1. Space News Update - April 18, 2014 - In the News Departments
Story 1: NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The 'Habitable Zone' of Another Star
Story 2: First Radar Vision for Copernicus
Story 3: Curiosity's Priority Switches from Driving to Science
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The 'Habitable Zone' of Another Star
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 Radar Vision for Copernicus

4. Curiosity's Priority Switches from Driving to Science

5. The Night Sky Friday, April 18
Jupiter shines right under the big Arch of Spring this year. The Arch spans much of the western sky. Pollux and Castor form its top (as seen from mid-northern latitudes). To their lower left is Procyon, one end of the Arch. Farther to their lower right is the other end: Menkalinen and then bright Capella.
Saturday, April 19
Have you said hello to Vega yet this year? The "Summer Star" is now sparkling low in the northeast at nightfall. By dawn it's high overhead.
Sunday, April 20
The Big Dipper floats upside down near the top of the sky these evenings (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes), as though pouring out April showers to bring May flowers.
Vesta, the brightest asteroid, and Ceres, the biggest one, are both barely past opposition. They're just 2½° apart in eastern Virgo, easy targets in binoculars at magnitudes 5.9 and 7.0.
Monday, April 21
Last-quarter Moon (exact at 3:52 a.m. Tuesday morning Eastern Daylight Time). The Moon rises around 2 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, far below Altair near the wide double stars Alpha and Beta Capricorni.
The weak Lyrid meteor shower should be active in the moonlight before dawn. Even in years with no moonlight, meteor watchers usually report fewer than 20 Lyrids visible per hour.
Tuesday, April 22
Bright Jupiter, high in the west at dusk, forms the top of a huge, sideways-compressed pentagon with other bright celestial landmarks. Look left of Jupiter for Procyon, far below Procyon for bright Sirius, to the right of Sirius and somewhat lower for Rigel in Orion's foot, then above Rigel for Betelgeuse, and back to Jupiter.
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Fri Apr 18, 9:02 PM
3 min
19°
12 above NNW
15 above NE
Fri Apr 18, 10:39 PM
< 1 min
15°
15 above NW
Sat Apr 19, 8:14 PM
4 min
10 above NNW
10 above NE
Sat Apr 19, 9:51 PM
1 min
41°
22 above NW
41 above NNW
Sun Apr 20, 9:03 PM
36°
20 above NNW
25 above ENE
Sun Apr 20, 10:38 PM
11°
11 above WNW
Mon Apr 21, 8:14 PM
5 min
24°
13 above NNW
10 above E
Mon Apr 21, 9:51 PM
35°
21 above WNW
35 above W
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)
April 18, Friday
9:30 a.m. - ISS Program Status and Spacewalk Preview Briefing - JSC/KSC (All Channels)
12:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 39 In-Flight Educational Event with the University of Connecticut, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Houston, Clear Lake - JSC (All Channels)
2:15 p.m. - Coverage of the SpaceX-3/Dragon Launch to the ISS (Launch scheduled at 3:25 p.m. ET) - KSC (All Channels)
5 p.m. - SpaceX-3/Dragon Post-Launch News Conference - KSC (All Channels)
April 20, Sunday
5:45 a.m. - Coverage of the Rendezvous and Grapple of the SpaceX/Dragon Cargo Craft at the ISS (Grapple scheduled at 7:14 a.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)
9:30 a.m. - Coverage of the Installation of the SpaceX/Dragon Cargo Craft on the ISS (Installation scheduled to begin at appx. 9:45 a.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Apr 18 - [Apr 15] Dragon CRS-3/ All-Star-THEIA/ KickSat 1/ SporeSat/ Ho'oponopono 2/ Hermes 2/ TechCube 1/ LMRSat/ TSAT Falcon 9 Launch (International Space Station)
Apr 18 - Comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) At Opposition (2.371 AU)
Apr 18 - Comet 76P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura At Opposition (2.402 AU)
Apr 18 - Comet 205P/Giacobini At Opposition (2.562 AU)
Apr 18 - Comet C/2013 G7 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (3.983 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid (1994 PF27) Occults HIP (6.5 Magnitude Star)
Apr 18 - Asteroid 2007 TV18 Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid 2014 CH13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.069 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid 7086 Bopp Closest Approach To Earth (1.070 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid Kohlhase Closest Approach To Earth (1.591 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid Geiger Closest Approach To Earth (1.609 AU)
Apr 18 - Asteroid Richardnorton Closest Approach To Earth (2.145 AU)
Apr 19 - Comet 238P/Read At Opposition (2.930 AU)
Apr 19 - Comet C/2013 G7 (McNaught) At Opposition (3.983 AU)
Apr 19 - Asteroid 43 Ariadne At Opposition (9.9 Magnitude)
Apr 19 - Asteroid Geffert Occults HIP (6.0 Magnitude Star)
Apr 19 - [Apr 13] Asteroid 2014 GG49 Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)
Apr 19 - Asteroid 9395 Saint Michel Closest Approach To Earth (1.337 AU)
Apr 19 - Asteroid Pohl Closest Approach To Earth (1.573 AU)
Apr 19 - Asteroid 1282 Utopia Closest Approach To Earth (2.544 AU)
Apr 20 - Easter Sunday
Apr 20 - Asteroid 2003 HM Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)
Apr 20 - Asteroid 1718 Namibia Closest Approach To Earth (1.703 AU)
Apr 20 - Asteroid 904 Rockefellia Closest Approach To Earth (2.117 AU)
Apr 21 - [Apr 14] LADEE, Moon Impact
Apr 21 - Comet C/2013 V1 (Boattini) Perihelion (1.661 AU)
Apr 21 - Comet 46P/Wirtanen At Opposition (2.090 AU)
Apr 21 - Asteroid 8275 Inca Closest Approach To Earth (0.980 AU)
Apr 21 - Asteroid 7672 Hawking Closest Approach To Earth (1.400 AU)
Apr 21 - Asteroid 9133 d'Arrest Closest Approach To Earth (2.008 AU)
JPL Space Calendar

9. SpaceX's Mega-rocket to Debut Next Year at Pad 39A
Food for Thought
SpaceX's Mega-rocket to Debut Next Year at Pad 39A

10. Space Image of the Week
Red Moon, Green Beam  Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Long (Apache Point Observatory) - Courtesy: Tom Murphy (UC San Diego)