texas

skywatchers report


Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for April 10th through the 16th.

The full moon for the month of April is on Thursday the 13th. This full moon is known as the Grass Moon and the Egg Moon. On the night of the 14th, the moon will be a little above and to the right of Jupiter, which is rising at 9:30 p.m. this week. Saturn is close to overhead as evening twilight ends.

On Tuesday, the Venus Express spacecraft is due to enter orbit around our planetary neighbor. The mission was launched late in 2005 by the European Space Agency. You can learn more about this mission at sci.esa.int/venusexpress You can see the planet Venus for yourself rising about two hours before the sun the east.

Two important milestones in manned spaceflight occur this Wednesday. April 12th is the 45th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first manned spaceflight, as well as the 25th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight. You can learn more about the history of space exploration at the website of the NASA History Division at history.nasa.gov

Public viewing at the Painter Hall telescope is on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 to 10 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe.

The telescope at Robert Lee Moore Hall is open to the public on Wednesday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. RLM is located on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway. Take the elevators to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope.

All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Note that star party times and availability change throughout the year. Please call this recording before planning a visit to the telescopes. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before viewing start time only on nights when star parties are cancelled.

Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report.