(From west to east)

• Pallas is in the constellation of Ophiuchus.

• Amphitrite is at opposition on the 12th in the constellation of Sagittarius.

• Hygiea is in the constellation of Sagittarius.

• Eunomia is at opposition on the 29th in the constellation of Capricornus.

• Hebe is at opposition on the 4th in the constellation of Capricornus.

• Ceres is at opposition on the 11th in the constellation of Piscis_Austrinus.

• Leto is in the constellation of Cetus.

• Iris is in the constellation of Pisces.

• Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer website.

The lakes are most likely the source of hydrocarbon smog in the frigid moon's atmosphere. Finding the source of the complex soup of hydrocarbons in Titan's atmosphere has been a major goal for the Cassini mission and is a significant accomplishment.

Numerous well-defined dark patches resembling lakes are present in radar images of Titan's high latitudes taken during a July 22 flyby. At Titan's frigid temperatures, about minus 180 degrees Celsius, the liquids in the lakes are most likely methane or a combination of methane and ethane.

"This is a big deal," said Steve Wall, deputy radar team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We've now seen a place other than Earth where lakes are present.""

Cassini Imaging Team

"Today, July 14, we stand precisely nine years from our closest approach date with the ninth planet and her moons. Next week, on July 19, we will celebrate the six-month anniversary of our launch. New Horizons has a long way to go, but we're on our way!

It's been six weeks since my last column here, and a lot has taken place. Here's a short list of highlights:

• New Horizons successfully conducted an asteroid flyby test of its moving target image motion compensation system (more on that below).
• The names we nominated for Pluto's two recently discovered small moons, Nix (the inner one) and Hydra (the outer one), were approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
• Continued successful testing of the SWAP and PEPSSI plasma/high energy particle detector suite aboard New Horizons.
• Successful beam mapping tests of the REX-High Gain Antenna pattern.
• Uploading of an updated (yes, "new and improved") release of the onboard fault detection and correction "autonomy" software that watches over New Horizons.
• A spin-up maneuver that took New Horizons out of three-axis attitude control and placed it back in its 5 RPM axial spin to save fuel and place us in a more robust mode for the upcoming flight software loads of August and September."

"Shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera acquired an image centered on the rover's location at that time in the "Columbia Hills."

Mars Global Surveyor Images - July 20-26, 2006

"The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available:

• Viking 1's 30th! (Released 20 July 2006)
  
• Ripples and Dunes (Released 21 July 2006)
  
• Spring Dunes (Released 22 July 2006)
  
• Syrian Volcano (Released 23 July 2006)
  
• Gullied Recesses (Released 24 July 2006)
  
• Mars at Ls 79 Degrees (Released 25 July 2006)
  
• Flooded Place (Released 26 July 2006)
  
• All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived here.

Information about how to submit requests is online at the new Mars Orbiter Camera Target Request Site, at http://www.msss.com/plan/intro"

Newly-released MOC images can be seen in the MOCGallery, a website maintained by Malin Space Science Systems, the company that built and operates MOC for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA.

Mars Global Surveyor completed its eighth year orbiting the red planet. MGS reached Mars on 12 September 1997. The first MOC images were obtained on 15 September 1997.

"NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey celebrates five years of exploration, returning spectacular images of features rarely seen on Earth and paving the way for future missions."

"A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/odyssey/20060313.html.

The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the large image are at http://themis.asu.edu."

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website: http://themis.asu.edu/

July 21-28, 2006

The following new images from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Reull Vallis (Released 21 July 2006)
  
• Cracks to Chaos (Released 24 July 2006)
  
• Noachis Terra (Released 25 July 2006)
  
• Recent Impact (Released 26 July 2006)
  
• Southern Surface (Released 27 July 2006)
  
• Bright and Dark (Released 28 July 2006)
  
• All of the THEMIS images are archived here.

The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System at: http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/"

Spirit Status: Spirit NASA's Spirit Rover Survives Record Cold on Mars - sol 908-914, July 29, 2006

"Spirit remains healthy and continues to make progress on computer upgrades and scientific research, despite winter temperatures colder than any yet experienced during the rover's two and a half years on Mars. Models show that at the coldest part of the Martian night, around 5:00 a.m. Mars time, temperatures near the surface have dipped to approximately minus 97 degrees Celsius (minus 143 degrees Fahrenheit).

With the deepest part of the Martian winter just around the corner, Spirit is collecting about 284 watt-hours of electrical power each sol from the rover's solar array (a hundred watt-hours is the amount of electricity needed to light one 100-watt bulb for one hour). The shortest day, winter solstice in Mars' southern hemisphere, will arrive on Aug. 8, 2006. The lowest amount of solar energy the rover is expected to receive is about 275 watt-hours per sol.

Spirit has put the finishing touches on a new version of its flight software -- assembling, checking, and saving 200 sections of computer code transmitted from Earth in recent weeks. The software upgrade will give the rover enhanced autonomous operational capabilities. NASA plans for Spirit to switch from its current flight software to the new version in coming weeks."

Opportunity Status: Cleaning Event Gives Opportunity Renewed Energy - sol 886-892, July 29, 2006

"Opportunity spent five sols this week at a target called "Joseph McCoy." At this location, the rover acquired about 41 hours of Mšssbauer spectrometer integration, almost seven hours of alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration, and a mosaic from the microscopic imager. Then Opportunity rolled back, scuffed the soil, and drove 55 meters (180 feet) closer to "Beagle Crater." The scuff helps scientists and engineers analyze how the wheels interact with the soil. After the most recent drive, Opportunity is sitting about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rim of Beagle Crater.

Over the past 50 sols the team noticed a gradual cleaning of the solar panels similar to a more-sudden cleaning event experienced one Mars-year ago in "Endurance Crater." Removal of some of the accumulated dust on the panels allows greater production of electricity from sunlight. Opportunity's solar panels are now producing just over 500 watt-hours per sol."

Landing sites

"NASA's newest spacecraft at Mars has already cut the size and duration of each orbit by more than half, just 11 weeks into a 23-week process of shrinking its orbit. By other indicators, the lion's share of the job lies ahead.

"The orbits are getting shorter and shorter. We've finished about 80 of them so far, but we have about 400 more to go, and the pace really quickens toward the end," said Dan Johnston, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter deputy mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif."