In the Sky this Week - June 15, 2021

The Hubble is DOWN!

The Hubble Space Telescope is in a safe mode after an issue caused the 1980’s-era payload computer to halt on Sunday, June 13 – the telescope itself and science instruments remain in good health.

The operations team is running tests and collecting information to isolate the problem. An attempt to restart the computer on Monday, June 14 failed; degrading computer memory is a likely source of the fault.

https://twitter.com/AstroBalrog/status/1407308698649829376

The Waxing Gibbous Moon appears in conjunction with the star Antares after sunset in the southwestern sky on June 22nd.

Conjunction of the Moon and Antares — The Moon appears in conjunction with the star Antares in the southern sky after sunset on June 22nd. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

Jupiter and Saturn continue to appear in the southern morning sky all week; the Waning Gibbous Moon appears in conjunction with Saturn on June 27th, and Jupiter on the 28th and 29th.

June 27th

June 28th

June 29th

Mars and Venus appear low above the west-northwestern horizon at sunset all week – getting a bit closer together with each evening.

The Moon is a Waxing Gibbous – visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night.
The Full Moon occurs on June 24th – rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and visible all night.
After June 24th, the Moon will be a Waning Gibbous – rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.

If you click on the Moon image above, or click this link, you will go to NASA’s Moon Phase and Libration, 2021 page – it will show you what the Moon looks like right now. If you click the image on that page, you will download a high-rez TIFF image annotated with the names of prominent features – helpful for logging your lunar observations!

Moon News:

12 years ago #OTD, @NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launched from @NASAKennedy on a mission to the Moon. https://t.co/5viYRWbOLk pic.twitter.com/QucLlw7VNe
— ARCHIVED - NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) June 18, 2021

Since then, LRO has contributed more than 1.2 petabytes of data to the Planetary Data System. You would need more than 2340 smart phones to store all of LRO's data! This is more data than all of @NASA's other planetary missions combined. pic.twitter.com/3J3sjlSOwN
— ARCHIVED - NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) June 18, 2021

LRO is still going strong. It is an incredibly capable spacecraft that continues to make discoveries for lunar and solar system science — all while supporting @NASA's plans to return astronauts to the Moon through the #Artemis program. pic.twitter.com/VfVwq1eHxq
— ARCHIVED - NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) June 18, 2021

The Sun has 1 spot: sunspot AR2833 – which will be rotating out of view in a couple days. SpaceWeather.com reports that it is stable and quiet – strong solar flares are unlikely.

The Sun on June 15, 2021. Credit: SDO/HMI

The Sun seen in 193 angstroms on June 21st

Multiple regions of coronal loop activity once again across mostly the Sun’s northern hemisphere; something bright is rotating into view on the Sun’s limb (upper left).
The northern coronal hole is huge. The southern hole has almost vanished.

The Sun seen in 304 angstroms on June 21st

Moderate prominence activity around the Sun’s limb; AR2833 looks angry seen in this frequency.

Videos courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

Solar Activity on Facebook – Run by Volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Pamela Shivak

Sun — **SOLARACTIVITY PICTURE OF THE DAY for** Tuesday June 23rd, 2021 goes out to Michael Teoh.

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 34.1 km/sec ▼, with a density of 13.4 protons/cm³▼ at 1141 UT.

Click here to see a near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

Sun News:

The June solstice marks the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere! Celebrate summer NASA-style with some sunny activities for students, educators, and lifelong learners: https://t.co/JIlBl1IAgx pic.twitter.com/rxyW9qxisY
— ARCHIVED - NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) June 22, 2021

To kick off the summer, @USPS has issued a set of stamps highlighting solar activity seen by our Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. 📬☀️ The stamps showcase the Sun in different kinds of light, including some that can only be seen from space. https://t.co/el7c19hlbX pic.twitter.com/xK4kxxFRmQ
— ARCHIVED - NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) June 18, 2021

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 146, this year: 1278 (+47), all time: 26,112 (+48)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2185 (+2) (updated 2021-06-22)
Total Minor Planets discovered (NASA): 1,095,225 (+1,485)
Total Minor Planets discovered (MPC): 1,086,655 (-1,597) (updated 2021-06-22)

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Velocity (km/s)	Diameter (m)
2021 MF	2021-Jun-22	13.7 LD	12.8	32
2021 LV6	2021-Jun-22	5 LD	4.3	18
2021 LS5	2021-Jun-22	9.3 LD	9.6	26
2021 MV	2021-Jun-24	5.5 LD	9.8	18
441987	2021-Jun-25	15.6 LD	13.4	187
2021 JT8	2021-Jun-25	20.1 LD	7.5	70
2021 LV2	2021-Jun-26	4.6 LD	7.4	31
2021 LD6	2021-Jun-28	10.6 LD	2.1	12
2021 MS	2021-Jun-30	20 LD	23.4	56
2010 XJ11	2021-Jul-01	4.1 LD	16.4	59
2021 GM4	2021-Jul-01	12.1 LD	6.3	150
2021 LE7	2021-Jul-02	10.9 LD	11.4	30
2021 LG3	2021-Jul-03	19.4 LD	8.6	84
2020 AD1	2021-Jul-04	2.8 LD	4.9	20
2021 MC	2021-Jul-06	3 LD	7.1	23
2019 AT6	2021-Jul-13	4.2 LD	5.1	11
2019 NB7	2021-Jul-17	15.2 LD	13.8	12
2014 BP43	2021-Jul-21	17 LD	8.5	18
2008 GO20	2021-Jul-24	12.8 LD	8.2	123
2020 BW12	2021-Jul-27	16.7 LD	9.8	21
2019 YM6	2021-Jul-31	17.9 LD	13.5	135
2020 PN1	2021-Aug-03	9.6 LD	4.6	30
2020 PP1	2021-Aug-03	13 LD	3.6	16
2012 BA35	2021-Aug-11	6.9 LD	4.2	62
2016 BQ	2021-Aug-14	4.4 LD	4.7	16

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.

Asteroid News:

Lunar eclipse aids in locating 3 Near-Earth asteroids

A full Moon can make searching for #asteroids harder because it brightens the night sky.

Knowing this, #PlanetaryDefense experts at the @NASA-funded @UHIfA Pan-STARRS telescope used the May 26 lunar eclipse to their advantage: https://t.co/8PeogMLkdy

Photo credit: Alex Dzierba pic.twitter.com/sd6SvHMIw4
— NASA Space Alerts (@NASASpaceAlerts) June 8, 2021

NASA asteroid-hunting satellite clears hurdle on path to 2026 launch

“By searching for NEOs closer to the direction of the Sun, #NEO Surveyor would help astronomers discover impact hazards that could approach Earth from the daytime sky,” said @AmyMainzer, survey director for NEO Surveyor: https://t.co/BgWJvNvtsS pic.twitter.com/rAsociIfQR
— Asteroid Day ☄ (@AsteroidDay) June 21, 2021

#AsteroidDay - June 30th

Asteroid Day as observed annually on 30 June is the United Nations sanctioned day of public awareness of the risks of asteroid impacts. The mission is to educate the public about the risks and opportunities of asteroids year-round by hosting events, providing educational resources and regular communications to our global audience on multiple digital platforms.

Kerbonauts, prepare yourselves for #AsteroidDay! ☄
Here's five interesting facts we think you should know about these space rocks. pic.twitter.com/F4HNzqBovd
— Kerbal Space Program (@KerbalSpaceP) June 20, 2021

On June 21, 2021, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 4 fireballs!
(4 sporadics)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). Credit: SpaceWeather.com

Fireball News:

#GlobalMeteorNetwork has more than 450 cameras across the globe

UK meteor people - please get one of these! If you're techy you can build one for £200. If not you can buy one. The science yield is exceptional. Lots in the UK, lots more needed / welcome @meteordoc @UKMeteorNetwork @nemetodemeteor https://t.co/i1AXnGPqMg
— UK Fireball Alliance (@UK_Fireball) June 16, 2021

If you see a bright meteor or a fireball, please REPORT IT to the American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization!

Position of the planets & several spacecraft in the inner solar system on June 22nd:

Position of the planets in the middle solar system – the orbit of dwarf planet Ceres is highlighted:

Position of the planets, and a several transneptunian objects in the outer solar system – the orbit of TNO Arrokoth is highlighted:

Solar System News:

We've long assumed Venus has an immobile outer shell, like Mars. But new research led by @NCState indicates that Venus’ crust is more Earth-like & geologically active than we thought. Our upcoming #VERITASMission could confirm this finding. https://t.co/OQVXO92iWc pic.twitter.com/aOpcjq5zEz

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) June 21, 2021

International Space Station

The Exp 65 crew continued its space research activities today while two astronauts prepared for their third spacewalk in nine days. https://t.co/822bWCjhYB
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) June 22, 2021

HiRISE - Beautiful Mars

Hi3D: Streamlined Features and Small Channels

These features are adjacent to Ravi Vallis. Around 200 kilometers long, Ravi Vallis was born in a flood of water from Aromatum Chaos, and divides into two channels at one point.

https://t.co/2uDtkJzJcj

NASA/JPL/UArizona#Mars pic.twitter.com/4PNOW93WVf
— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (@HiRISE) June 22, 2021

Hubble Space Telescope

This view contains some of our galaxy's hottest, brightest, and most massive stars. Found in Westerlund 2 20,000 light-years away, Hubble’s closeup of the nebula reveals a fantasy landscape of pillars, ridges, and valleys. Explore its features: https://t.co/gfzHDOAfoU pic.twitter.com/xCLO9qIUYl
— Hubble Space Telescope (@HubbleTelescope) June 18, 2021

Landsat

#LandsatHeadline: New Landsat Update Available- June 2021. Learn about Landsat 9 mission updates, updates to data products and tools, and other Landsat-related news. 🤓

Read the update at https://t.co/fhJSmqEMkG
Sign up for the update at https://t.co/Ivo6zkPPb1 pic.twitter.com/YzW9fuenWB
— USGS Landsat (@USGSLandsat) June 21, 2021

NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover

Winds like this have swept dust across this plain for millions of years. You and I are the first to see it up close. Mars may be cold and dry, but it’s also quite active in its own ways.

All my latest images: https://t.co/Ex1QDokQ0C pic.twitter.com/sYsYbLnwR8
— ARCHIVED - NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 22, 2021

Climate

Orbiting the Earth since last fall, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is tracking sea levels around the globe—and it's making its first data streams available to the public >> https://t.co/JPm1OI22Yu @NASAEarth pic.twitter.com/bXQ9ywPkrP
— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) June 22, 2021

See a list of current NASA missions here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/?type=current

ex·o·plan·et /ˈeksōˌplanət/, noun: a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

All Exoplanets	4422 (+21)
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler	2398 (+4)
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed	2366
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2	426
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed	889
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS	131 (+2)
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2021-03-27 13:00:02)	3506 (+136)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP	3518 (+148)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed	2168 (+43)

Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.

Exoplanet News:

Of the 4,400+ exoplanets we've discovered so far, 1,200 are gas giants. These planets, like Jupiter and Saturn – but often much more massive – don’t have hard surfaces and instead have swirling gases above a solid core. https://t.co/QptbN1Px2k pic.twitter.com/Udfkb3OHBf

— NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) June 22, 2021

Picture of the day: Colorful sky
???? Credit: Matt Dieterich
The stars and dust of the Milky Way combine with a display of the aurora borealis above Mount Rainier National Park. The greenish light is from skyglow. pic.twitter.com/l0fsMGa7BN

— Astronomy Magazine (@AstronomyMag) June 14, 2021

SpaceWeather.com Realtime Aurora Gallery: https://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html

2nd annual Capture the Dark Photography Contest

We are very pleased to announce the 2nd annual Capture the Dark Photography Contest is now open for submissions! There are 8 categories, it's free to enter, and open to entrants worldwide.

Learn more & enter: https://t.co/t8Wlvd8Wu2 pic.twitter.com/CG7NQxqYwP

— DarkSky International (@IDADarkSky) June 21, 2021

Visit an International Dark Sky Park: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/parks/
If you live in Michigan, visit the Michigan Dark Skies site: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/darkskies/

NASA June Art Challenge

Kerbal Space Program is 10 years old!

View a larger version of this image here.

Hubble Space Telescope – Helping us see the Beauty of the Cosmos

Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been on my mind the ENTIRE time I’ve been writing this post – I guess I’m worried about it. I just saw this post saying NASA has tried three time now to restart the Hubble’s computer – to no avail.

My heart goes out to the Hubble’s support team, and the astronomers who are losing their scheduled time with the telescope; I hope this does not foretell the end of Hubble’s mission.

Stay safe, be well, and look up!

Software Apps used for this post:

NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.