Space News Update - September 12, 2011 -

1. Space News Update - September 12, 2011 - In the News Story 1:NASA Facing Astronaut Deficit Story 2:'Super-Earth,' 1 of 50 Newfound Alien Planets, Could Potentially Support Life Story 3:First Space-Bound Orion Comes Alive With First Weld Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting OpportunitiesSpace Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. NASA Facing Astronaut Deficit

3. 'Super-Earth,' 1 of 50 Newfound Alien Planets, Could Potentially Support Life

4. First Space-Bound Orion Comes Alive With First Weld

5. The Night Sky Monday, Sept. 12 · Jupiter's Great Red Spot transits the planet's central meridian around 2:10 a.m. Tuesday morning EDT; 11:10 p.m. Monday evening PDT. Tuesday, Sept. 13 · Ceres, the largest asteroid, is at opposition this week: magnitude 7.6 and located at the Cetus-Aquarius border. Vesta, the brightest asteroid — and now host to NASA's Dawn spacecraft — is well past opposition, magnitude 6.6 in Capricornus. Use the finder charts in the August Sky & Telescope, page 53, or our Vesta and Ceres finder charts online. Wednesday, Sept. 14 · Before dawn Thursday morning, Mars lies on a straight line with Castor and Pollux, to their lower right. Compare Mars's yellow-orange tint to that of Pollux. Which is deeper? Thursday, Sept. 15 · Look for Jupiter below the waning gibbous Moon this evening. Although they look close together, Jupiter is 1,560 times farther away — and 40 times wider in diameter! Friday, Sept. 16 · This evening, Jupiter shines to the right of the waning gibbous Moon once they rise. M101 supernova at its peak! The Type Ia supernova discovered in the nearby galaxy M101 on August 24th is no longer brightening much. It seems to be leveling off at about magnitude 10.0 — just as predicted for a Type Ia supernova at M101's distance. See up-to-date light curve from the beginning. Judge its brightness yourself using the comparison-star charts you can generate courtesy of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). (Enter star name SN 2011fe) .

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities For Denver: No Sighting Opportunities Until Sep. 19th Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights September 13, Tuesday9 a.m. - NASA Remembers the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 - HQ (Public, HD and Education Channels)September 14, Wednesday7:10 a.m. - ISS Expedition 28 In-Flight Event on Elderly Health Care for JAXA - JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)5:40 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28-29 Change of Command Ceremony (Borisenko hands over ISS command to Fossum) – JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)September 15, Thursday5 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28 Farewells and Hatch Closure Coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 5:20 p.m. ) – JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)8:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28/Soyuz TMA-21 Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 8:38 p.m. ) – JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels)10:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition 28/Soyuz TMA-21 Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 11:05 p.m. EDT, landing in Kazakhstan scheduled at 12:00 a.m. EDT Sept. 16) – JSC via Kazakhstan (Public, Media and HD Channels)September 16, Friday3 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 28/Soyuz TMA-21 Landing and Post-Landing Activities - HQ (repeated at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. ET) (Public, Media and HD Channels)12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 28/Soyuz TMA-21 Landing and Post-Landing Activities; includes post-landing interview with Expedition 28 NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and the return of Cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev to Chkalovsky Airfield near Star City, Russia - JSC (Public, Media and HD Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

8. Space Calendar · Sep 12 - Cassini, Titan Flyby · Sep 12 - Asteroid 2011 PS Near-Earth Flyby (0.062 AU) · Sep 12 - Asteroid 12818 Tomhanks Closest Approach To Earth (1.622 AU) · Sep 12 - Asteroid 9395 Saint Michel Closest Approach To Earth (1.832 AU) · Sep 12 - Asteroid 1268 Libya Closest Approach To Earth (3.196 AU) · Sep 12 - 45th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 11 Launch (Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon) · Sep 13 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Pandora, Enceladus & Janus · Sep 13 - Asteroid 2967 Vladisvyat Occults HIP 118081 (6.5 Magnitude Star) · Sep 13 - Asteroid 2062 Aten Closest Approach To Earth (0.586 AU) · Sep 13 - Asteroid 10792 Ecuador Closest Approach To Earth (1.803 AU) · Sep 14 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Methone, Pallene & Telesto · Sep 14 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults TYC 2884-00435-1 (11.3 Magnitude Star) · Sep 14 - Asteroid 3949 Mach Closest Approach To Earth (1.274 AU) · Sep 15 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #290 (OTM-290) · Sep 15 - Asteroid 2011 OS49 Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU) · Sep 15 - Asteroid 12258 Oscarwilde Closest Approach To Earth (1.718 AU) · Sep 15 - 20th Anniversary (1991), UARS Launch from Space Shuttle Discovery · Sep 16 - Soyuz TMA-21 Return to Earth (International Space Station) · Sep 16 - Arabsat 5-C/ SES-2 Ariane 5 Launch · Sep 16 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Hyperion · Sep 16 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults TYC 2884-01191-1 (11.6 Magnitude Star) · Sep 16 - Asteroid 2011 LJ19 Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU) · Sep 16 - Asteroid 1991 TF3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU) JPL Space Calendar

9. Food for Thought 9/11 Mars Tributes Could Last 'Millions of Years'

10. Space Image of the Week