1. Space News Update - October 28, 2016 - In the News Departments
Story 1:
Final Pluto data transmission received from flyby probe
Story 2:
GRAIL Insights Into Giant Lunar Impacts
Story 3: Catalog of Known Near-Earth Asteroids Tops 15,000
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. Final Pluto data transmission received from flyby probe
In this computer graphic, NASA's Voyager 1 probe, moving toward upper left, nears the edge of the sun's influence, flying through a region of space dominated by a "magnetic highway" that helps mediate the flow of particles into and out of the solar system. The region includes particles from the sun's southern hemisphere that have been forced northward by the pressure of the interstellar wind. Voyager 1 is expected to cross the boundary into interstellar space sometime within the next few years if not sooner. (Credit: NASA)

3. GRAIL Insights Into Giant Lunar Impacts

4. Catalog of Known Near-Earth Asteroids Tops 15,000

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, October 28
• In twilight this evening, Saturn, brilliant Venus, and Antares form a nearly vertical, curving line low in the southwest — in that order top to bottom. Yesterday they formed an almost straight line.
Watch their configuration change rapidly day by day, as Venus speeds eastward (upper left) with respect to the other two. By Wednesday November 2nd they'll form almost a right triangle, as shown at right.
Saturday, October 29 • The Ghost of Summer Suns. Halloween is approaching, and this means that Arcturus, the star sparkling low in the west-northwest in twilight, is taking on its role as "the Ghost of Summer Suns." For several days centered on October 29th every year, Arcturus occupies a special place above your local landscape. It closely marks the spot where the Sun stood at the same time, by the clock, during hot June and July — in broad daylight, of course.
So, in the last days of October each year, you can think of Arcturus as the chilly Halloween ghost of the departed summer Sun, sinking low and setting after dinnertime.
Sunday, October 30 • Spot bright Altair high in the southwest soon after dark. Two distinctive little constellations glimmer above it: Delphinus the Dolphin, hardly more than a fist at arm's length to Altair's upper left, and fainter Sagitta the Arrow, slightly closer to Altair's upper right. In your sky too bright for them?
Use binoculars.
• New Moon (exact at 1:38 p.m. EDT).
Monday, October 31 • There's no Moon this Halloween. Vega is the brightest star high in the west. Less high in the southwest is Altair, not quite as bright. Just upper right of Altair, by a finger-width at arm's length, is orange Tarazed, looking like Altair's little sidekick but actually a much bigger and brighter star far in the background. Altair is 17 light-years away. Tarazed is about 360 light-years away, and it's 100 times as luminous!
Tuesday, November 1 • Venus, Saturn, and the thin crescent Moon shine through the fading twilight low in the southwest, as shown at the top of this page.
• Draw a line from Altair, the brightest star high in the southwest after dark, to Vega, the brightest high in the west. Continue the line onward half as far, and you hit the Lozenge: the pointy-nosed head of Draco, the Dragon.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Sun Oct 30, 6:49 AM
2 min
17°
10° above S
17° above SE
Tue Nov 1, 6:40 AM
4 min
45°
11° above SSW
37° above E
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
NASA-TV Highlights
(all times Eastern Time Zone)
3 p.m., Friday, October 28 - Replay of the Video B-Roll Feed of Training and Previous Missions of ISS Expedition Astronaut Peggy Whitson of NASA (all channels)
3:30 p.m., Friday, October 28 - ISS Expedition Change of Command Ceremony (Ivanishin hands over ISS command to Kimbrough) (all channels)
7 p.m., 11 p.m., Friday, October 28 - Replay of the ISS Expedition Change of Command Ceremony (Ivanishin hands over ISS command to Kimbrough) (all channels)
11 a.m., Saturday, October 29 - Replay of the NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition Crew Qualification Training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia (Whitson, Novitskiy, Pesquet; recorded on Oct ) (NTV-1 (Public))
2 a.m., 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., Saturday, October 29 - Replay of the ISS Expedition Crew News Conference at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia (Whitson, Novitskiy, Pesquet) (NTV-1 (Public))
2:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 3:45 p.m., Saturday, October 29 - Replay of the NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition Crew’s (Whitson, Novitskiy, Pesquet) Ceremonial Visit to the Gagarin Museum at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and their Visit to Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow (NTV-1 (Public))
8 a.m., Saturday, October 29 - Replay of “STEM in 30” – Seven Minutes of Terror: The Engineering Behind Landing on Other Planets (NTV-1 (Public))
9 a.m., Saturday, October 29 - Replay of the NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Panel on Solar Hazards in Exploration (all channels)
4:30 p.m., Saturday, October 29 - ISS Expedition 49 Farewells and Hatch Closure Coverage (Rubins, Ivanishin, Onishi); hatch closure scheduled at appx. 5:15 p.m. ET) (starts at 4:45 p.m.) (all channels)
8 p.m., Saturday, October 29 - ISS Expedition 49/Soyuz MS-01 Undocking Coverage (Rubins, Ivanishin, Onishi); undocking scheduled at 8:35 p.m. ET) (starts at 8:15 p.m.) (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013
NASA
NASA-TV Highlights
(all times Eastern Time Zone)
10:30 p.m., Saturday, October 29 - ISS Expedition 49/Soyuz MS-01 Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Rubins, Ivanishin, Onishi); deorbit burn scheduled at 11:06 p.m. ET; landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan scheduled at 11:59 p.m. ET) (starts at 10:45 p.m.) (all channels)
2 a.m., 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m., 11 p.m., Sunday, October 30 - NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition 49/Soyuz MS-01 Landing and Post-Landing Activities (Rubins, Ivanishin, Onishi) (all channels)
9 a.m., 4 p.m., Sunday, October 30 - Replay of the NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition Crew Qualification Training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia (Whitson, Novitskiy, Pesquet; recorded on Oct ) (all channels)
10 a.m., 8 p.m., Sunday, October 30 - Replay of “STEM in 30” – Seven Minutes of Terror: The Engineering Behind Landing on Other Planets (NTV-1 (Public))
1 p.m., 3 p.m., Sunday, October 30 - NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition 49/Soyuz MS-01 Post-Landing Activities in Kazakhstan and Interviews; scheduled to include post-landing interviews with Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace (all channels)
5 p.m., 9 p.m., Sunday, October 30 - Replay of the NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Panel on Solar Hazards in Exploration (all channels)
1 a.m., 2 a.m., 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m., 11 p.m., Monday, October 31 - Replay of the NASA Television Video File News Feed of the ISS Expedition 49/Soyuz MS-01 Landing and Post-Landing Activities (Rubins, Ivanishin, Onishi) (NTV-1 (Public))
12 p.m., Tuesday, November 1 - NASA Innovation Mission Day - Deputy Administrator Dava Newman’s Keynote on Agency Innovation Mission Day (all channels)
4 p.m., 8 p.m., 10 p.m., Tuesday, November 1 - Replay of the NASA Innovation Mission Day - Deputy Administrator Dava Newman’s Keynote on Agency Innovation Mission Day (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

9. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Oct 28 - Comet 73P-BG/Schwassmann-Wachmann Perihelion (0.996 AU)
Oct 28 - Comet C/2016 T3 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (3.194 AU)
Oct 28 - Comet P/2015 TP200 (LINEAR) Perihelion (3.385 AU)
Oct 28 - Asteroid 1419 Danzig Occults HIP 13327 (5.5 Magnitude Star)
Oct 28 - Asteroid 4871 Riverside Closest Approach To Earth (1.026 AU)
Oct 28 - Apollo Asteroid 1620 Geographos Closest Approach To Earth (1.339 AU)
Oct 28 - Asteroid UNESCO Closest Approach To Earth (1.478 AU)
Oct 28 - Asteroid Bettiepage Closest Approach To Earth (1.860 AU)
Oct 28 - Neptune Trojan 2014 QO441 At Opposition ( AU)
Oct th Anniversary (1971), Prospero Launch (Great Britian's First Space Launch)
Oct 29 - [Oct 22] Soyuz MS-1 Return to Earth (International Space Station)
Oct 29 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Titan
Oct 29 - Comet 73P-V/Schwassmann-Wachmann Perihelion (0.974 AU)
Oct 29 - Comet 209P/LINEAR At Opposition (3.981 AU)
Oct 29 - Aten Asteroid 2016 TZ19 Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid Philae Closest Approach To Earth (0.959 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid Rosetta Closest Approach To Earth (1.061 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid Audubon Closest Approach To Earth (1.529 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid 7359 Messier Closest Approach To Earth (1.563 AU)
Oct 29 - Plutino (1999 TC36) At Opposition ( AU)
Oct 29 - Kuiper Belt Object (2001 UR163) At Opposition ( AU)
Oct th Anniversary (1991), Galileo, Asteroid Gaspra Flyby
Oct 29 - Carl Witt's 150th Birthday (1866)
Oct 30 - European Summer Time Ends - Set Clock Back 1 Hour (European Union)
Oct 30 - SES-10 Falcon 9 Launch
Oct 30 - Venus Passes 3.0 Degrees From Saturn
Oct 30 - Comet 30P/Reinmuth At Opposition (2.012 AU)
Oct 30 - Comet C/2015 VL62 At Opposition (3.108 AU)
Oct 30 - Comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley At Opposition (3.543 AU)
Oct 30 - Comet 231P/LINEAR-NEAT At Opposition (3.672 AU)
Oct 30 - [Oct 24] Apollo Asteroid 2016 UQ5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
Oct 30 - Asteroid Chrisrussell Closest Approach To Earth (1.357 AU)
Oct 30 - Asteroid 2866 Hardy Closest Approach To Earth (1.562 AU)
Oct 30 - Asteroid 4252 Godwin Closest Approach To Earth (2.055 AU)
Oct 30 - Asteroid 4999 MPC Closest Approach To Earth (2.062 AU)
Oct 30 - Centaur Object Dioretsa At Opposition ( AU)
Oct th Anniversary (1981), Venera 13 Launch (USSR Venus Lander/Flyby Mission)
Oct 31 - Comet 2P/Encke Closest Approach To Earth (1.301 AU)
Oct 31 - [Oct 28] Apollo Asteroid 2016 UR36 Near-Earth Flyby (0.003 AU)
Oct 31 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 TB57 Near-Earth Flyby (0.013 AU)
JPL Space Calendar

10. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Oct 31 - [Oct 26] Aten Asteroid 2016 UC31 Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU)
Oct 31 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 PN38 Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU)
Oct 31 - Aten Asteroid 3753 Cruithne Closest Approach To Earth (0.511 AU)
Oct 31 - Asteroid 443 Photographica Closest Approach To Earth (1.277 AU)
Oct 31 - Asteroid 1489 Attila Closest Approach To Earth (2.551 AU)
Oct th Anniversary (1936), 1st Successful Rocket Engine Test in Pasadena, California (JPL's Beginnings)
Nov 01 - OFT 1 (Dreamchaser CCiCAP Uncrewed Mission) Atlas 5 Launch
Nov 01 - Himawari 9 H-2A Launch
Nov 01 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Telesto & Polydeuces
Nov 01 - Comet C/2016 S1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (2.219 AU)
Nov 01 - Comet 221P/LINEAR At Opposition (2.791 AU)
Nov 01 - Comet P/2005 S3 (Read) Perihelion (2.821 AU)
Nov 01 - Apollo Asteroid 2006 KC Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)
Nov 01 - Asteroid Robmatson Closest Approach To Earth (1.730 AU)
Nov 01 - Asteroid Tomhanks Closest Approach To Earth (1.751 AU)
Nov 01 - Asteroid Kohlhase Closest Approach To Earth (1.935 AU)
Nov 01 - Kuiper Belt Object (2004 TY364) At Opposition ( AU)
Nov 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 2014 UM33 At Opposition ( AU)
Nov th Anniversary (1941), Ansel Adams Takes Moonrise Photo Over Hernandez, New Mexico
JPL Space Calendar

11. Science: Public interest high, literacy stable
Food for Thought
Science: Public interest high, literacy stable

12. Haunting the Cepheus Flare Image Credit & Copyright: Thomas Lelu
Space Image of the Week
Haunting the Cepheus Flare
Image Credit & Copyright: Thomas Lelu