Space News Update - June 18, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Shenzhou-9 Crew Docks and Enters Chinese Spacelab Story 2: Story 2: NASA Voyager 1 Spacecraft Nears Interstellar Space Story 3: Story 3: Study Finds Ancient Warming Greened Antarctica Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Shenzhou-9 Crew Docks and Enters Chinese Spacelab

NASA Voyager 1 Spacecraft Nears Interstellar Space

Study Finds Ancient Warming Greened Antarctica

The Night Sky Monday, June 18 · Vega is the brightest star on the eastern side of the evening sky. Deneb is the brightest to its lower left. Altair is farther to Vega's lower right. These form the big Summer Triangle. · This season there's another, temporary "Summer Triangle" toward the southwest: bright Arcturus high on top, the Saturn-Spica pair below it, and Mars off to the pair's right or lower right. Tuesday, June 19 · This is the time of year when the Little Dipper floats straight upward from Polaris after dark — like a helium balloon (I sometimes think) escaped from a summer evening graduation party. · New Moon (exact at 11:02 a.m. EDT). Wednesday, June 20 · This is the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer begins at the solstice: 7:09 p.m. EDT. This is when the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky and begins its six-month return southward. 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? Thursday, June 21 · As the glow of sunset fades, look low in the west-northwest for a ragged line of the thin crescent Moon, Mercury, Pollux, and Castor, as shown below.. Friday, June 22 · Spot the crescent Moon in the western twilight this evening, and look far to its right for Mercury, Pollux, and Castor, as shown above. Binoculars help.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information For Denver: SATELLITELOCALDURATION MAX ELEV APPROACHDEPARTURE DATE/TIME(MIN)(DEG)(DEG-DIR) ISSMon Jun 18/09:11 PM11010 above N10 above NNE ISSMon Jun 18/10:48 PM22420 above N21 above NE ISSTue Jun 19/00:22 AM< above WNW ISSTue Jun 19/09:53 PM31714 above N11 above ENE ISSTue Jun 19/11:28 PM13013 above NW30 above NW ISSWed Jun 20/08:59 PM31311 above N10 above NE ISSWed Jun 20/10:36 PM24627 above NNW39 above ENE ISSThu Jun 21/09:42 PM42721 above N11 above E ISSThu Jun 21/11:17 PM22310 above WNW23 above W ISSFri Jun 22/10:24 PM27523 above WNW57 above SSE

NASA-TV Highlights June 18, Monday 10:10 a.m. - ISS Expedition 31 In-Flight Event for ESA with Euronews - JSC (Public and Media Channels) June 19, Tuesday 12:10 p.m. - ISS Expedition 31 In-Flight Event with Fox Business News and the American Geophysical Union – JSC (Public and Media Channels) June 20, Wednesday 12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 32/33 Qualification Training Simulation Runs at Star City, Russia - JSC (All Channels) June 22, Friday 3:30 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 32/33 Crew News Conference at Star City, Russia and Visit to Red Square in Moscow - JSC (All Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website.NASA website

Space Calendar · Jun 18 - Comet P/2005 JN (Spacewatch) Closest Approach To Earth (1.528 AU) · Jun 18 - Asteroid Sloan Closest Approach To Earth (2.026 AU) · Jun 19 - Comet P/2011 U1 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (2.359 AU) · Jun 19 - Asteroid 3265 Fletcher Closest Approach To Earth (1.453 AU) · Jun 19 - Asteroid 4513 Louvre Closest Approach To Earth (2.214 AU) · Jun 19 - Asteroid 3534 Sax Closest Approach To Earth (2.273 AU) · Jun 20 - Summer Solstice, 23:09 UT · Jun 20 - NROL-38 Atlas 5 Launch · Jun 20 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #327 (OTM-327) · Jun 20 - Asteroid 6511 Furmanov Occults HIP (6.2 Magnitude Star) · Jun 20 - Asteroid 2012 LF4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU) · Jun 20 - Asteroid 7958 Leakey Closest Approach To Earth (0.966 AU) · Jun 20 - Asteroid Frensel Closest Approach To Earth (1.562 AU) · Jun 21 - Astra 4-B (SES-5) Proton M-Briz M Launch · Jun 21 - Comet P/2012 K3 (Gibbs) Closest Approach To Earth (1.254 AU) · Jun 21 - Asteroid 1948 Kampala Occults HIP (6.7 Magnitude Star) · Jun 21 - Asteroid (2005 GO21) Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU) · Jun 21 - Asteroid 7644 Cslewis Closest Approach To Earth (1.565 AU) · Jun 21 - Asteroid Narcissus Closest Approach To Earth (9.094 AU) · Jun 22 - [Jun 15] Asteroid 2012 LG4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU) · Jun 22 - Asteroid 1677 Tycho Brahe Closest Approach To Earth (1.321 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Food for Thought Astronauts to Hold Summer Olympics in Space

Space Image of the Week