Space News Update - June 20 - 24, 2011 -

1. Space News Update - June 20 - 24, 2011 - In the News Story 1:Newfound Comet Will Swing By Earth in 2013 Story 2:The longest day – Summer Solstice 21st June 2011 Story 3:Rocky, Low-Mass World Discovered via Microlensing Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting OpportunitiesSpace Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. Newfound Comet Will Swing By Earth in 2013

3. The longest day – Summer Solstice 21st June 2011

4. Rocky, Low-Mass World Discovered via Microlensing

5. The Night Sky · Monday, June 20 · Look low in the west-northwest for Pollux and Castor as twilight fades away. They're lined up not quite horizontally. These two "winter" stars have far outstayed their season. Tuesday, June 21 · The June solstice occurs at 1:16 p.m. EDT. This is the moment when the Sun is farthest north for the year and begins its six-month return southward. Summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere, where this is the year's longest day. In the Southern Hemisphere, winter begins. If you have a good view of the west-northwest horizon (from mid-northern latitudes), mark precisely where the Sun sets. In a few days you should be able to detect that it's again starting to set a little south of this point. Build your own Stonehenge? Wednesday, June 22 · Now that the Moon is gone from the evening sky, try hunting out galaxies hear the head of Serpens using Sue French's "Deep-Sky Wonders" chart, photos, and article in the June Sky & Telescope, page 62. Find the Sombrero galaxy above Corvus right after dark using page 45. And check out "Galaxies near Bright Stars" on page 68. Thursday, June 23 · Last-quarter Moon (exact at 7:48 a.m. EDT). The Moon rises very late tonight, around 1 a.m. EDT on the 24th depending on your location. Look above it for the Great Square of Pegasus. Friday, June 24 · With summer here, look south-southeast after dark for the bright constellation Scorpius, "the Orion of summer," now reasonably high and standing upright. Like Orion, Scorpius is marked by several 2nd-magnitude blue-white stars and one of the two brightest red supergiants in the sky (Antares in Scorpius, Betelgeuse in Orion). However, Scorpius is some 30° farther south. M51 Supernova brightening. Supernova 2011dh, which was discovered in the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, on May 31st, has been brightening ever since — though the brightening is now leveling off. As of June 16th the supernova was about V magnitude 12.6 and visible in a lot more amateur telescopes. With higher magnification and a moderately good sky, anyone with an 8-inch or larger scope should be able to spot the supernova. I can’t remember the last time we had one that was this easily visible."

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

7. NASA-TV Highlights June 20, Monday5:45 p.m. - STS-135 Crew Arrival and Remarks for the final Space Shuttle Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test - KSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)June 21, Tuesday10 a.m. - ISS Update (may include live coverage of the ISS Progress 43 cargo ship launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan at 10:38 a.m. EDT) - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)June 22, Wednesday8:40 a.m. - STS-135 Crew Final Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test Launch Pad Question and Answer Session with Media - KSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)June 23, Thursday8:10 a.m. - ISS Expedition 28 Educational In-Flight Event for JAXA with Nagano, Japan - JSC (All Channels)12 p.m. - ISS Progress 43 Docking Coverage (docking scheduled at 12:35 p.m. EDT) - JSC (Public, HD and Media Channels)1 p.m. - NASA TV Video File - HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels)2 p.m. - NASA Science News Briefing -- Dawn Spacecraft Images/Science from Vesta Asteroid – HQ (Public, HD and Media Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

8. Space Calendar · Jun 20 - Cassini, Titan Flyby · Jun 20 - Asteroid 8103 Fermi Closest Approach To Earth (1.852 AU) · Jun 20 - Asteroid 5223 McSween Closest Approach To Earth (2.233 AU) · Jun 20 - Asteroid 8373 Stephengould Closest Approach To Earth (2.968 AU) · Jun 21 - Progress M-11M Soyuz U Launch (International Space Station 43P) · Jun 21 - ATV Johannes Kepler Reenters Earth's Atmosphere · Jun 21 - Summer Solstice, 17:16 UT · Jun 21 - Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan Closest Approach To Earth (2.352 AU) · Jun 21 - Asteroid 4 Vesta Occults TYC 6365-00736-1 (11.6 Magnitude Star) · Jun 21 - Asteroid 1602 Indiana Closest Approach To Earth (1.340 AU) · Jun 21 - Live Astronaut Webcast: Bob Crippen · Jun 22 - Comet C/2010 R1 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (5.224 AU) · Jun 22 - 35th Anniversary (1976), Salyut 5 Launch (USSR Space Station) · Jun 23 - Comet P/2010 H2 (Vales) Closest Approach To Earth (2.622 AU) · Jun 23 - Asteroid 2009 WW104 Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU) · Jun 23 - Asteroid 2010 NY65 Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU) · Jun 23 - Asteroid 1655 Comas Sola Closest Approach To Earth (2.392 AU) · Jun 24 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #287 (OTM-287) · Jun 24 - Comet 130P/McNaught-Hughes Perihelion (2.098 AU) · Jun 24 - Asteroid 2 Pallas Occults TYC 1639-02448-1 (11.4 Magnitude Star) · Jun 24 - Asteroid 2531 Cambridge Closest Approach To Earth (2.105 AU) · Jun 24 - Asteroid 2044 Wirt Closest Approach To Earth (2.226 AU) JPL Space Calendar

9. Food for Thought The Greatest Mysteries of Venus

10. Space Image of the Week