Space News Update - December 15, In the News Story 1: Finally There: Akatsuki Probe Relays its First Images from Venus Orbit Story 2: New Horizons: Plunging through the Solar System’s Dust Disk Story 3: Story 3: Study Finds Evidence for More Recent Clay Formation on Mars Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Finally There: Akatsuki Probe Relays its First Images from Venus Orbit

New Horizons: Plunging through the Solar System’s Dust Disk

Study Finds Evidence for More Recent Clay Formation on Mars

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, December 15  The waxing crescent Moon hangs in the southwest at nightfall. Look above it for the two brightest stars of Aquarius: Beta (β) and, higher, Alpha (α) Aquarii. Alpha is the bottom-right point of the Water Jar asterism. Wednesday, December 16  The Moon this evening stands midway between Fomalhaut, to its lower left, and Enif, the Nose of Pegasus, to its upper right. The Moon is about 20° from each. Thursday, December 17  The Moon shines more or less under the western (right) side of the Great Square of Pegasus at nightfall.  Algol should be at minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple of hours centered on 8:48 p.m. EST, according to revised predictions. Friday, December 18  First-quarter Moon (exact at 10:14 a.m. EST). This evening the Moon shines more or less under the eastern (left) side of the Great Square of Pegasus.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver : DateVisibleDateAppearsDisappears Tue Dec 15, 6:00 PM< 1 min11°10° above N11° above N Wed Dec 16, 5:07 PM1 min10°10° above NNW10° above NNE Thu Dec 17, 5:50 PM2 min13°10° above NNW13° above NNE Fri Dec 18, 6:33 PM1 min16°10° above NW16° above NNW

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 Tuesday, December 15  11:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-19M Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 12:24 p.m. ET) (Starts at 11:45 a.m.) (all channels)  1 p.m. - What’s New in Aerospace? Sewing Machines, Balloons, and Rocket Fuel: Developing the Next Generation of Mars Landing Technologies -- from the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum (NTV-2 (Education))  2 p.m. - ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-19M Hatch Opening and Other Activities (Hatch Opening scheduled at 2:25 p.m. ET) (all channels)  4 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-19M Docking, Hatch Opening and Other Activities (all channels) Wednesday, December 16  11:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 46 Interviews with CBS “Face the Nation” and CNN International with ISS Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (starts at 11:55 a.m.) (all channels) Thursday, December 17  1 p.m.- The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Presents “STEM in 30” – The Wright Brothers (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-2 (Education)) Friday, December 18  9 a.m. - ISS Expedition 46 In-Flight Event for ESA with Flight Engineer Tim Peake and British Media (starts at 9:15 a.m.) (all channels) (all times Eastern Time Zone)

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar  Dec 15 - Soyuz TMA-19M Soyuz-FG Launch (International Space Station 46S)Soyuz TMA-19MSoyuz-FG Launch  Dec th Anniversary (1965), Gemini 6 Launch (Walter Schirra & Thomas Stafford)Gemini 6  Dec 15 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #433 (OTM-433)Cassini  Dec 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2015 XY261 Near-Earth Flyby (0.002 AU)Apollo Asteroid 2015 XY261  Dec 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2015 XN55 Near-Earth Flyby (0.006 AU)Apollo Asteroid 2015 XN55  Dec 15 - Atira Asteroid 2013 JX28 Closest Approach To Earth (0.680 AU)Atira Asteroid 2013 JX28Closest Approach To Earth  Dec 15 - Asteroid 3115 Baily Closest Approach To Earth (1.241 AU)Asteroid 3115 Baily  Dec 15 - Asteroid Angstrom Closest Approach To Earth (1.549 AU)Asteroid Angstrom  Dec 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2212 Hephaistos Closest Approach To Earth (2.433 AU)Apollo Asteroid 2212 Hephaistos  Dec th Anniversary (1970), Venera 7, Venus Landing (USSR)Venera 7  Dec th Anniversary (1965), 1st Manned Spacecraft Rendezvous (Gemini 6 & 7)1st Manned Spacecraft Rendezvous (Gemini 6 & 7)  Dec 15 - Kin Endate's 55th Birthday (1960)Kin Endate's  Dec th Anniversary (1965), Pioneer 6 Launch (Sun OrbiterPioneer 6  Dec 16 - TeLEOS 1/PSLV Launch  Dec 16 - Comet P/2014 W12 (Gibbs) Closest Approach To Earth (2.549 AU)Comet P/2014 W12 (Gibbs)  Dec 16 - Comet 234P/LINEAR Closest Approach To Earth (2.777 AU)Comet 234P/LINEAR  Dec 16 - Comet 314P/Montani At Opposition (3.535 AU)Comet 314P/Montani  Dec 16 - Asteroid 2191 Uppsala Closest Approach To Earth (1.801 AU)Asteroid 2191 Uppsala  Dec 16 - Plutino (2002 VE95) At Opposition ( AU)Plutino (2002 VE95)  Dec th Anniversary (1965), 1st Song Performed in Space (Gemini 6)1st Song Performed in Space  Dec 17 - Galileo FM11 & FM12 Soyuz-STB Fregat-MT LaunchGalileo FM11 & FM12Soyuz-STB Fregat-MT Launch  Dec 17 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of TitanCassini  Dec 17 - Comet 81P/Wild At Opposition (1.538 AU)Comet 81P/Wild  Dec 17 - Comet 196P/Tichy Closest Approach To Earth (1.676 AU)Comet 196P/Tichy  Dec 17 - Comet C/2015 T4 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.278 AU)Comet C/2015 T4 (PANSTARRS)  Dec 17 - Comet C/2015 X4 (Elenin) Closest Approach To Earth (2.437 AU)Comet C/2015 X4 (Elenin)  Dec 17 - Apollo Asteroid 2015 XL261 Near-Earth Flyby (Flyby (0.025 AU) AU)Apollo Asteroid 2015 XL261

Food for Thought Robots to Spy On Black Holes New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale

Space Image of the Week Arp 87: Merging Galaxies from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope; Processing: Douglas Gardner