1. Space News Update - July 31, 2014 - In the News Departments Story 1:
Telescopes Team Up to Find Distant Uranus-Sized Planet Through Microlensing
Story 2:
First Detection of Lithium From an Exploding Star
Story 3: Unusual Red Arcs Spotted on Icy Saturn Moon
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. Telescopes Team Up to Find Distant Uranus-Sized Planet Through Microlensing
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. First Detection of Lithium From an Exploding Star

4. Unusual Red Arcs Spotted on Icy Saturn Moon

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, July 31
This evening, skywatchers in the Americas see the Moon rise about a half day past when it's exactly full. Can you detect the slightest out-of-roundness in the Moon's profile yet?
Look high above the Moon for bright Altair. Above Altair by just a finger-width at arm's length is its orange sidekick Tarazed, 3rd magnitude and far in the background.
All month, look about 5° left of Saturn in the south-southwest after dusk for the fine telescopic double star Beta (β) Scorpii. Left or upper left of Beta by 1.6° is another fine double, Nu Scorpii (not quite bright enough to be plotted below). High power in excellent seeing may reveal Nu as the Southern Double-Double.
Saturday, August 1
The Moon, now between Capricornus and Aquarius, is 1½ days past full (for the Americas) when it rises in evening twilight. The start of its waning gibbous phase is more definite.
Today is Lammas Day or Lughnasadh, one of the four traditional "cross-quarter" days midway between the solstices and equinoxes. Sort of. The actual midpoint between the June solstice and the September equinox this year comes at 8:29 a.m. August 7th Eastern Daylight Time (12:29 UT). That's the exact center of astronomical summer.
Sunday, August 2
The tail of Scorpius is low due south right after dark. How low depends on how far north you live. Look for the two stars especially close together in the tail. These are Lambda and fainter Upsilon Scorpii, known as the Cat's Eyes. They're canted at an angle; the cat is tilting his head and winking. See the illustration above. The Cat's Eyes point west (right) by nearly a fist-width toward Mu Scorpii, a much tighter pair known as the Little Cat's Eyes. Can you resolve Mu without using binoculars? (It's shown as single on the illustration above.)
Monday, August 3
Altair shines high in the southeast after dark. Just above it is little orange Tarazed. A bit more than a fist-width to Altair's left, look for Delphinus, the Dolphin, leaping leftward.
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.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Fri Jul 31, 8:58 PM
6 min
30°
10 above SSW
10 above ENE
Fri Jul 31, 10:34 PM
5 min
29°
11 above W
11 above NNE
Sat Aug 1, 3:27 AM
36°
17 above NNW
10 above E
Sat Aug 1, 5:03 AM
22°
10 above S
Sat Aug 1, 9:41 PM
51°
10 above WSW
12 above NE
Sat Aug 1, 11:21 PM
1 min
13°
13 above N
10 above NNE
Sun Aug 2, 4:14 AM
< 1 min
16°
16 above SSE
11 above SSE
Sun Aug 2, 8:48 PM
79°
10 above SW
10 above NE
Sun Aug 2, 10:28 PM
2 min
17°
Mon Aug 3, 00:05 AM
10°
10 above N
Mon Aug 3, 9:34 PM
3 min
26°
26 above NNW
Mon Aug 3, 11:12 PM
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) Friday, July 31
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)
Friday, July 31
12:30 p.m., ISS Expedition 44 In-Flight Educational Event with the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland and NASA Flight Engineers Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren (starts at 12:35 p.m.) (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Jul 31 - Venus Passes 6.5 Degrees From Jupiter
Jul 31 - Comet 297P/Beshore Closest Approach To Earth (2.059 AU)
Jul 31 - Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham At Opposition (2.555 AU)
Jul 31 - Asteroid 2015 NA14 Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU)
Jul 31 - Asteroid Whitneyclavin Closest Approach To Earth (1.576 AU)
Jul 31 - Asteroid 8720 Takamizawa Closest Approach To Earth (1.850 AU)
Jul 31 - David Tholen's 60th Birthday (1955)
Jul th Anniversary (1345), Comet C/1345 O1 Near-Earth Flyby (18.9 Lunar Distance)
Aug 01 - Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower Peak
Aug 01 - Comet 205P-B/Giacobini Closest Approach To Earth (0.839 AU)
Aug 01 - [Jul 24] Comet 136P/Mueller Closest Approach To Earth (2.363 AU)
Aug 01 - Asteroid Joule Closest Approach To Earth (2.422 AU)
Aug 01 - [Jul 25] Novato Space Festival, Novato, California
Aug th Anniversary (2000), Discovery of the SAU 051 Meteorite (Mars Meteorite)
Aug 02 - Comet 43P/Wolf-Harrington At Opposition (2.570 AU)
Aug 02 - Comet P/2015 M2 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (4.916 AU)
Aug 02 - Comet P/2015 M2 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (4.916 AU)
Aug 02 - Amor Asteroid 2015 LG2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU)
Aug 02 - Asteroid 2160 Spitzer Closest Approach To Earth (1.633 AU)
Aug 02 - Asteroid Lespaul Closest Approach To Earth (1.862 AU)
Aug 02 - Asteroid Kohlhase Closest Approach To Earth (1.878 AU)
Aug 02 - Asteroid 3202 Graff Closest Approach To Earth (3.378 AU)
Aug 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 2008 OG19 At Opposition ( AU)
Aug th Anniversary (2005), MESSENGER, Earth Flyby
Aug 03 - Comet 124P/Mrkos Closest Approach To Earth (2.882 AU)
Aug 03 - Comet 25D/Neujmin At Opposition (2.999 AU)
Aug 03 - Apollo Asteroid 2015 NZ13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU)
Aug 03 - Amor Asteroid 2015 NV13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU)
Aug 03 - Asteroid 4116 Elachi Closest Approach To Earth (1.117 AU)
Aug 03 - Asteroid 2956 Yeomans Closest Approach To Earth (1.674 AU)
Aug 03 - Asteroid Robmatson Closest Approach To Earth (1.985 AU)
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 04 - William Hamilton's 210th Birthday (1805)
JPL Space Calendar

9. Extreme Access Flyer to Take Planetary Exploration Airborne
Food for Thought
Extreme Access Flyer to Take Planetary Exploration Airborne

10. Space Image of the Week
The Deep Lagoon  Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, Univ. Arizona