Space News Update - March 11, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Amplified Greenhouse Effect Shifts North's Growing Seasons Story 2: Story 2: The Closest Star System Found in a Century Story 3: Story 3: The First Taste of Mars Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Amplified Greenhouse Effect Shifts North's Growing Seasons

The closest star system found in a century >

The First Taste of Mars

The Night Sky Monday, March 11 · It being March, bright Sirius is highest in the south on the meridian after dark. Sirius is the closest naked-eye star that's ever visible from mid-northern latitudes (aside from the Sun). It's only 8.6 light-years away. Using binoculars, look below Sirius by almost a binocular field-of-view for a dimly glowing patch among the stars. This is the open star cluster M41, 2,200 light-years away. · New Moon (exact at 3:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Tuesday, March 12 · Look very low in the west about 30 minutes after sunset for the thin waxing crescent Moon, not much more than 24 hours old, as shown at right. As seen from North America, Comet PanSTARRS is now left of the Moon by two or three finger-widths at arm's length. It's a hazy "star" with a thin, upward pointing tail only about 1° long. Bring binoculars for a better view. And think photo opportunity! Use a long or zoomed-out lens, and put your camera on a tripod because with a long lens in twilight, exposures won't be short. Experiment with a variety of exposures. Wednesday, March 13 · Comet PanSTARRS is now below the thickening crescent Moon 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, by about a fist-width at arm's length. Thursday, March 14 · The place to look for PanSTARRS now is two fists below the crescent Moon in twilight and perhaps a bit to the right. Friday, March 15 · Look high above the Moon after dark for the Pleiades. Upper left of the Pleiades shines bright Jupiter with Aldebaran to its left, as shown here. · As soon as it gets dark now, the Big Dipper has climbed as high in the northeast as Cassiopeia has sunk in the northwest.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information For Denver: SATELLITELOCAL DURATIO N MAX ELEVAPPROACHDEPARTURE DATE/TIME(MIN)(DEG)(DEG-DIR) ISSTue Mar 12/06:09 AM11110 above SSE11 above ESE ISSWed Mar 13/06:52 AM16111 above SW20 above SW ISSThu Mar 14/06:02 AM33011 above SSW27 above ESE ISSFri Mar 15/05:13 AM21615 above SE13 above ESE ISSFri Mar 15/06:47 AM34910 above WSW48 above NNW

NASA-TV Highlights Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.NASA website March 12, Tuesday 10 a.m. - ISS Expedition 34 In-Flight Event with CNN’s “Newsroom” Program - JSC (Public and Media Channels) 1 p.m. - NASA News Conference on Curiosity Rover Mars Rock Analysis - HQ (All Channels) March 13, Wednesday 5:10 p.m. - ISS Expedition 34/35 Change of Command Ceremony (Ford hands over ISS command to Hadfield) - JSC (All Channels) March 14, Thursday 4:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 34 Farewells and Hatch Closure Coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 5:15 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels) 8:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 34/Soyuz TMA-06M Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 8:30 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels) 10:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 34/Soyuz TMA-06M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 11:04 p.m. ET, landing near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan scheduled at 11:57 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels) March 15, Friday 2 a.m., 2 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 34/Soyuz TMA-06M Landing and Post-Landing Activities - HQ (All Channels) 1:40 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35 VIP Event for the Canadian Space Agency (Portions will be in French) - JSC(Public and Media Channels) 3 p.m. - Interpreted Replay of the ISS Expedition 35 VIP Event for the Canadian Space Agency – JSC(Public and Media Channels)

Space Calendar Mar 11 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #344 (OTM-344)Cassini Mar 11 - Asteroid 4690 Strasbourg Closest Approach To Earth (1.137 AU)Asteroid 4690 Strasbourg Mar 11 - Asteroid 426 Hippo Closest Approach To Earth (1.639 AU)Asteroid 426 Hippo Mar 12 - Asteroid 29 Amphitrite At Opposition (9.0 Magnitude)Asteroid 29 Amphitrite At Opposition Mar 12 - Asteroid 1103 Sequoia Closest Approach To Earth (1.208 AU)Asteroid 1103 Sequoia Mar 13 - Asteroid 3476 Dongguan Occults HIP (6.3 Magnitude Star)Asteroid 3476 Dongguan Occults HIP Mar 13 - Asteroid 2009 SC15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)Asteroid 2009 SC15Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - [Mar 05] Comet 279P/La Sagra At Opposition (4.003 AU)Comet 279P/La SagraAt Opposition Mar 14 - Asteroid 2005 ES70 Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU)Asteroid 2005 ES70Near-Earth Flyby Mar 14 - Asteroid JAXA Closest Approach To Earth (1.468 AU)Asteroid JAXA Mar 15 -[Mar 08] Soyuz TMA-06M Returns To Earth (International Space Station)Soyuz TMA-06M Returns To Earth Mar 15 - Asteroid Chesley Closest Approach To Earth (2.044 AU)Asteroid Chesley Mar 15 - Asteroid Burroughs Closest Approach To Earth (2.060 AU)Asteroid Burroughs Mar 15 - Asteroid 1024 Hale Closest Approach To Earth (2.537 AU)Asteroid 1024 Hale Mar th Anniversary (1973), San Juan Capistrano Meteorite FallSan Juan Capistrano Meteorite JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought Lessons from a Space Dummy

Space Image of the Week Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Rietze (Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth) Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning