1. ISS Sighting Opportunities
Space News Update
- January 8,
In the News
Story 1: China Makes Historic 1st Landing on Mysterious Far Side of the Moon
Story 2:
Remember the Discovery of Methane in the Martian Atmosphere? Now Scientists Can’t Find Any Evidence of It, at All
Story 3: Prototype Version of the SpaceX Starship with a Stainless Steel Skin is Under Construction
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities
NASA-TV Highlights
Space Calendar
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. China Makes Historic 1st Landing on Mysterious Far Side of the Moon
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. Remember the Discovery of Methane in the Martian Atmosphere
Remember the Discovery of Methane in the Martian Atmosphere? Now Scientists Can’t Find Any Evidence of It, at All

4. Prototype Version of the SpaceX Starship with a Stainless Steel Skin is Under Construction

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Tuesday, January 8
• After dinnertime now, the enormous Andromeda-Pegasus complex runs from near the zenith far down to the west.
Near the zenith, spot Andromeda's high foot: 2nd-magnitude Gamma Andromedae (Almach), slightly orange. Andromeda is standing on her head, on the Great Square of Pegasus. The Great Square is about halfway down from the zenith to the west horizon, balancing on one corner. Mars shines left of the bottom corner.
Down from the Square's bottom corner run the stars outlining Pegasus's neck and head, ending at his nose: 2nd-magnitude Enif, due west and also slightly orange.
Wednesday, January 9
• The Gemini twins lie on their sides these January evenings, left of Orion. Their head stars, Castor and Pollux, are farthest from Orion, one over the other. (Castor is the top one.) The Castor figure's feet are just left of Orion's very dim Club.
Thursday, January 10
• As twilight fades, look almost two fists at arm's length below the crescent Moon (and a bit left) for Fomalhaut, the "Autumn Star," now on its way out. How late into the evening, and into winter, can you keep Fomalhaut in view?
Friday, January 11
• As twilight fades this evening, how soon can you detect Mars glimmering above the Moon? They're about 18° apart (in early evening for North America). Mars is magnitude +0.6.
Saturday, January 12
• Now Mars is only 5° or 6° to the Moon's upper right in the evening, as shown here. Mars is actually about twice as large as the Moon, but it's currently 240 times farther away.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Wed Jan 9, 5:43 AM
2 min
28°
24° above N
20° above ENE
Thu Jan 10, 4:54 AM
< 1 min
14°
14° above ENE
10° above ENE
Thu Jan 10, 6:26 AM
4 min
69°
15° above WNW
29° above SE
Fri Jan 11, 5:37 AM
60°
58° above NNE
28° above ESE
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)
Subject to Change due to Government Shutdown
January 8, Tuesday
TBD – NASA astronaut Anne McClain hosts in-flight educational event aboard the International Space Station with the Kranz Junior High School in Dickinson, Texas (All Channels)
January 10, Thursday
TBD – International Space Station in-flight STEM event for the Canadian Space Agency from Saskatchewan, Canada, with CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques (All Channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Jan 08 - Asteroid 2575 Bulgaria Closest Approach To Earth (1.474 AU)
Jan 08 - Asteroid 3174 Alcock Closest Approach To Earth (1.680 AU)
Jan 09 - Apollo Asteroid 2013 YM2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Jan 09 - Asteroid Robmanning Closest Approach To Earth (1.405 AU)
Jan 09 - Colloquium: Studying Birds in the Context of the Annual Cycle, Greenbelt, Maryland
Jan Workshop: A New Look at Dark Matter (ZPW 2019), Zurich, Switzerland
Jan Conference: New Directions in Theoretical Physics 3, Edinburgh, Scotland
Jan National Radio Science Meeting, Boulder, Colorado
Jan 10 - Comet P/2007 T2 (Kowalski) Closest Approach To Earth (1.568 AU)
Jan 10 - Comet 239P/LINEAR Perihelion (1.649 AU)
Jan 10 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AD Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU)
Jan 10 - Apollo Asteroid 2018 YQ2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Jan 10 - Apollo Asteroid 2013 YM2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)
Jan 10 - Aten Asteroid 2008 CH70 Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU)
Jan 10 - Lecture: Red Planet Rovers and Insights, Pasadena, California
Jan 11 - Lecture: Visualizing Amazing Planetary Terrains Using On-Line NASA Tools, Los Altos Hills, California
Jan 11 - Comet 59P/Kearns-Kwee Closest Approach To Earth (1.551 AU)
Jan 11 - Amor Asteroid 2018 VW6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 AU)
Jan 11 - Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Ordinary Meeting, London, United Kingdom
Jan 11 - Meeting: The Supernova - Supernova Remnant Connection, London, United Kingdom
Jan 11 - Meeting: Recent Advances in Solar Partially Ionised Plasma, London, United Kingdom
Jan 11 - Lecture: Red Planet Rovers and Insights, Pasadena, California
Jan 12 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AK3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.013 AU)
Jan 12 - Apollo Asteroid 2018 YU2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU)
Jan 12 - Apollo Asteroid 2019 AX2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)
Jan 12 - Asteroid 1159 Granada Closest Approach To Earth (1.562 AU)
Jan 12 - Asteroid 1618 Dawn Closest Approach To Earth (1.964 AU)
JPL Space Calendar

9. Food for Thought
Tiny Satellites Could Be “Guide Stars” For Huge Next- Generation Telescopes

10. Space Image of the Week
Mars Express Gets Festive: A Winter Wonderland on Mars
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