A lunar night launch, moon, planet pairs, Comet ISON spotted.

TRANSCRIPT

Jane Houston Jones: What’s Up for September. A nighttime lunar launch, comet ISON is spotted again, and the moon meets up with Saturn, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

Hello and welcome. I’m Jane Houston Jones from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA’s LADEE mission, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, is scheduled for a night launch on September 6 at 11:27 p.m. Eastern time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia. LADEE will orbit the moon to gather information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. It’ll take 30 days to travel to the moon, followed by 30 days for checkout and 100 days for science operations.

Comet ISON was recovered in mid-August and imaged using an 11-inch telescope. There have been other observations of the comet, but it’s still to early to predict ISON’s behavior. So stay tuned!

On September 27 Comet ISON will be very close to Mars. The comet is coming directly over Mars in its orbit. An orbiter and a rover on Mars will be looking to image ISON as it passes near the planet.

Here’s what’s visible in the night sky this month. You can find Mars and Jupiter in the eastern dawn sky.

On September first, second and third the moon can be found near Jupiter and Mars. On the 7th and 8th the moon pairs up with Saturn and Venus in the southwest sky just after sunset. And on September 16 Venus is directly below Saturn.

Early next month NASA’s Juno spacecraft will perform a close flyby of Earth on October 9, stealing a tiny bit of Earth’s orbital momentum to get the boost it needs to reach Jupiter in 2016. Juno may be visible with binoculars to observers near Capetown, South Africa.

You can read about all of NASA’s missions, including LADEE and Juno, at w w w dot nasa dot gov.

That’s all for this month. I’m Jane Houston Jones.

Music.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

No Comments for JPL: What’s Up for September 2013

Comments are closed.

More From NASA, JPL & Related Agencies

See more episodes here

NASA Watch SpaceX Launch Science, Supplies to the Space Station NASA Watch SpaceX Launch Science, Supplies to the Space Station	NASA-JPL NASA-JPL Develops Prototype Ventilator in 37 Days NASA-JPL NASA-JPL Develops Prototype Ventilator in 37 Days	NASA A New Name for Our Next Mars Rover on This Week @NASA – March 7, 2020 NASA A New Name for Our Next Mars Rover on This Week @NASA – March 7, 2020	NASA This Year @ NASA: Artemis I 20th Anniversary of Living in Space NASA This Year @ NASA: Artemis I 20th Anniversary of Living in Space
This Week at NASA Orion Spacecraft Arrives in Ohio for Testing on This Week @NASA – November 29, 2019 This Week at NASA Orion Spacecraft Arrives in Ohio for Testing on This Week @NASA – November 29, 2019	What's Up NASA December What’s Up: December 2019 Skywatching Tips from NASA What's Up NASA December What’s Up: December 2019 Skywatching Tips from NASA	NASA Thanksgiving Message from NASA Astronauts in Space NASA Thanksgiving Message from NASA Astronauts in Space