Space News Update February 17, 2012 -

1. Space News Update • February 17, 2012 - In the News Story 1: John Glenn, 1st American in Orbit, Pushes for Manned Mars Missions Story 2:Microbial Oasis Discovered Beneath the Atacama Desert Story 3: Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption” Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting OpportunitiesSpace Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

2. John Glenn, 1st American in Orbit, Pushes for Manned Mars Missions

3. Microbial Oasis Discovered Beneath the Atacama Desert

4. Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption”

5. The Night Sky Friday, February 17· This is the time of year when, after dinnertime, the W pattern of Cassiopeia stands vertically on end high in the northwest. Saturday, February 18· After dinnertime at this time of year, four carnivore constellations stand in a row from the northeast to south. They're all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right: Ursa Major in the northeast (with the Big Dipper as its brightest part), Leo in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, and Canis Major in the south.  Sunday, February 19· We're in the dark of the Moon, which means it's deep-sky observing time. Check out a dozen winter planetary nebulae using your star atlas and Ted Forte's guided tour with pictures in the February Sky & Telescope, page 60. Monday, February 20· Brilliant Sirius shines highest due south around roughly 8:30 or 9 p.m., depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. · Have you ever seen Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius? In one of the many interesting coincidences that devoted skywatchers know about, Canopus lies almost due south of Sirius: by 36°. That's far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you live below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And even there you'll need a flat south horizon. Canopus transits the sky's north-south meridian just 21 minutes before Sirius does. When to look? Canopus transits right when Beta Canis Majoris (Mirzim) does. That's the fairly bright star about three finger-widths to Sirius's right. When Mirzim is due south, look straight down from there.

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

7. NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Daylight Time) February 18, Saturday 6:30 p.m. - 50th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit “On the Shoulders of Giants” – KSC (Public, Media and Education Channels) February 20, Monday 1:30 p.m. - NASA Future Forum at The Ohio State University Opening; includes ISS Expedition 30 In-Flight Event with NASA Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank and NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit at 1:35 p.m. ET - WOSU/HQ (Public, Media and Education Channels) 2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. - NASA Future Forum -- Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future - WOSU/HQ(Public, Media and Education Channels) 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. - NASA Future Forum -- Inspiration and Education Panel - Building the Innovators for Tomorrow - WOSU/HQ (Public, Media and Education Channels) Watch NASA TV on the Net by going to NASA website

8. Johann Gottfried Galle Wilhelm Beer Space Calendar Feb 17 - Comet C/2011 L2 (McNaught) Closest Approach To Earth (1.899 AU) Feb 17 - Asteroid 433 Eros Occults TYC 6067-01100-1 (10.0 Magnitude Star) Feb 17 - Asteroid 1993 DA Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU) Feb 17 - Asteroid 1221 Amor Closest Approach To Earth (0.736 AU)q Feb 17 - Asteroid 136 Austria Closest Approach To Earth (1.503 AU) Feb 18 - Asteroid 2012 BJ11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU) Feb 18 - Asteroid 13212 Jayleno Closest Approach To Earth (1.565 AU) Feb 18 - Asteroid 65675 Mohr-Gruber Closest Approach To Earth (1.819 AU) Feb 18 - Asteroid 11945 Amsterdam Closest Approach To Earth (2.436 AU) Feb 19 - [Feb 16] Cassini, Titan Flyby Feb 19 - Comet P/2010 UH55 (Spacewatch) Closest Approach To Earth (2.557 AU) Feb 19 - Asteroid 162421 (2000 ET70) Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU) Feb 19 - Asteroid 38086 Beowolf Closest Approach To Earth (1.183 AU) Feb 19 - Asteroid 10217 Richardcook Closest Approach To Earth (2.187 AU) Feb 19 - Asteroid 498 Tokio Closest Approach To Earth (2.263 AU) Feb 20 - [Feb 17] 50th Anniversary (1962), Friendship 7 Launch (John Glenn) Feb 20 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Polydeuces Feb 20 - Asteroid 3131 Mason-Dixon Closest Approach To Earth (1.847 AU) Feb 20 - Asteroid 5471 Tunguska Closest Approach To Earth (2.168 AU) Feb 20 - 15th Anniverary (1997), Galileo, Europa 6 Flyby Feb 20-24 - 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah Feb 21 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Telesto, Enceladus, Pallene, Dione & Rhea Feb 21 - Asteroid 189202 Calar Alto Closest Approach To Earth (2.411 AU) Feb 21 - Kuiper Belt Object 90482 Orcus At Opposition (47.023 AU)

9. Food for Thought NASA Shuts Down Its Last Mainframe Computer

10. Space Image of the Week Rhea Before Titan Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute