Space News Update - May 13, 2013 -

1. Space News Update - May 13, 2013 - In the News Story 1:New method of finding planets scores its first discovery Story 2:NASA hopeful spacewalk fixed space station leak Story 3: Curiosity Rover Team Selects Second Drilling Target on Mars Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. > New method of finding planets scores its first discovery

3. NASA hopeful spacewalk fixed space station leak

4. NASA Curiosity Rover Team Selects Second Drilling Target on Mars

5. The Night Sky Monday, May 13· Three zero-magnitude stars shine after dark in May: Arcturus high in the southeast, Vega much lower in the northeast, and Capella in the northwest. They appear so bright because each is at least 60 times as luminous as the Sun, and they are all relatively nearby: 37, 25, and 42 light-years from us, respectively. Tuesday, May 14· Arcturus, high in the southeast, is sometimes called the "Spring Star," and Vega low in the northeast is called the "Summer Star." Look a third of the way from Arcturus down to Vega for the dim semicircle of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, with its one brightish star Alphecca. Look two thirds of the way for the dim Keystone of Hercules. Wednesday, May 15· During and after twilight, look below the Moon for Procyon. Look to the right of the Moon for Pollux and slightly fainter Castor. Thursday, May 16· Just after nightfall at this time of year, Vega rising in the northeast is at the same altitude as Capella descending in the west. How accurately can you time this event? The time depends on your location, and wherever you are, it happens four minutes earlier each day. Sky & Telescope Friday, May 17· Regulus and the Sickle of Leo shine above the first-quarter Moon this evening, as shown at right. The Moon is 1.3 light-seconds from Earth. Regulus is almost precisely 1 billion times farther at 42 light-years. Scale model: If the Moon were a BB at reading distance 15 inches from your face, Regulus would be a house-size, blue-white-hot fireball at the Moon's actual distance.

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities For Denver: Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights May 13, Monday6:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35/Soyuz TMA-07M Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 7:08 p.m. ET) - JSC (All Channels)9:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 35/Soyuz TMA-07M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 9:37 p.m. ET, landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan scheduled at 10:31 p.m. ET) - JSC via Kazakhstan (All Channels)May 14, Tuesday12 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 35/Soyuz TMA-07M Landing and Post-Landing Activities - HQ (All Channels)12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 35/Soyuz TMA-07M Landing and Post-Landing Activities; scheduled to include post-landing interviews with Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA and Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency and the return of Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko to Chkalovsky Airfield near Star City, Russia - JSC (All Channels)1 p.m. - NASA Astronaut Kevin Ford live from the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum - HQ (All Channels)May 16, Thursday10 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 36/37 Crew Departure for Baikonur, Kazakhstan from Star City, Russia - JSC (All Channels)12:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 36 Google Plus Hangout Event with NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy - JSC (All Channels)12:45 p.m. - ISS Mission Control On-Console Interview with the Digital Learning Network - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

8. Space Calendar May 13 - [May 13] Soyuz TMA-07M Returns To Earth (International Space Station) May 13 - Comet 114P/Wiseman-SkiffPerihelion (1.575 AU) May 13 - Comet 61P/Shajn-SchaldachAt Opposition (3.844 AU) May 13-15 - Planet Validation Workshop, Marseille, France May 14 - Eutelsat 7B (W3-D) Proton M-Briz M Launch May 14 - Comet C/2013 G1 (Kowalski)At Opposition (2.619 AU) May 14 - Comet 206P/Barnard-BoattiniAt Opposition (3.134 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 100000 Astronautica Closest Approach To Earth (1.108 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 477 Italia Closest Approach To Earth (1.450 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 5799 Brewington Closest Approach To Earth (1.772 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 9007 James Bond Closest Approach To Earth (1.788 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 3780 Maury Closest Approach To Earth (1.869 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 3061 Cook Closest Approach To Earth (2.230 AU) May 14 - 40th Anniversary (1973), Skylab Launch May 15 - [May 12] GPS 2F-4Atlas 5 Launch May 15 - Comet P/1999 D1 (Hermann)At Opposition (1.378 AU) May 15 - Comet 181P/Shoemaker-LevyAt Opposition (2.918 AU) May 15 - [May 12] Asteroid 2013 JL14Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU) May 15 - Asteroid 2010 LF14Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU) May 15 - 50th Anniversary (1963), Mercury 9 Launch (Gordon Cooper) May 15 - Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille's 300th Birthtday (1713) May 16 - Comet 228P/LINEARClosest Approach To Earth (3.078 AU) May 16 - Asteroid 2013 HT15Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU) May 16 - Asteroid 85386 Payton Closest Approach To Earth (1.836 AU) May 17 - Asteroid 5277 Brisbane Closest Approach To Earth (1.394 AU) JPL Space Calendar

9. Food for Thought Solar panels as inexpensive as paint? It's possible due to research at UB, elsewhere

10. Space Image of the Week Solar Activity Surges Image Credit: NASA