Space News Update - July 18, 2011 -

1. Space News Update - July 18, 2011 - In the News Story 1:Dawn Exceeds Wildest Expectations as First Ever Spacecraft to Orbit a Protoplanet – Vesta Story 2:Two brown dwarfs found in solar neighbourhood Story 3:Russian satellite on mission to peer inside black holes Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting OpportunitiesSpace Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. Dawn Exceeds Wildest Expectations as First Ever Spacecraft to Orbit a Protoplanet – Vesta

3. Two brown dwarfs found in solar neighbourhood

4. Russian satellite on mission to peer inside black holes

5. The Night Sky Monday, July 18 · Arcturus is the bright star shining high in the southwest these evenings, far above Saturn and Spica. Arcturus is a yellow-orange giant 37 light-years away and about 150 times as luminous as the Sun. Its pale ginger-ale color is plain to the unaided eye. Compare this to the icy blue-white of Vega overhead, equally bright. Look far to the right of Arcturus, at roughly the same height, for the Big Dipper, oriented about as shown here. Tuesday, July 19 · Mercury is at greatest elongation this evening, 27° east of the Sun, low in the west-northwestern twilight. Wednesday, July 20 · Now's the time of year to work through the rich but low tail of Scorpius with a telescope right after dark. Explore a whole nest of little-known star clusters near M6, the Butterfly Cluster, with Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders article and chart in the July Sky & Telescope, page 66. The Big Dipper high in the northwest is starting to dip. Thursday, July 21 · The brightest asteroid, 4 Vesta, has brightened to magnitude 6.0 as it approaches opposition in Capricornus. It's easily visible in binoculars in late evening; use our online finder chart or look in the August 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope, page 53. The Dawn spacecraft has taken up orbit around Vesta and should be starting its science imaging around now! Friday, July 22 · Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 1:02 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). The Moon rises around the middle of the night with Jupiter below it. By dawn they're very high in the southeast.

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities For Denver: No Sightings until July 23rd. Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. NASA-TV Highlights July 18, Monday10:49 p.m. - Rendezvous Tools Checkout - JSC (All Channels)1:29 p.m. - ISS Crew Sleep Begins - JSC (All Channels)1:59 p.m. - Atlantis Crew Sleep Begins - JSC (All Channels)3 p.m. - “Launching Our Dreams” Video Feature Playback - JSC (All Channels)4 p.m. - Flight Day 11 Highlights (replayed on the hour during crew sleep) - JSC (All Channels)9:29 p.m. - Atlantis/ISS Crew Crew Wake Up (begins FD 12) - JSC (All Channels)July 19, Tuesday2:28 a.m. - Atlantis undocks from ISS - JSC (All Channels)3:27 a.m. - Atlantis Fly around of ISS - JSC (All Channels)4:18 a.m. - Atlantis Final Separation from ISS - JSC (All Channels)6:34 a.m. - RMS / OBSS late inspection of Atlantis' TPS - JSC (All Channels)7:30 a.m. - Mission Status Briefing - JSC (All Channels)10:49 a.m. - OBSS berth - JSC (All Channels)1 p.m. - MMT Briefing - JSC (All Channels)1:59 p.m. – Atlantis Crew Sleep - JSC (All Channels)2 p.m. - Video file - HQ (All Channels)3 p.m. - Flight day 12 highlights (replayed on the hour during crew sleep) - JSC (All Channels)6:15 p.m. - "The Space Shuttle" narrated by William Shatner - JSC (Media Channel)6:15 p.m. - NASA Celebrates “Spirit”- JSC (Public and Education Channels only)9:59 p.m. - Atlantis crew wake up (begins fd 13) - JSC (All Channels)July 22, Friday10 – 11 a.m. – NASA Science News Briefing – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

8. Space Calendar · Jul 18 - Radio-Astron (Spektr R) Zenit 3F Launch, Successful · Jul 18 - Comet C/2009 P2 (Boattini) Closest Approach To Earth (6.440 AU) · Jul 18 - Asteroid 4255 Spacewatch Closest Approach To Earth (2.435 AU) · Jul 18 - 45th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 10 Launch (John Young & Michael Collins) · Jul 18 - John Glenn's 90th Birthday (1921) · Jul 19 - Comet 27P/Crommelin Closest Approach To Earth (1.586 AU) · Jul 19 - Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS) Closest Approach To Earth (4.554 AU) · Jul 19 - Asteroid 90 Antiope Occults HIP 112420 (6.7 Magnitude Star) · Jul 19 - Asteroid 15371 Steward Closest Approach To Earth (1.663 AU) · Jul 19 - Edward Pickering's 165th Birthday (1846) · Jul 20 - Mercury At Its Greatest Eastern Elongation (27 Degrees) · Jul 20 - Comet P/2010 J5 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (3.027 AU) · Jul 20 - Asteroid 11412 (1999 JE19) Occults HIP 104174 (5.2 Magnitude Star) · Jul 20 - Asteroid 51825 Davidbrown Closest Approach To Earth (2.076 AU) · Jul 20 - 35th Anniversary (1976), Viking 1, Mars Landing · Jul 21 - Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns To Earth (STS-135 - Last Shuttle Landing) · Jul 21 - 50th Anniversary (1961), Mercury 4 Launch (Gus Grissom, Liberty Bell 7) · Jul 21 - Asteroid 2575 Bulgaria Occults HIP 17608 (4.2 Magnitude Star) · Jul 21 - Asteroid 2187 La Silla Closest Approach To Earth (1.350 AU) · Jul 21 - Asteroid 46977 Krakow Closest Approach To Earth (2.271 AU) · Jul 22 - Comet 183P/Korlevic-Juric Closest Approach To Earth (3.906 AU) · Jul 22 - Asteroid 2007 RQ17 Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU) · Jul 22 - Asteroid 2008 TC Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU) · Jul 22 - Asteroid 5450 Sokrates Closest Approach To Earth (2.133 AU) JPL Space Calendar

9. Food for Thought How a Mission to Mars Could Kill You

10. Space Image of the Week Awesome Aurora Photographed by Shuttle/ISS Crews