Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday July 3 through Sunday July 9.
The full moon for the month of July is on Monday the 3rd and then we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for the remainder of the week. This full moon is known as the Thunder Moon and the Hay Moon.
Mercury is emerging from solar conjunction and is setting about half an hour after the sun at midweek.
Venus is in the west at sunset and is at magnitude -4.5 this week. If you look at Venus under magnification, you will see that it is now about 25% illuminated, but the crescent is quite large, so overall it is very bright. Venus is setting at 10:50 p.m. at midweek.
Mars is above Venus and is setting at 11:10 p.m. at midweek.
Saturn is rising at 11:30 p.m. and Jupiter follows at 2:30 a.m. Look for Saturn near the moon on Thursday night into Friday morning.
The Earth is at aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun, on Thursday July 6th. At this point, the Earth will be 152 million kilometers from the Sun, compared to 147 million kilometers at its closest point back in early January.
In space anniversaries this week, Friday July 7 marks 20 years since the launch of the Mars Exploration Rover – B, better known as Opportunity. The rover landed in January 2004 and operated on the Martian surface until June 2018, 5498 Earth days into a planned 90-day mission.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. this summer. PMA 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.
There will be no public viewing at the Painter Hall Telescope this summer. Friday and Saturday night viewing at Painter Hall will resume in the fall semester.
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.
