1. Space News Update - June 26, 2015 - In the News Departments Story 1:
First Instrument Delivered for NASA’s Upcoming
Asteroid Sample Return Mission
Story 2:
Monster Black Hole Wakes Up after 26 Years
Story 3: Under-Ice Rover Chills With Fish at Aquatic Exhibit
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. First Instrument Delivered for NASA’s Upcoming
Asteroid Sample Return Mission
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. Monster Black Hole Wakes Up after 26 Years
Ratchet Wrench ‘ ed’ to Space Station

4. Under-Ice Rover Chills With Fish at Aquatic Exhibit

5. The Night Sky Friday, June 26
Venus and Jupiter, shining in the west as twilight fades, are now only 2.2° apart! That's about the width of your thumb held at arm's length. They point to fainter Regulus, twinkling to their upper left.
Watch the two planets move closer together each evening until their appulse (closest approach) on Tuesday the 30th. That evening they'll be just 1/3° apart, seven times closer than they appear now!
In reality, they're not close together at all. Venus is 51 million miles from Earth this evening; Jupiter is eleven times farther at 561 million miles.
Saturday, June 27
Venus and Jupiter have closed to 1.7° from each other in the west at dusk.
In the southern sky this evening, look for Saturn lower left of the gibbous Moon. Scattered to the lower left of Saturn are the stars of Scorpius. The brightest of these is orange Antares.
Sunday, June 28
Saturn shines close to the waxing gibbous Moon this evening. Below and lower left of them runs Scorpius, as shown here.
Telescope users in eastern North America can watch for the thin, invisible dark limb of the Moon to occult the 4.1-magnitude star Theta Librae. Some times: Toronto, 10:58 p.m. EDT; New York, 11:08 p.m. EDT; Miami, 10:48 p.m. EDT; Chicago, 9:36 p.m. CDT; Austin, 9:06 p.m. CDT.
Meanwhile, Venus and Jupiter are now 1.1° apart in the west at dusk (in the longitudes of the Americas).
Monday, June 29
The bright Moon forms a triangle with Saturn to its right and Antares closer to its lower right, as shown here.
Venus and Jupiter are now 0.6° apart in the west at dusk (for the longitudes of the Americas).
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
No sightings for Denver
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) Friday, June 26
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, June 26
1 p.m., ISS Science, Research and Technology Panel (all channels)
4:30 p.m., SpaceX/Dragon CRS-7 Prelaunch News Conference (Starts at 4:45pm) (all channels)
Saturday, June 27
2 p.m., International Docking Adapter/Commercial Crew Panel (all channels)
Sunday, June 28
9 a.m., Coverage of the Launch of the SpaceX/Dragon (Launch scheduled at 10:21 a.m. ET) (all channels)
11:30 a.m., SpaceX/Dragon CRS-7 Post-Launch News Conference (time is approximate) (all channels)
Tuesday, June 30
5:30 a.m., Coverage of the Grapple of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-7 Cargo Craft at the ISS (Grapple scheduled at appx. 7 a.m. ET) (all channels)
8:30 a.m., Coverage of the Berthing of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-7 Cargo Craft to the Harmony Module at the ISS (all channels)
11:30 a.m., Weekly Update on the New Horizons/Pluto Pre-Flyby Mission (Produced by Johns Hopkins applied Physics Laboratory) (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Jun 26 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #414 (OTM-414)
Jun 26 - [Jun 23] Comet C/2015 M1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.153 AU)
Jun 26 - Asteroid 2014 OL339 Closest Approach To Earth (0.272 AU)
Jun 26 - Asteroid Wikipedia Closest Approach To Earth (1.141 AU)
Jun 26 - Asteroid 2023 Asaph Closest Approach To Earth (1.839 AU)
Jun 26 - Asteroid 5035 Swift Closest Approach To Earth (2.016 AU)
Jun 26 - Asteroid 7554 Johnspencer Closest Approach To Earth (2.309 AU)
Jun 26 - David Morrison's 75th Birthday (1940)
Jun 26 - Charles Messier's 285th Birthday (1730)
Jun 27 - [Jun 22] NASA Wallops Flight Facility Open House, Wallops Island, Virginia
Jun 27 - Comet 319P/Catalina-McNaught Closest Approach To Earth (0.693 AU)
Jun 27 - Comet 322P/SOHO Closest Approach To Earth (0.959 AU)
Jun 27 - Comet 272P/NEAT At Opposition (4.235 AU)
Jun 27 - Asteroid 2013 VY9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.087 AU)
Jun 27 - Asteroid 4581 Asciepius Closest Approach To Earth (0.362 AU)
Jun 27 - Asteroid 6128 Lasorda Closest Approach To Earth (1.137 AU)
Jun 27 - Asteroid Angel Closest Approach To Earth (2.319 AU)
Jun 27 - Neptune Trojan 2008 LC18 At Opposition ( AU)
Jun th Anniversary (1995), STS-71 Launch (Space Shuttle Atlantis, 1st Mir Docking)
Jun 28 - [Jun 21] CRS-7/ BEAM/ IDA 1/ AggieSat 4/ Bevo 2/ Falcon 9 Launch (International Space Station)
Jun 28 - Comet P/2008 Y12 (SOHO) At Opposition (3.691 AU)
Jun 28 - Asteroid 2022 West Closest Approach To Earth (1.865 AU)
Jun 29 - Comet P/2002 S7 (SOHO) At Opposition (3.928 AU)
Jun 29 - Comet P/2013 A2 (Scotti) At Opposition (4.109 AU)
Jun 29 - Asteroid 5535 Annefrank Closest Approach To Earth (1.314 AU)
Jun 29 - Asteroid 4738 Jimihendrix Closest Approach To Earth (1.387 AU)
Jun 29 - Asteroid 2874 Jim Young Closest Approach To Earth (1.390 AU)
Jun 29 - [Jun 23] Webcast: The Future of Human Spaceflight Panel
Jun 29 - Charles Precourt's 60th Birthday (1955)
JPL Space Calendar

9. NASA, Microsoft Collaborate to Bring Science Fiction to Science Fact
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale
Food for Thought
NASA, Microsoft Collaborate to Bring Science Fiction to Science Fact

10. Planet Aurora Image Credit: Scott Kelly, Expedition 44, NASA
Space Image of the Week
Planet Aurora Image Credit: Scott Kelly, Expedition 44, NASA