Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday July 10 through Sunday July 16.
The moon is at third quarter late on the night of Sunday the 9th and will be new on Monday the 17th, so we’ll have a waning crescent moon in the early morning skies all of this week.
Mercury is low in the west after sunset and is setting at 9:30 p.m.
Venus continues to shine brightly in the west at sunset but is starting to quickly move back towards the sun and its next conjunction. Venus is setting at 10:30 p.m. at midweek and is now about 20% illuminated so it will look like a small crescent if you observe it with a telescope.
Mars is above and slightly to the left of Venus and is setting at 10:50 p.m. Look for the star Regulus in the constellation Leo between Mars and Venus this week.
Over in the east, Saturn is rising at 11 p.m. as it makes its way back to our early evening skies.
Jupiter is rising at 2:15 a.m. at midweek. Look for Jupiter alongside the waning crescent moon on Tuesday morning.
In space anniversaries this week, Wednesday July 12 marks 35 years since the launch of the Soviet Phobos 2 probe, designed to investigate the moons of Mars. The mission arrived at Mars in January 1989 and operated normally until final part of the mission when the on-board computer failed, causing contact to be lost with the satellite before it could release the landers that were meant to explore the moon Phobos.
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.
