1. Space News Update - August 4, 2014 - In the News Departments Story 1:
Science on the Surface of a Comet
Story 2:
Super Star takes on Black Holes in Jet Contest
Story 3: NASA's Spitzer Confirms Closest Rocky Exoplanet
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. Science on the Surface of a Comet
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. Super Star takes on Black Holes in Jet Contest

4. NASA's Spitzer Confirms Closest Rocky Exoplanet

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, August 4
The red long-period variable star Chi Cygni is having a bright maximum! It was reported at magnitude 4.3 as of July 30th and may still be on the way up. See the article and comparison-star chart in the August Sky & Telescope, page 51.
Wednesday, August 5
The Big Dipper hangs diagonally in the northwest at nightfall. Most of its stars are about 80 light-years away. Follow the curve of its handle around left by a little more than a Dipper-length and there's bright Arcturus, due west. Arcturus is the nearest orange giant, 37 light-years away.
Thursday, August 6
Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:03 p.m. EDT). The Moon rises around midnight in Aries, far below that constellation's leading stars.
Now that the evening is moonless, explore the telescopic sights of Scutum with Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders column, charts, and photos in the August Sky & Telescope starting on page 54.
Friday, August 7
The Moon, just past last quarter, rises around 1 a.m. tonight. By early dawn Saturday morning it's high in the east, forming a triangle with Aldebaran to its lower left and the Pleiades farther to its upper left.
In early dawn these mornings, use binoculars to look for Mars below Castor and Pollux, as shown at right.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Tue Aug 4, 8:38 PM
6 min
43°
10 above WSW
11 above NE
Tue Aug 4, 10:18 PM
1 min
13°
13 above NNW
10 above NNE
Wed Aug 5, 9:25 PM
2 min
16°
16 above NNW
Wed Aug 5, 11:02 PM
< 1 min
10°
10 above N
Thu Aug 6, 8:32 PM
23°
23 above NNW
11 above NNE
Thu Aug 6, 10:09 PM
Fri Aug 7, 9:15 PM
12°
12 above NNW
Fri Aug 7, 10:52 PM
11°
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) Thursday, August 6
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)
Thursday, August 6
9 a.m. - In-Flight Interview with Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren (Starts at 9:10 a.m.) (all channels)
Friday, August 7
8 a.m. - In-Flight Event with Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui (Starts at 8:10am) (all channels)
10:30 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 45/Visiting Crew Qualification Training Simulation Runs at Star City, Russia (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Aug 04 - Comet C/2014 M2 (Christensen) At Opposition (6.498 AU)
Aug 04 - Centaur Object Chariklo Occults 2UCAC (14.7 Magnitude Star)
Aug 04 - Asteroid 9995 Alouette Closest Approach To Earth (1.375 AU)
Aug 04 - Asteroid Burroughs Closest Approach To Earth (2.466 AU)
Aug 05 - Mercury Passes 8.4 Degrees From Venus
Aug 05 - Moon Occults Uranus
Aug 05 - Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) At Opposition (1.482 AU)
Aug 05 - Comet 127P/Holt-Olmstead At Opposition (1.688 AU)
Aug 05 - Apollo Asteroid 2015 LE21 Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)
Aug 05 - Asteroid Quebec Closest Approach To Earth (2.082 AU)
Aug 05 - Asteroid Pohl Closest Approach To Earth (2.145 AU)
Aug 06 - Southern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
Aug 06 - Comet 134P/Kowal-Vavrova At Opposition (3.164 AU)
Aug 06 - Amor Asteroid 2015 MX53 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)
Aug 06 - Asteroid Santiago Closest Approach To Earth (1.736 AU)
Aug 07 - Mercury Passes 0.6 Degrees From Jupiter
Aug 07 - Comet 320P/McNaught Perihelion (0.977 AU)
Aug 07 - Asteroid APL Closest Approach To Earth (0.882 AU)
Aug 07 - Asteroid 5000 IAU Closest Approach To Earth (1.224 AU)
Aug 08 - Jason 3 Falcon 9 Launch
Aug 08 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #417 (OTM-417)
Aug 08 - Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (1.480 AU)
Aug 08 - Comet C/2014 W7 (Christensen) Closest Approach To Earth (2.573 AU)
JPL Space Calendar

9. Mission to Phobos – The precursor to human Mars landing
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
Food for Thought
Mission to Phobos – The precursor to human Mars landing

10. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Space Image of the Week
Tethys the Target
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute