(From west to east)

• Vesta is in the constellation of Capricornus.
• Nausikaa is at opposition on the 1st in the constellation of Aquarius.
• Euterpe is in the constellation of Pisces.
• Amphitrite is in the constellation of Aries.
• Eunomia is in the constellation of Perseus.

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

"NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured new views of Saturn's oddly shaped moon Hyperion during its encounter with this cratered body on Thursday, Aug. 25. Raw images were acquired as the spacecraft flew past the moon at a distance of about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers), making this the second closest encounter.

Hyperion is a small moon -- just 168 miles (270 kilometers) across. It has an irregular shape and surface appearance, and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in orbit. This odd rotation prevented scientists from predicting exactly what terrain the spacecraft's cameras would image during this flyby.

However, this flyby's closeness has likely allowed Cassini's cameras to map new territory. At the very least, it will help scientists improve color measurements of the moon. It will also help them determine how the moon's brightness changes as lighting and viewing conditions change, which can provide insight into the texture of the surface. The color measurements provide additional information about different materials on the moon's deeply pitted surface.

The latest raw images of Hyperion are online at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/."

Cassini Imaging Team

"In June and July, members of the New Horizons science team, using the Hubble Space Telescope, discovered and confirmed that Pluto has a fourth moon! The new satellite, provisionally called P4, is fainter and therefore likely much smaller, than either Nix or Hydra or Charon Ð PlutoÕs other three known moons. For comparison, while Charon is about as wide as the U.S. state of Colorado, Nix and Hydra are closer to the width of Vermont, and P4 is likely to be no wider across than Boulder County, Colorado.

New Horizons remains healthy and on course, now approximately 21 times as far from the Sun as the Earth is Ð well on its way, between the orbits of Uranus and Neptune."

LORRI Looks Back

New Horizons gallery

"The Dawn spacecraft has completed a graceful spiral into the first of four planned science orbits during the spacecraft's yearlong visit to Vesta. The spacecraft started taking detailed observations on Aug. 11 at 9:13 a.m. PDT (12:13 a.m. EDT), which marks the official start of the first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta, also known as the survey orbit.

Survey orbit is the initial and highest orbit, at roughly 1700 miles (2700 kilometers) above the surface, which will provide an overview or "big picture" perspective of the giant asteroid."

"MESSENGER Co-Investigator Louise Prockter has been elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA). Established in 1888, the GSA Ñ comprised of about 25,000 members Ñ seeks to foster the quest for understanding the Earth, planets, and life; catalyze new scientific ways of thinking about natural systems; and support the application of geoscience knowledge and insight to human needs, aspirations, and Earth stewardship.

To become a fellow, an honor reserved for less than 3 percent of the national societyÕs members, honorees must be nominated by an existing GSA fellow in recognition of distinguished contributions to the geosciences and approved by the entire GSA senate.

Prockter "is deserving of this recognition because of her high standing in the scientific community, contributions to major spacecraft missions, the significance of her planetary geology research, her leadership of scientific teams, and her service through editorships, peer review panels, and as a GSA officer in the Planetary Geology Division," wrote NASA Geophysicist Herbert V. Frey, in the nomination letter he submitted."

"PASADENA, Calif., -- NASA's Mars Odyssey, which launched in 2001, will break the record Wednesday for longest-serving spacecraft at the Red Planet. The probe begins its 3,340th day in Martian orbit at 5:55 p.m. PST (8:55 p.m. EST) on Wednesday to break the record set by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which orbited Mars from 1997 to 2006.

Odyssey's longevity enables continued science, including the monitoring of seasonal changes on Mars from year to year and the most detailed maps ever made of most of the planet. In 2002, the spacecraft detected hydrogen just below the surface throughout Mars' high-latitude regions. The deduction that the hydrogen is in frozen water prompted NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which confirmed the theory in 2008. Odyssey also carried the first experiment sent to Mars specifically to prepare for human missions, and found radiation levels around the planet from solar flares and cosmic rays are two to three times higher than around Earth."

Global Martian Map

"A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available online.

The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the large image are at THEMIS."

Daily Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images
Can be found at the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website.

The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System.

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Remains Silent at Troy - sols 2621-2627, May 18-24, 2011:

"No communication has been received from Spirit since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

More than 1,300 commands were radiated to Spirit as part of the recovery effort in an attempt to elicit a response from the rover. No communication has been received from Spirit since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). The project concluded the Spirit recovery efforts on May 25, 2011. The remaining, pre-sequenced ultra-high frequency (UHF) relay passes scheduled for Spirit on board the Odyssey orbiter will complete on June 8, 2011.

Total odometry is unchanged at 7,730.50 meters (4.80 miles)."

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Studies Rocks on Crater Rim - sols 2690-2696, August 18-24, 2011:

"Opportunity is less than 500 meters (0.31 miles) from "Spirit Point," the first landfall on the rim of Endeavour crater.

The rover drove four times in the last week on Sols 2663, 2664, 2667 and 2668 (July 22, 23, 26 & 27, 2011), totaling over 460 meters (0.29 miles) of drive distance. The right-front wheel currents remain behaved. On Sol 2669 (July 28, 2011), Opportunity paused in her driving to collect a microscopic imager (MI) mosaic of the surface and an overnight alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) spectrum of exposed outcrop. The rover also performed a diagnostic test of the MI poker. The results of that test will be received later today. The plan ahead is more driving.

As of Sol 2668 (July 27, 2011), solar array energy production was 413 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.01 and a solar array dust factor of 0.587.

Total odometry is 32,973.44 meters (32.97 kilometers, 20.49 miles)."

Landing sites