approach To Earth (1.883 AU)Asteroid Stooke Mar 18 - Asteroid Stony Ridge Closest Approach To Earth (1.929 AU)Asteroid Stony Ridge Mar 18 - Asteroid Menaechmus Closest Approach To Earth (2.100 AU)Asteroid Menaechmus

Food for Thought How Did Life Arise? Fuel Cells May Have Answers

Space Image of the Week Cassini Spacecraft Uses "Pi Transfer" to Navigate Path Around Saturn