Space News Update - Sept. 3, 2012 -

1. Space News Update - Sept. 3, 2012 - In the News Story 1:Space a Little Sweeter Story 2: Second spacewalk planned to finish aborted electrical work Story 3: On to Ceres: Dawn Spacecraft Ready to Say Farewell to Asteroid Vesta Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. > Space a Little Sweeter

3. Second spacewalk planned to finish aborted electrical work Working in Building 9 at the Johnson Space Center, Timothy Lindsey (left) and astronaut Andrew Feustel evaluate techniques for installing a main bus switching unit aboard the International Space Station  Astronaut Sunita Williams can be seen near one of two main bus switching units during an attempt to replace one last Thursday. 

4. On to Ceres: Dawn Spacecraft Ready to Say Farewell to Asteroid Vesta (click to view video on YouTube

5. The Night Sky Monday, Sept. 3· As twilight fades, spot bright Arcturus high in the west. Look far to its lower left for Saturn and Mars. They're about a fist-width at arm's length apart. Mars is the one on the left.Compare Mars with similarly bright and similarly colored Antares ("Anti-Mars" in Greek), three fists to its left and perhaps higher. Which of the two looks deeper orange? Tuesday, Sept. 4· Face south soon after dark and look high. The brightest star there is Altair, with dimmer Tarazed a finger-width at arm's length above it and a bit to the right. Look left of Altair, by a bit more than a fist-width, for the dim but distinctive little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin, splashing in the edge of the Milky Way. For more on Delphinus, its legendry, and telescopic double stars, see the SeptemberSky & Telescope, page 47.

6. The Night Sky Wednesday, Sept. 5· One of the nicest star clusters for binoculars or a telescope is M11 in Scutum just off the tail of Aquila, the Eagle, as most amateur astronomers know. But can you also spot dimmer, more difficult M26 less than 4° below it? See the finder chart with Gary Seronik's "Scutum Odd Couple" in theSeptemberSky & Telescope, page 45. Thursday, Sept. 6 · Whenever Vega is near the zenith, as it is just after dark now, you know Sagittarius is at its highest and best in the south — displaying the deep-sky riches of the summer Milky Way to their best advantage. The Teapot asterism of Sagittarius is tilting to pour to the right. The richest big patch of the Milky Way, the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud, is just above its spout. Friday, Sept. 7· Jupiter and the last-quarter Moon rise together around 11 or midnight, depending on where you live. Watch for them coming over the east-northeast horizon, and look for fainter Aldebaran to their right. They continue climbing high up the sky until dawn Saturday morning — when the three shine high in the southeast over Orion, as shown here.

7. ISS Sighting Opportunities For Denver: No Sightings for Denver through Sept. 13th. Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

8. NASA-TV Highlights September 6, Thursday7 a.m. - ISS Expedition 32 HTV-3 Unberthing Coverage - JSC (All Channels)11 a.m. - ISS Update - JSC (Public and Media Channels; abbreviated to 30 minutes)11:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 32 HTV-3 Release Coverage - JSC (All Channels)12:30 p.m. - ISS Mission Control Center Digital Learning Network Interview - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.

9. Space Calendar Sep 03 - Asteroid 11 Parthenope At Opposition (9.0 Magnitude) Sep 03 - Asteroid 2012 HG31Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU) Sep 03 - Asteroid 9249 Yen Closest Approach To Earth (1.236 AU) Sep 03 - Asteroid 16682 Donati Closest Approach To Earth (1.277 AU) Sep 03 - Asteroid 484 Pittsburghia Closest Approach To Earth (1.539 AU) Sep 03 - Asteroid 2791 Paradise Closest Approach To Earth (1.772 AU) Sep 03 - Asteroid 39415 Janeausten Closest Approach To Earth (2.373 AU) Sep 04 - [Aug 31] Dawn, Vesta Departure Sep 04 - [Aug 31] Juno, Deep Space Maneuver #2 (DSM-2) Sep 04 - Asteroid 2012 PXNear-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU) Sep 04 - [Aug 29] Asteroid 2012 QC18Near-Earth Flyby (0.068 AU) Sep 04 - 35th Anniversary (1977), Voyager 1 Launch Sep 05 - Comet C/2008 S3 (Boattini)Closest Approach To Earth (7.518 AU) Sep 05 - Asteroid 2063 BacchusClosest Approach To Earth (0.237 AU) Sep 05 - Asteroid 52301 Qumran Closest Approach To Earth (0.928 AU) Sep 05 - Asteroid 19019 Sunflower Closest Approach To Earth (1.180 AU) Sep 05 - Asteroid 13897 Vesuvius Closest Approach To Earth (2.424 AU) Sep 06 - Asteroid 2007 PS25Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU) Sep 06 - Asteroid 2955 Newburn Closest Approach To Earth (1.112 AU) Sep 06 - Asteroid 827 Wolfiana Closest Approach To Earth (0.939 AU) Sep 07 - Comet P/2010 J5 (McNaught)Closest Approach To Earth (3.322 AU) Sep 07 - Asteroid 1 Ceres Occults TYC 1306-00077-1 (11.8 Magnitude Star) Sep 07 - [Aug 28] Asteroid 2005 RZ2Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU) Sep 07 - Asteroid 7850 Buenos Aires Closest Approach To Earth (1.519 AU) JPL Space Calendar

10. Food for Thought Ghostly Night-Shining Clouds Get Their Glow from Meteor Smoke

11. Space Image of the Week Image Credit: NASA