1. Space News Update - August 8, 2014 - In the News Departments
Story 1: Rosetta Arrives at Target Comet
Story 2: Still Hot Inside the Moon - Tidal Heating in Deep Mantle
Story 3: Planet-like Object May Have Spent Its Youth as Hot as a Star
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. Rosetta Arrives at Target 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. Still Hot Inside the Moon - Tidal Heating in Deep Mantle
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

4. Planet-like Object May Have Spent Its Youth as Hot as a Star

5. The Night Sky Friday, August 8
Already you may see an occasional Perseid meteor if you keep an eye on the night sky. The shower's peak night is predicted for next Tuesday (August 12–13), but moonlight will compromise the view all week.
Look northeast as the stars come out for W-shaped Cassiopeia. It's still not quite as high as the Big Dipper is in the northwest, but the two are on their way to their dusk balance point week by week. Get a preview of this by checking on them around 11 p.m. (depending on your location).
Saturday, August 9
If you're in the Earth's mid-northern latitudes, bright Vega passes close by your zenith around 10 or 11 p.m. (depending on where you live east-west in your time zone). Wherever you are, Deneb always passes the zenith two hours after Vega.
Sunday, August 10
Largest full Moon of the year, but not by much. Can you really detect any difference? See our article, The Not Very SuperMoon.
Monday, August 11
Mars is pulling a little closer to Saturn every day. Spot them in the southwest at dusk; Mars is the one on the lower right. Tonight they're still 8° apart. Look farther to the lower right of Mars for twinkly Spica.
Tuesday, August 12
Peak Perseid meteor night late tonight. But the Moon, just two days after full, compromises the view. See our article, Perseids vs. Moonlight: Which Will Prevail?
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Fri Aug 8, 9:35 PM
2 min
15°
15 above NNW
11 above NNE
Fri Aug 8, 11:12 PM
1 min
10°
10 above N
10 above NNE
Sat Aug 9, 8:45 PM
19°
19 above NNW
Sat Aug 9, 10:23 PM
Sun Aug 10, 9:34 PM
11°
11 above N
Sun Aug 10, 11:11 PM
< 1 min
12°
12 above N
Mon Aug 11, 8:44 PM
13°
13 above NNW
Mon Aug 11, 10:21 PM
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website
(all times Eastern Daylight Time)
Monday, August 11
9:10 a.m., ISS Expedition 40 In-Flight Event with WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C. and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman (all channels)
Tuesday, August 12
8 a.m., Docking of the European Space Agency’s “Georges Lemaitre” Automated Transfer Vehicle to the ISS (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar
Aug 08 - Comet 289P/Blanpain Closest Approach To Earth (1.512 AU)
Aug 08 - Comet 174P/Echeclus At Opposition (4.934 AU)
Aug th Anniversary (1989), STS-28 Launch (Space Shuttle Columbia, DOD Mission)
Aug th Anniversary (1969), Zond 7 Launch (Soviet Moon Mission)
Aug 09 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #387 (OTM-387)
Aug 09 - Comet C/2012 X1 (LINEAR) At Opposition (1.773 AU)
Aug 09 - Asteroid 4 Vesta Occults TYC (11.9 Magnitude Star)
Aug 09 - Asteroid Slocum Closest Approach To Earth (1.226 AU)
Aug 09 - Asteroid 8734 Warner Closest Approach To Earth (1.801 AU)
Aug 09 - Asteroid Jerrylewis Closest Approach To Earth (2.024 AU)
Aug 10 - ISEE-3, Earth Flyby
Aug 10 - Comet P/2013 G1 (Kowalski) At Opposition (2.707 AU)
Aug 10 - Comet 174P/Echeclus Closest Approach To Earth (4.933 AU)
Aug 10 - Asteroid 2000 PN8 Near-Earth Flyby (0.080 AU)
Aug 10 - Asteroid 1776 Kuiper Closest Approach To Earth (2.138 AU)
Aug 10 - Asteroid Mohr-Gruber Closest Approach To Earth (2.482 AU)
Aug 11 - Comet P/2008 WZ96 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (1.599 AU)
Aug 11 - Comet P/2007 S1 (Zhao) At Opposition (1.977 AU)
Aug 11 - Asteroid 8088 Australia Closest Approach To Earth (1.091 AU)
Aug 11 - Asteroid 5011 Ptah Closest Approach To Earth (1.362 AU)
Aug 11 - Asteroid 3623 Chaplin Closest Approach To Earth (1.631 AU)
JPL Space Calendar

9. China Is Taking Lunar Mining Seriously
Food for Thought
China Is Taking Lunar Mining Seriously

10. Saturn's Swirling Cloudscape
Space Image of the Week
Saturn's Swirling Cloudscape