Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday June 11th to Sunday June 17th.
The moon is at third quarter on Monday the 11th, so we will have a waning crescent moon this week.
Mercury is now up for about an hour and a half after sunset, so you can catch it low in the west-northwest if you have a good view to the western horizon. Mars is up in the southwest as evening twilight falls and is setting at 1:40 a.m. at midweek. Saturn is in the south in the early evening and is still near the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo. Saturn is setting at 3:15 a.m. at midweek.
Jupiter is rising about an hour and a half before the sun this week, and is now followed by Venus, which made its historic transit of the Sun last week. To see a gallery of photos from around the Earth of the transit, go to www.spaceweather.com and scroll down to the Realtime Transit of Venus Photo Gallery.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. this summer. 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. Please note that due to repair work on the telescope dome there may be occasional last minute cancellations of public viewing nights over the summer. A message will be on the weather cancellation line at 232-4265 if we have to cancel an event due to construction.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. this summer. 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.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Note that viewing times and availability change throughout the year. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before the scheduled start time when a viewing is cancelled.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
