Space News Update: Long-Lived Mars Rover Surprises, Black Holes, Exoplanets

1. Space News Update - February 16, 2018 - • In the News • Story 1: • Long-Lived Mars Rover Opportunity Keeps Finding Surprises • Story 2: • Supermassive Black Holes Are Outgrowing Their Galaxies • Story 3:Kepler Scientists Discover Almost 100 New Exoplanets • Departments • The Night Sky • ISS Sighting Opportunities • NASA-TV Highlights • Space Calendar • Food for Thought • Space Image of the Week

2. Long-Lived Mars Rover Opportunity Keeps Finding Surprises

3. Supermassive Black Holes Are Outgrowing Their Galaxies

4. Kepler Scientists Discover Almost 100 New Exoplanets

5. The Night Sky Friday, February 16 • About 15 to 20 minutes after sunset, use binoculars to look just above the west-southwest horizon for Venus and a super-thin crescent Moon, as shown at right. The crescent is only a little more than 24 hours old for North America; new Moon was yesterday at 4:04 p.m. EST. Saturday, February 17 • Now the waxing crescent Moon is easier to see in the west-southwest after sunset. Its curved side points the way down toward Venus this evening and tomorrow, as shown at right. Sunday, February 18 • During February, Orion stands high in the south after dinnertime. Lower left of it blazes Sirius, and farther left of Orion shines Procyon. Extending up from Procyon is dim little Canis Minor: the doglet whose top is barely visible in profile in a dark sky. He's currently vertical; Procyon is his rump. We only see stars marking the profile outline of his back (from Procyon up to 3rd-magnitude Gomeisa) and the back of his head (Gamma and Epsilon CanisMinoris just above Gomeisa, faint at 4th and 5th magnitude). Monday, February 19 • If the Big Dipper stands upright in the northeast, can Bootes be far behind? The Dipper's handle famously arcs down and around toward Arcturus, the lucida (brightest star) of Bootes — and the arc crosses Bootes for most of the way. The whole constellation is above the east-northeast horizon by about 10 p.m. now. Spring approaches. Tuesday, February 20 • After it's fully dark, look 15° (about a fist and a half at arm's length) upper right of the Moon for Hamal, the brightest star of Aries. The next two brightest stars of Aries, Sheratan and Mesarthim, hang below Hamal. Continue the line from the Moon through Hamal onward by another fist (if you're observing from North America), and you're in dim Triangulum: long, thin, and pointing down. Sky & Telescope

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

7. 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) • Tuesday, February 20  • 1:30 p.m., ISS Expedition 54 In-Flight Educational Event with the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and NASA Flight Engineers Mark VandeHei and Scott Tingle (starts at 1:35 p.m.) (all channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar • Feb 16 - Chinese New Year • Feb 16 - Moon Occults Venus • Feb 16 - [Feb 13] Apollo Asteroid 2018 CX2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU) • Feb 16 - Apollo Asteroid 162882 (2001 FD58)Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU) • Feb 16 - Amor Asteroid 2018 CZ Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU) • Feb 16 - Asteroid 1157 Arabia Closest Approach To Earth (2.551 AU) • Feb 16 - Teleconference: Advice to the US Global Change Research Program • Feb 16 - 40th Anniversary (1978), Social Media Born • Feb 16 - 70th Anniversary (1948), Gerard Kuiper's Discovery of Uranus Moon Miranda • Feb 16 - Pierre Bouguer's 320th Birthday (1698) • Feb 17 - [Feb 09] Paz/ MicroSat 2a & 2b Falcon 9 Launch • Feb 17 - Comet 185P/PetriewClosest Approach To Earth (1.328 AU) • Feb 17 - Comet C/2014 R3 (PANSTARRS)At Opposition (7.248 AU) • Feb 17 - [Feb 12] Comet C/2017 AB5 (PANSTARRS)Perihelion (9.216 AU) • Feb 17 - [Feb 11] Amor Asteroid 2018 CK2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.093 AU) • Feb 17 - Asteroid 1832 Mrkos Closest Approach To Earth (2.405 AU) • Feb 17 - Asteroid 11998 Fermilab Closest Approach To Earth (2.789 AU) • Feb 17 - Tobias Mayer's 295th Birthday (1723) • Feb 18 - Comet 93P/LovasClosest Approach To Earth (2.586 AU) • Feb 18 - Comet 220P/McNaughtAt Opposition (3.686 AU) • Feb 18 - Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS)Perihelion (3.730 AU) • Feb 18 - Asteroid 369 Aeria Occults HIP 84012 (3.0 Magnitude Star) • Feb 18 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 CA138 Near-Earth Flyby (0.056 AU) • Feb 18 - [Feb 13] Apollo Asteroid 2018 CR2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU) • Feb 18 - Asteroid 5035 Swift Closest Approach To Earth (1.364 AU) • Feb 18 - Asteroid 3850 Peltier Closest Approach To Earth (1.609 AU) • Feb 18 - Asteroid 341 California Closest Approach To Earth (1.642 AU) • Feb 18 - Asteroid 2022 West Closest Approach To Earth (1.805 AU) JPL Space Calendar

9. Space Calendar • Feb 18 - 70th Anniversary (1948), Norton County Meteorite Shower in Kansas • Feb 18 - 105th Anniversary (1913), Frederick Soddy Introduces The Concept of Isotopes • Feb 18 - Ernst Mach's 180th Birthday (1838) • Feb 19 - Comet 125P/SpacewatchAt Opposition (1.314 AU) • Feb 19 - Comet 44P/ReinmuthAt Opposition (4.156 AU) • Feb 19 - [Feb 11] Apollo Asteroid 2018 CP2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.016 AU) • Feb 19 - Apollo Asteroid 2101 AdonisClosest Approach To Earth (0.219 AU) • Feb 19 - Asteroid 1862 ApolloClosest Approach To Earth (1.530 AU) • Feb 19 - Aten Asteroid 341843 (2008 EV5)Closest Approach To Earth (1.797 AU) • Feb 19 - Kuiper Belt Object 55565 (2002 AW197)At Opposition (44.522 AU) • Feb 19 - Colloquium: SKA Update, Sydney, Australia • Feb 19 - Nicolaus Copernicus' 545th Birthday (1473) JPL Space Calendar

10. Food for Thought Tesla Shot into Space Will Likely Collide with Earth or Venus—in Millions of Years: Researchers

11. Space Image of the Week Enceladus in Silhouette Image Credit:Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA