Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday May 1st through Sunday May 7th.
The moon is at first quarter on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning so we'll start the week with a waxing crescent moon and finish with a waxing gibbous moon.
Mars is still low in the west-northwest at sundown and is setting at 10:05 p.m. this week.
Jupiter is shining brightly in the southeast as night falls and is setting at 5:30 a.m. Look for Jupiter just a couple of degrees from the moon on Sunday evening.
Saturn is rising at 11:15 p.m. at midweek and is growing a little in brightness as it moves towards opposition in six weeks.
Over in the morning skies, Venus is rising at 4:45 a.m. and is now up for two hours before sunrise. Mercury is up about 40 minutes before the sun, so it will be hard to pick out from the dawn glare. Uranus will also be about 2 degrees from Mercury on Sunday morning but it will also be too close to the sun to see.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights currently from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. RLM is located on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway. Take the elevator to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights currently from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe and is northeast of the UT Tower. To get to the telescope, take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. Once you reach the 6th floor, go to your right and follow the signs up to the telescope.
This week will be the final week of public viewing on UT campus telescopes for the spring semester. Summer session viewing will start in June. Please check back for details on starting dates and times.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Note that viewing times and availability change throughout the year so please check the schedule before planning a visit. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 512-232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
