Skynet 8-19-23 “Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds” & Constellations “Scutum” and “Corona Austrina” 9PM CT

Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds Linked to the Solar Cycle
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MPGwiupLW9XbTQpRohLpo4-1920-80.jpg.webp
Neptune Sun Variation Plothttps://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/hubble_neptuneclouds_stsci-01h7dnwehgv47nrnqcknhjdxje.png?itok=0xT6KDSj

Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History 

WASHINGTON — NASA selected Rocket Lab to launch a pair of CubeSats in 2024 to monitor energy entering and exiting the polar regions of the planet.
https://i0.wp.com/spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/prefire.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1
Luna 25
Luna 25, also designated the Luna-Glob-Lander, is a Russian lunar lander mission that launched on 10 August 2023. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/thumbnail/luna_25_lavochkin_sm.jpg
U.S. government warns of foreign intelligence threats to the space industryhttps://i0.wp.com/spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/F2ny9dnXoBcK0M2.jpeg?w=768&ssl=1
BirthdaysRobert L. Stewart Aug 17, 1952 STS-41-B, STS-51-Jhttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Stewart-rl.jpg/220px-Stewart-rl.jpg
Jon McBride Aug 14, 1943 STS-41-G, STS-61-E (never flew)https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Mcbride-ja.jpg/220px-Mcbride-ja.jpg\
Mark C. Lee Aug 14, 1952 STS-30, STS-47, STS-64, STS-82 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Mark_C._Lee_-_Portrait_1984_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Mark_C._Lee_-_Portrait_1984_%28cropped%29.jpg
Tracy Caldwell Dyson Aug 14, 1969 STS-118, Soyuz TMA-18 (Expedition 23/24), Soyuz MS-25 (Expedition 70/71) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Tracy_E_Caldwell_portrait.jpg/220px-Tracy_E_Caldwell_portrait.jpg
Sonny Carter Aug 15, 1947 STS-33https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Manley_Carter.jpg/220px-Manley_Carter.jpg
Scott Altman Aug 15, 1959 STS-90, STS-106, STS-109, STS-125https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Scott_Douglas_Altman.jpg/220px-Scott_Douglas_Altman.jpg
Stuart Roosa Aug 16, 1933 Apollo 14https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Stuart_Allen_Roosa.jpg/220px-Stuart_Allen_Roosa.jpg
Peter Wisoff Aug 16, 1958 STS-57, STS-68, STS-81, STS-92 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Peter_Wisoffcropped.jpg/220px-Peter_Wisoffcropped.jpg
Kathryn C. Thornton Aug 17, 1952 STS-33, STS-49, STS-61, STS-73 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/KathrynThornton.jpg/220px-KathrynThornton.jpg
Thomas J. Hennen Aug 17, 1952 STS-44https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Astro_Photo_1a.jpg/220px-Astro_Photo_1a.jpg
Mike Massimino Aug 19, 1962 STS-109, STS-125https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Michael_Massimino.jpg/220px-Michael_Massimino.jpg
Charles Bolden  Aug 19, 1946 STS-61-C, STS-31, STS-45, STS-60. Former NASA Administrator.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Charles_F._Bolden%2C_Jr.jpg/220px-Charles_F._Bolden%2C_Jr.jpg
Story Musgrave Aug 19, 1935 STS-6, STS-51-F, STS-33, STS-44, STS-61, STS-80 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/StoryMusgrave.jpg/220px-StoryMusgrave.jpg
History
Explorer 6
1959, August 14, Explorer 6 took the first photo of Earth ever taken by a satellite! It transmitted this image of a sunlit portion of the north central Pacific Ocean. 
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3f5yQ-WUAEy2mS?format=webp&name=small
Explorer 46
On August 13, 1972, Explorer 46 was launched from Wallops Station in Virginia to study meteoroid and micrometeoroid strikes in low Earth orbit. 
https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/366026641_599883479007077_8996960300271166274_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s600x600&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=I9_nfYt-i1cAX-Hcxxk&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfB07uhcEAfRVH7nBiAtJYRJZG8-Xshd0SaDty2Q3-1QqA&oe=64E417F5
Discovery of Phobos
On Aug. 17, 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Mars’s moon Phobos. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Phobos_colour_2008.jpg

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Scutum the Shield and Corona Austrina the Southern Crown.

Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launcheshttps://www.spacecoastlaunches.com/blog/launch-list/
Space Flight Now Launch Schedulehttps://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/
NET August 21/22 Falcon 9 • Starlink 7-1Launch time: 11:04 p.m. PDT (2:04 a.m. EDT / 0604 UTC)Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CaliforniaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on the drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You, in the Pacific Ocean. Delayed from Aug. 17 and 18.
Updated: August 18
August 23 Soyuz • Progress 85PLaunch time: TBDLaunch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, KazakhstanA Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 85th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration.
Updated: August 04
August 23/24 Electron • ‘We Love the Nightlife’Launch time: 2330-0330 UTC Aug. 23 to 24 (7:30-11:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 23 / 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time)Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandA Rocket Lab Electron rocket is set to launch the first of Capella Space’s next-generation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth-imaging satellites called “Acadia.” This will be the first launch of these four, new satellites. The mission is dubbed “We Love the Nightlife” since the SAR satellites allow for high-resolution imagery a night. The mission will launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) on the Mahia Peninsula. Delayed from July 28. Launch aborted on July 30. Delayed from Aug. 4 and 6.
Updated: August 17
Aug. 25 Falcon 9 • Crew 7Launch time: 3:49 a.m. EDT (0749 UTC)Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, FloridaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 12th flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from Aug. 15, 17 and 21.
Updated: August 03
August 25/26 H-2A • XRISM & SLIMLaunch time: 1234 UTC (9:34:57 a.m. JST on Aug. 26 / 8:34 p.m. EDT on Aug. 25)Launch site: Launch Pad 1, Tanegashima Space Center, JapanA Japanese H-2A rocket, designated H-2A F47, will launch the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, a joint project between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA. XRISM is a replacement for the Hitomi X-ray astrophysics observatory, which failed about one month after launch in 2016. XRISM will perform high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations of the hot gas plasma wind that blows through the galaxies in the universe. These observations will enable us to determine flows of mass and energy, revealing the composition and evolution of celestial objects. JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, mission will fly as a rideshare on this launch, heading to the moon to test precision landing technology. The H-2A rocket will fly in the 202 configuration with two strap-on solid rocket boosters. Delayed from 2nd Quarter after H3 launch failure.
Updated: August 01
Aug. 29 Atlas 5 • NROL-107Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FloridaA United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the NROL-107 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The NROL-107 mission will launch a classified payload known as Silent Barker. The mission is a partnership between the NRO and the U.S. Space Force, which have disclosed little information about the payload other than it will focus on satellite threat intelligence and space situational awareness.
Updated: July 29
TBD Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 1 & 2Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CaliforniaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The first stage of the Falcon 9 will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base for landing. Delayed from April and June.
Updated: July 24
TBD Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 5 & 6Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FloridaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third pair of O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for SES of Luxembourg. The satellites, built by Boeing, will provide internet services over most of the populated world, building on SES’s O3b network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from March and June 9.
Updated: July 24
TBD Falcon 9 • SDA Tranche 0BLaunch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CaliforniaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 18 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency. The launch is the second of two Falcon 9 missions to carry SDA demonstration spacecraft for a future constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Delayed from June.
Updated: July 24
TBD Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 3 & 4Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FloridaA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
Updated: July 24

Recent Astronomical Discoveries 
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.

You can use the http://www.heavens-above.com website to find out what’s in orbit andwhere to look during fly-overs