Space News Update - September 11, In the News Story 1: New Pluto Images from NASA’s New Horizons: It’s Complicated Story 2: Dawn gets better look at bright spots on Ceres Story 3: Story 3: NASA Telescopes Find Galaxy Cluster with Vibrant Heart Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

New Pluto Images from NASA’s New Horizons: It’s Complicated

Dawn gets better look at bright spots on Ceres

NASA Telescopes Find Galaxy Cluster with Vibrant Heart

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, September 11 How soon after sunset can you identify the big Summer Triangle? Vega, its brightest star, is nearly straight overhead (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). Deneb is the first bright star to Vega's east-northeast. Altair shines less high in the southeast. Thin-Moon challenge: Saturday's dawn offers a chance to try to set your record old-Moon sighting. Look just above the eastern horizon as dawn grows bright, as shown here. Bring binoculars or a telescope. If you detect the Moon, note the time. Then see how close this is to the time of new Moon: 2:41 a.m. Sunday morning September 13th Eastern Daylight Time (6:41 September 13th UT). Saturday, September 12 The Great Square of Pegasus is high in the east after dark, balancing on one corner. From the Great Square's left corner extends the big line of three stars, running to the lower left, that mark the head, backbone and leg of the constellation Andromeda. (The line of three includes the corner.) Upper left from the end of this line, you'll find W-shaped Cassiopeia tilting up. Sunday, September 13 If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, this is a good time of year to spot the false dawn: the morning zodiacal light. Look east before true dawn begins, meaning at least 90 minutes before sunrise. The zodiacal light is an enormous, tall pyramid of smooth, gentle glow. It extends to the upper right along the zodiac through Mars and Venus to Gemini. What you're seeing is interplanetary dust in the plane of the ecliptic, lit by sunlight. Don't confuse the zodiacal light with the Milky Way, more lumpy and irregular, to its right! Monday, September 14 Altair is the brightest star in the south after dark. Look for Gamma Aquilae (Tarazed) to its upper right by a finger-width at arm's length, and fainter Beta Aquilae a little farther on the opposite side of Altair. Delphinus, the Dolphin, is about a fist-width to Altair's left. Tuesday, September 15 As dusk turns to night, Arcturus twinkles due west. It's getting lower every week. Off to its right in the northwest, the Big Dipper is turning more and more level.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Fri Sep 11, 4:37 AM1 min32°32 above ESE19 above E Fri Sep 11, 6:11 AM5 min27°11 above W10 above NNE Sat Sep 12, 5:19 AM3 min47°37 above WNW17 above NE Sun Sep 13, 4:28 AM< 1 min28°28 above NE23 above NE Sun Sep 13, 6:01 AM4 min17°10 above WNW10 above NNE Mon Sep 14, 5:10 AM3 min25°24 above NW10 above NNE Tue Sep 15, 4:20 AM< 1 min19°19 above NNE13 above NE Tue Sep 15, 5:54 AM3 min12°10 above NW10 above NNE

NASA-TV Highlights 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 5 p.m., Friday, September 11 - ISS Expedition 44/Soyuz TMA-16M Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 5:29 p.m. ET) (all channels) 7:30 p.m., Friday, September 11 - ISS Expedition 44/Soyuz TMA-16M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 7:59 p.m. ET; landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan scheduled at 8:51 p.m. ET) (all channels) 10 p.m., Friday, September 11 - Video File of the ISS Expedition 44/Soyuz TMA-16M Landing and Post-Landing Activities (all channels) 9 a.m., Monday, September 14 - ISS One-Year Crew Update from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. (includes an in-flight interview at 9:05 a.m. ET with Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA) (all channels) 10 a.m., Monday, September 14 - Video File of the ISS Expedition 44/Soyuz TMA-16M Landing and Post-Landing Activities; scheduled to include a post-landing interview with Visiting Crew member Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency and the return of Expedition 44 Commander Gennady (all channels) (all times Eastern Time Zone)

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Sep 11 - [Sep 10] Soyuz TMA-16M Return to Earth (International Space Station)Soyuz TMA-16M Return to Earth Sep 11 - [Sep 10] Galileo FM9 & FM10 Soyuz STB-Fregat-M LaunchGalileo FM9 & FM10Soyuz STB-Fregat-M Launch Sep 11 - Comet 104P/Kowal Closest Approach To Earth (1.551 AU)Comet 104P/KowalClosest Approach To Earth Sep 11 - Asteroid 472 Roma Closest Approach To Earth (1.481 AU)Asteroid 472 Roma Sep 11 - Asteroid 232 Russia Closest Approach To Earth (1.900 AU)Asteroid 232 Russia Sep 11 - Asteroid 4457 van Gogh Closest Approach To Earth (1.999 AU)Asteroid 4457 van Gogh Sep 11 - Asteroid 334 Chicago Closest Approach To Earth (2.861 AU)Asteroid 334 Chicago Sep th Anniversary (1985), ICE, Comet Giacobini-Zinner FlybyICE Sep 11 - Gherman Titov's 80th Birthday (1935)Gherman Titov's Sep 12 - Comet 174P/Echeclus At Opposition (4.851 AU)Comet 174P/EcheclusAt Opposition Sep 12 - Comet 95P/Chiron At Opposition ( AU)Comet 95P/ChironAt Opposition Sep 12 - Apollo Asteroid 6239 Minos Closest Approach To Earth (0.407 AU)Apollo Asteroid 6239 MinosClosest Approach To Earth Sep 12 - Asteroid Chesley Closest Approach To Earth (2.031 AU)Asteroid Chesley Sep th Anniversary (2005), Hayabusa, Asteroid Itokawa ArrivalHayabusaAsteroid Itokawa Arrival Sep th Anniversary (1970), Luna 16 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample Return)Luna 16 Launch Sep th Anniversary (1170), Gervase's Observation of Transit of Mars Across JupiterGervase's Observation of Transit of Mars Across Jupiter Sep 13 - [Sep 07] Partial Solar Eclipse, Visible From South Africa, AntarcticaPartial Solar Eclipse Sep 13 - Comet P/1999 XN120 (Catalina) At Opposition (3.115 AU)Comet P/1999 XN120 (Catalina)At Opposition Sep 13 - Comet 280P/Larsen At Opposition (3.516 AU)Comet 280P/LarsenAt Opposition Sep 13 - Comet 30P/Reinmuth At Opposition (3.718 AU)Comet 30P/ReinmuthAt Opposition Sep 13 - Asteroid 896 Sphinx Closest Approach To Earth (1.304 AU)Asteroid 896 Sphinx Sep 13 - Asteroid 1602 Indiana Closest Approach To Earth (1.458 AU)Asteroid 1602 Indiana Sep 13 - Asteroid 4122 Ferrari Closest Approach To Earth (1.687 AU)Asteroid 4122 Ferrari Sep 13 - Asteroid 45 Eugenia Closest Approach To Earth (1.803 AU)Asteroid 45 Eugenia Sep 14 - Express AM-8 Proton-M Briz-M LaunchExpress AM-8 Sep 14 - Comet 157P/Tritton Closest Approach To Earth (1.989 AU)Comet 157P/TrittonClosest Approach To Earth Sep 14 - Aten Asteroid 2014 KS76 Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)Aten Asteroid 2014 KS76Near-Earth Flyby Sep 14 - Asteroid Spirit Closest Approach To Earth (2.319 AU)Asteroid Spirit Sep 14 - Phobos and Deimos Webcast: Introduction - Discovery, Physical Properties, OrbitPhobos and Deimos Webcast: Introduction - Discovery, Physical Properties, Orbit Sep 14 - Gene Trinh's 65th Birthday (1950)Gene Trinh's Sep 14 - John Dobson's 100th Birthday (1915)John Dobson's Sep [Sep 07] Astronomy WeekAstronomy Week Sep 15 - Comet 151/Helin At Opposition (1.477 AU)Comet 151/HelinAt Opposition Sep 15 - Comet C/2013 P3 (Palomar) Closest Approach To Earth (7.845 AU)Comet C/2013 P3 (Palomar)Closest Approach To Earth Sep 15 - Asteroid 7672 Hawking Closest Approach To Earth (1.160 AU)Asteroid 7672 Hawking Sep 15 - Asteroid 9941 Iguanodo Closest Approach To Earth (1.472 AU)Asteroid 9941 Iguanodo Sep 15 - Apollo Asteroid 5143 Heracles Closest Approach To Earth (2.245 AU)Apollo Asteroid 5143 HeraclesClosest Approach To Earth Sep th Anniversary (1965), "Lost in Space" Debuts on TV"Lost in Space" Sep 15 - Michiel Overbeek's 95th Birthday (1920)Michiel Overbeek's Sep th Anniversary (1910), Theodor Wulf Proposes Cosmic Radiation Comes From Outer SpaceTheodor Wulf

Food for Thought Oxygen is not definitive evidence of life on habitable extrasolar planets

Space Image of the Week Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA