1. Space News Update - December 5, 2017 - In the News Departments
Story 1:
Voyager 1 Fires Up Thrusters After 37 Years
Story 2:
Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to Have Atmosphere
Story 3: NASA Builds its Next Mars Rover Mission
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities
NASA-TV Highlights
Space Calendar
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. Voyager 1 Fires Up Thrusters After 37 Years
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. Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to Have Atmosphere

4. NASA Builds its Next Mars Rover Mission

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, December 5
Now the waning gibbous Moon doesn't rise until well after dark. Look for Pollux to its left, and Castor above Pollux. Later into the night, you'll find Procyon rising farther to the Moon's lower right.
Wednesday, December 6
The five brightest stars of Cassiopeia are usually called a W, but late these nights Cas turns over to become a wide M, very high in the north.
The late-evening waning Moon shines below Pollux and Castor and left of Procyon.
Thursday, December 7
Earliest sunset of the year (if you're near latitude 40° north). By the time of the solstice and shortest day on December 21st, the Sun actually sets 3 minutes later than now. But the Sun doesn't rise its latest until January 4th. For these slight discrepancies, blame the tilt of Earth's axis and the ellipticity of Earth's orbit.
Riding high in the northeast sky as darkness descends is a striking zigzag row of five stars marking the Queen of Ethiopia, Cassiopeia.
Source: Space.com
Friday, December 8
Bright Vega still shines well up in the west-northwest after dark at this time of year. The brightest star above it is Deneb, the head of the big Northern Cross, which is formed by the brightest stars of Cygnus. At nightfall the shaft of the cross extends lower left from Deneb. By about 11 p.m., the cross plants itself more or less upright on the northwest horizon.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Wed Dec 6, 5:28 PM
2 min
11°
10° above NNW
10° above N
Thu Dec 7, 6:13 PM
< 1 min
10°
Fri Dec 8, 5:21 PM
1 min
10° above NNE
Sat Dec 9, 6:05 PM
13°
13° above N
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone)
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)
Wednesday, December 6
7:30 a.m. - Coverage of the Departure of the Orbital/ATK Cygnus CRS-8 Cargo Ship from the ISS (Release of Cygnus is scheduled at 8:10 a.m. ET) (Starts at 7:45 a.m.) (all channels)
Thursday, December 7
11 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Cargo Resupply Mission Prelaunch News Conference (all channels)
2 p.m. - ISS Expedition Crew News Conference (Artemyev, Arnold, Feustel) (all channels)
3:30 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Cargo Resupply Mission “What’s on Board?” Science Briefing (all channels)
Friday, December 8
12:30 p.m. - Coverage of the Launch of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Mission (Launch scheduled at 1:20 p.m. ET) (Starts at 12:45 p.m.) (all channels)
3 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Post-Launch News Conference (all channels)
Tue May 30, 9:16 PM
1 min
14°
14° above N
10° above NNE
Tue May 30, 10:53 PM
< 1 min
10°
10° above N
Wed May 31, 00:30 AM
18°
18° above N
Wed May 31, 10:01 PM
Wed May 31, 11:38 PM
2 min
15°
14° above NE
Thu Jun 1, 9:09 PM
11°
11° above N
Thu Jun 1, 10:45 PM
12°
12° above N
10° above NE
Fri Jun 2, 00:20 AM
17°
10° above NW
17° above NNW
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar Aug PSLV Launch JPL Space Calendar
Dec 05 - Comet 54P/de Vico-Swift-NEAT At Opposition (1.776 AU)
Dec 05 - Asteroid 5263 Arrius Occults HIP (6.7 Magnitude Star)
Dec 05 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 WS13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)
Dec 05 - Aten Asteroid 2010 TK7 (Earth Trojan) Closest Approach To Earth (0.204 AU)
Dec 05 - Amor Asteroid 1980 Tezcatlipoca Closest Approach To Earth (0.878 AU)
Dec 05 - Kuiper Belt Object (2005 RM43) At Opposition ( AU)
Dec Workshop: Research Opportunities on the Deep Space Gateway, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Dec Conference: The First Double Neutron Star Merger, Santa Barbara, California
Dec Space Commerce Conference and Expo (SpaceCom), Houston, Texas
Dec Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) 129th Annual Meeting: Beyond the Eclipse - Engaging Diverse and Underserved Communities in Astronomy and STEM, St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 06 - Comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley At Opposition (1.971 AU)
Dec 06 - Comet C/2017 P2 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (2.462 AU)
Dec 06 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 WF28 Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)
Dec 06 - Amor Asteroid 2017 WA13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.076 AU)
Dec 06 - Asteroid 3869 Norton Closest Approach To Earth (1.588 AU)
Dec th OPTICON Gaia Science Alerts Workshop, Warsaw, Poland
Dec 07 - Asteroid 2621 Goto Occults HIP (6.2 Magnitude Star)
Dec 07 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 WP1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.058 AU)
Dec 07 - Asteroid 2198 Ceplecha Closest Approach To Earth (1.159 AU)
Dec 07 - Asteroid Sahara Closest Approach To Earth (1.537 AU)
Dec 07 - Asteroid Alexgibbs Closest Approach To Earth (2.112 AU)
Dec 07 - Lecture: Jupiter's Deep Flows Revealed by Juno, Ithaca, New York
Dec 07 - Lecture: Holiday Lights Show Culture from Space, Washington DC
Dec th Anniversary (1972), Apollo 17 Launch (Last Manned Mission to the Moon)
Dec 07 – Test Flight, Electron Launch
JPL Space Calendar

9. Traces of Life on Nearest Exoplanets May Be Hidden in Equatorial Trap
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
Food for Thought
Traces of Life on Nearest Exoplanets May Be Hidden in Equatorial Trap

10. Cosmic Snake Pregnant With Stars Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA
Space Image of the Week
Cosmic Snake Pregnant With Stars
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA